About
About the Western Montana Conservation Commission - Passed during the 2023 Montana Legislative Session, Senate Bill 83 effectively created the Western Montana Conservation Commission (WMCC). Initiated as part of Governor Greg Gianforte’s Red Tape Relief Initiative, WMCC effectively combines and replaces the roles and jurisdiction of the Flathead Basin Commission (FBC) and the Upper Columbia Conservation Commission (UC3).
FBC was created in 1983 to protect the natural resources of the Flathead Basin and has focused on water quality protection through nonpoint source pollution mitigation efforts, emphasizing resident education, outreach, and engagement. Notable work of FBC to date includes: a moratorium on coal mining in the transboundary Flathead, an inventory, mapping, and comprehensive assessment of stormwater infrastructure in Flathead County, and an innovative, publicly available GIS Septic Risk Mapping tool, which aims to demonstrate the future and existing risk of septic leachate in the Flathead watershed. Under WMCC, this water quality protection work will expand to include the Kootenai River Basin, the upper and lower Clark Fork River Basins, the Bitterroot River Basin and the Blackfoot River Basin.
UC3 was created in 2017 to bolster the States aquatic invasive species program and to encourage comprehensive prevention and management efforts within western Montana. Notable work of UC3 to date includes: an industry outreach education program that now serves as a model for programs across the state, assistance in the creation of the Upper Columbia Lakes Network, a citizen science monitoring program, and years of successful legislative education, outreach, and engagement.
WMCC serves as a convening body to facilitate coordination between resource managers across western Montana, including all land and water west of the continental divide. WMCC is administratively attached to the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation.
