CLARK FORK COALITION

Results: • Catalyzing a large-scale reclamation and restoration effort in the severely-contaminated Upper Clark Fork by securing federal Superfund designation, supporting a $200 million settlement agreement from BP-ARCO to clean up toxic mining wastes and reconstruct 56 miles of the river corridor, and security a $70 million comprehensive restoration plan to rehabilitate mining-damaged fish and wildlife habitat; • Spearheading the effort to remove Milltown Dam, haul away millions of tons of mining pollution that had stacked up behind it, and return the historic confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers to a free-flowing, natural state; • Leading community-based scrutiny of, and opposition to, dangerous large-scale mines proposed for the headwaters of the Blackfoot River and beneath the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness in the lower reaches of the watershed; • Re-watering and reconnecting tributaries to mainstem rivers through win-win transactions that has returned 30+ billion gallons of water to thirsty streams in mining-damaged reaches of the basin and improving water quality, streamside habitat, and fish passage on 60 miles of streams flowing through mining-impacted lands in the Upper Clark Fork, Blackfoot, Bitterroot, and Nine Mile drainages; and • Reconnecting multiple tributary streams to mainstem rivers, which removes barriers to migration for native fish and provides cold water refuge during hotter, longer, dryer summers; • Reaching thousands of people with river-based education that inspires better understanding of the basin’s mining past, the needs of the Clark Fork, and the ways they can participate in hands-on care for their waterways.

Target demographics: the rivers, wildlife, and people of the Clark Fork River watershed

Direct beneficiaries per year: miles of rivers and streams through restoration projects and by returning billions of gallons of water to thirsty streams; native trout, by improving habitat, flow, and fish passage, clean water resources by preventing new contamination, the Clark Fork River floodplain and riverside communities by cleaning up hundreds of thousands of tons of mine waste, and nearly 1,000 students in urban and rural areas with fun, engaging, and hands-on STEM and standards-based watershed programming

Geographic areas served: The Clark Fork River watershed in western Montana and northern Idaho

Programs: stream restoration, pollution cleanup, protection of clean water resources, and science-based watershed education programs for youth and adults