An INVITATION to attend the
ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING
October 21, 2009 · 6:30-9:00 p.m.
Lubrecht Experimental Forest

You are cordially invited to attend the 2009 Blackfoot Challenge Members Meeting. The Members Meeting is an opportunity to highlight the Blackfoot Challenge's accomplishments and thank our partners and members for their continued support. The 2009 meeting will be an excellent opportunity to learn about past and current Challenge projects, learn about opportunities to get involved, interact with the Board of Directors and program coordinators, and meet others who support the mission of the Challenge for the Blackfoot River Valley.

This is one way the Challenge welcomes and encourages members to support their community.

Our mission is to "coordinate efforts to conserve and enhance the natural resources and rural way of life in the Blackfoot River Valley." Our programs and projects are built from the ground up, and are based on the needs of natural resources and communities within the watershed. We follow a consensus-based model, working with all watershed partners and stakeholders. Our focus area is the 1.5 million-acre Blackfoot River watershed in western Montana where we facilitate partnerships by bringing people together and coordinating resources through six Board-led committees, where each year's work is organized and directed.

Conservation Strategies · Keeping Working Landscapes Intact · conserving an average of 7,000 acres each year since 1993

Education · Connecting Classrooms & Communities with Place-Based Education · educating 500 youth & 1,500 adults yearly

Forestry · Making Communities Safe and Maintaining Forest Health · treating an average of 500 acres each year

Water Resources · Conserving Water for Agriculture, Fish & Water Quality · conserving 50 cfs & 10,000 kWh each year

Weeds · Managing Noxious Weeds Across Fence Lines · managing an average of 1,000 acres each year since 1993

Wildlife · Reducing Human-Wildlife Conflicts · keeping grizzly conflicts below 84 % since 2001, and reducing wolf conflicts

If you support this philosophy and this committee work, we welcome you as a member. Members receive an invitation to the annual Partners Tour and Barbecue, updates on Challenge activities, and become an asset to the watershed community by participating in efforts that benefit our rural way of life.

We hope you attend this meeting and use it as an opportunity to find out more about our work and to explore options for participation. Light refreshments will be served. Many people participate as a partner on one of our committees (Weeds, Wildlife, Conservation Strategies, Drought, Education, Forestry and Water Resources), some attend our community meetings, workshops, events, or Board meetings, and others participate in on-the-ground projects. The watershed needs this participation and stewardship, and the Challenge is committed to promoting it through events such as the Members Meeting.