https://www.huffpost.com/entry/montana-gallatin-river-big-sky-development_n_60fb0bcfe4b0d2a22d4b1a34
This headline from the Huffington Post has great significance to me as it is happening right in my back yard. The Gallatin river is a beautiful meandering river that runs through south western Montana and is home to some of the best fly-fishing, white water rafting and kayaking, and sight seeing. However, the beauty of the area is becoming more of a hindrance than a help in recent years for tenured residents and native Montana’s. As people from Southern California and the east coast look for a 2nd or even 3rd or 4th home, western Montana checks all the boxes providing great recreation and relative privacy. This out of state money has driven up the price of housing in the area making it hard for many hourly employees to find housing at all. However, the more significant issue is the damage that is being done to one of the most iconic rivers and basins in the western United States. The explosion of development in the area has generated significant amounts of nutrient run-off. This has lead to green algae blooms in the Gallatin river the last three summers. As seen in the areal images of the river from this past July, it is hard to believe that just a few years back algae in the river was no where to be seen. It is now believed that the algae bloom this past summer covered 75% of the rivers bottom, having significant negative impacts on the rivers ecosystem. Action is needed to stop nutrient run-off in the area through strict development policy and measures to stop nutrient run-off at the source.
