This project was funded by a Capacity Support Grant from the MWCC Watershed Fund.
Project Description
Between 2017 to 2018, the Task Force convened over 35 stakeholders to develop the Big Sky Watershed Stewardship Plan (Water Plan). The plan presented solutions and actions to address current and future water needs for both the natural and human communities within 3 co-equal focus areas: water supply & availability, ecological health, and wastewater treatment and reuse. Recommendations from the Water Plan were developed in order to support community implementation of the solutions. In 2024, the Task Force reconvened stakeholders within each of the priority focus areas to track plan progress, identify new challenges and opportunities, and identify and prioritize solutions for the next 5 years. During these meetings, stakeholders expressed a desire to meet on an annual basis and to develop a new priority focus area and committee to address stormwater management. Due to limited staff capacity, the Task Force has not been able to convene stakeholders on a regular basis. Funding would allow us to host the Water Plan stakeholder committee meetings in the upcoming year.
This project will help the Task Force and greater Big Sky community to more effectively pursue watershed conservation goals by providing an opportunity to convene Water Plan stakeholders and ensure plan implementation. Implementation of the plan relies on feedback from many stakeholders as well as multiple implementation partners, therefore, it is critical to have the opportunity to meet annually in order to ensure plan progress and solicit feedback. In addition to hosting the 3 core focus area committees, we will host a new stormwater committee. We expect to host at least 4-8 meetings. We will track the number of meetings, number of meeting attendees, record meeting minutes, and record progress and action items that result from the meetings. In addition to hosting the committee meetings, we will work with the committees to support communications, public relations, and outreach related to Water Plan implementation.
Project Outcomes and Impacts
Project in progress