Arts & Entertainment
Water Wisdom: The Bloom is Back
![Avatar photo](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/outlaw-partners-46x46.jpg)
![Avatar photo](http://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/outlaw-partners-46x46.jpg)
Published
4 years agoon
Posted By
Admin![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-01-at-12.58.31-PM-copy.jpg)
By David Tucker EBS Contributor
As you’ve likely noticed, a wide-spread, bright green algae bloom has taken over our backyard waterway. From the upper reaches of the Taylor Fork to downstream of Portal Creek, filamentous vegetation covers the river-bottom rocks.
At first glance, the algae is almost beautiful, looking more like a tropical coral than an aquatic agitator. But in this case, looks are deceiving and its presence is anything but welcoming.
Cladophora, the primary algae of concern in the upper Gallatin watershed, is naturally occurring. Its growth is driven by several factors, including nitrogen and phosphorus levels, water clarity, water temperature, available sunlight, pH, water velocity and water hardness. What the Gallatin River Task Force is working to better understand is why these growth drivers are suddenly leading to more wide-spread blooms, how much these blooms are being caused by human land use and what we need to do as a community to solve the problem.
“We’re seeing an imbalance on multiple fronts,” said Chace Bell, water quality monitoring and assessment specialist with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. “We’re in the so-called Goldilocks zone,” he continued, where conditions are just right for wide-spread, nuisance growth.
“So far, in high-gradient, fast-moving rivers [like the Gallatin], the blooms aren’t severe enough to affect fish populations in one summer, but we could start to see a macroinvertebrate shift over time,” Bell said. To avoid that and other negative outcomes, “we need to be creative in building resiliency,” he continued. “There’s a tremendous amount of complexity when trying to come up with management plans and solutions because of non-point sources.”
Non-point sources are pollutants that originate not where the effect is seen in the river, but elsewhere in the watershed. For example, stormwater tainted with chemicals from fertilizer flows from a driveway in a Big Sky housing development to our underground aquifers before resurfacing somewhere downstream—say near the Deer Creek fishing access. When this polluted groundwater re-enters surface waters like the Gallatin River, it could still contain high enough levels of nutrients like nitrogen or phosphorus to negatively impact water quality.
One of the manifestations of this impact be could the algae bloom we’re currently witnessing. As Bell said, determining the exact reason for the bloom is difficult, but we do know that steps must be taken to curtail excess nutrient loads entering the river.
River-side restoration projects, like the West Fork willow planting GRTF has done or the river-access improvements GRTF made at Moose Creek, are steps in the right direction, but we’ll also need a community-wide commitment to improving water-resource management based on data collection and water-quality monitoring. GRTF has already identified sources of excess nutrients, such as stormwater runoff, irrigation for landscaping and antiquated, poorly maintained septic systems. An upgraded wastewater treatment plant, which has been approved by Big Sky voters, will also help.
As individuals, we can update, upgrade and regularly maintain our septic systems. We can plant trout-friendly lawns that use less fertilizer and less water. We can restore any streamside vegetation on our properties and be sure to always pick up after our pets.
All of these steps are efforts to reduce the concentration of pollutants entering our water resources, and they’re outlined and prioritized in GRTF’s forthcoming Nutrient Reduction Plan. GRTF’s ongoing algae monitoring study will further refine future action steps and add useful data.
For now, it’s important for our community to acknowledge that current nutrient levels are too high and major, Big Sky-wide steps must be taken to repair and restore our water resources. If we fail to act, algae blooms will become the norm and more than just a nuisance.
David Tucker is the communications manager for the Gallatin River Task Force.
Upcoming Events
july, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Paint anytime from June 1-28EXHIBITION & SALE: June 29 - July 31Calling all artists and nature enthusiasts! Get
more
Event Details
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Paint anytime from June 1-28
EXHIBITION & SALE: June 29 – July 31
Calling all artists and nature
enthusiasts! Get your paintbrushes ready for an unforgettable experience at
Paint Under the Big Sky, a thrilling plein air event set against the stunning
backdrop of Big Sky, MT, Chet Huntley’s “The Last Best Place”. Don’t
miss this chance to unleash your creativity and be part of a vibrant artistic community.
What is Paint Under the Big Sky? PUBS is a plein air event for all painters of any ability (over the age of 16). Sponsored by the Big Sky Artist’s Studio & Gallery and the Big Sky Artists Collective, a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster a strong community of artists in the Big Sky area, the paint-out hopes to introduce painters to our extraordinary landscape for an opportunity to create, meet and have fun. Plein air painters record our landscape for generations to come.
Artists are invited to travel to Big
Sky, MT to paint anytime between Jun 1 – 28, and participate in the exhibition
and sale of paintings from June 29 – July 31.
Come join us! We have a great
place to paint and are welcoming and fun!
Don’t miss out!
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 1:00 am - July 31 (Wednesday) 11:55 pm
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and
serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the
Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice to
invigorate your day of adventure ahead. Complimentary. Weather
permitting.
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 7:00 am - August 31 (Saturday) 7:00 am
Location
Montage Big Sky
995 Settlement Trail
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 10 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 19 (Monday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 17 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 26 (Monday) 6:00 pm