Blackfoot Challenge

Water Committee
2021-11-03 08:30 - 10:00 (America/Denver)
Contact Water Steward Jennifer Schoonen for details and Zoom participation link: jennifer@blackfootchallenge.org.

Board Meeting
2021-10-20 10:00 - 13:00, 2021-09-15 10:00 - 13:00
The public is welcome to participate in our board meetings. Contact our Office Administrator Deb Dillree for more information: deb@blackfootchallenge.org.

Soil Health Workgroup Field Tour
2021-10-14 13:00 - 16:00
This year the Workgroup will visit sites in Greenough and Potomac to learn about soil stewardship efforts underway locally and discuss other opportunities in the watershed.
For more information and to RSVP, contact Land Steward Brad Weltzien at brad@blackfootchallenge.org.

BCCA Council
2021-10-07 19:00 - 20:30
The Blackfoot Community Conservation Area Council Meeting. Public is welcome. Meeting location: Ovando Fire Hall. Contact Deb Dillree for details: deb@blackfootchallenge.org.

Youth Field Day
2021-10-06 09:00 - 15:00
This year’s Youth Field Day will take place at Garnet Ghost Town. For more information, contact Education Coordinator Elaine Caton at elaine@blackfootchallenge.org.

Blackfoot Prescribed Fire Workgroup
2021-10-04 10:30 - 17:00, 2021-09-27 10:30 - 11:30, 2021-09-20 10:30 - 11:30, 2021-09-13 10:30 - 11:30
The Blackfoot Prescribed Fire Workgroup will host weekly calls every Monday throughout the prescribed burning season to coordinate resource and information sharing. Contact Forestry & Prescribed Fire Coordinator Cindy Super for more information: cindy@blackfootchallenge.org.

Drought Committee
2021-09-09 08:30 - 09:30, 2021-08-19 11:30 - 12:30, 2021-08-10 08:30 - 09:30, 2021-08-03 08:30 - 09:30, 2021-07-28 08:30 - 09:30, 2021-07-12 08:30 - 09:30
Meeting will take place via Zoom. Contact Water Steward Jennifer Schoonen for participation link: jennifer@blackfootchallenge.org.

BCCA REW Workgroup Meeting
2021-09-08 18:00 - 19:30
The Blackfoot Community Conservation Area Council’s Recreation/Education/Wildlife Workgroup. Ovando Fire Hall. The public is welcome. Contact Office Administrator Deb Dillree for details: deb@blackfootchallenge.org or 793-3900.

Russell Gates Weed Pull
2021-08-28 09:00 - 11:00, 2021-06-19 09:00 - 11:00
Join members of our Vegetation Committee to pull leafy spurge and other noxious weeds along the banks of the Blackfoot River. You bring your passion for pulling weeds and a pair of gloves, and we’ll supply bags, refreshments, and good cheer!
The Russell Gates Fishing Access Sites is located 35 miles East of Bonner on Montana Highway 200 at milepost 35. Questions? Contact our Vegetation Coordinator Karen Laitala at karen@blackfootchallenge.org or 560-2919.

Board Meeting
2021-08-18 08:00 - 10:30
This month’s Board of Directors’ meeting will take place via Zoom.
The public is welcome to participate in our board meetings. Contact our Office Administrator Deb Dillree for more information: deb@blackfootchallenge.org.

Summer Block Party
2021-08-11 18:00 - 21:00
Wednesday, August 11 | 6 – 9 PM
Downtown Ovando
After a year off, we are excited to throw a party for our members in downtown Ovando again this summer. Join us on August 11 for food trucks, live music, a beer garden, interactive education exhibits, a silent auction, and a darn good time. This annual party is to show our appreciation for all the folks up and down the watershed who work day-in and day-out to steward this amazing place we call home.
Food Trucks: Lindey’s Steak House & Balsamroot Catering*
Stray Bullet Beer Garden
Silent Auction
Live Music from Helmville’s “Copper Queen”

*Food trucks are cash only. We’ll have an “ATM” on site.
**Are you a local vendor and would like to showcase your wares at the party? If so, contact Deb Dillree at deb@blackfootchallenge.org or 793-3900.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Board Meeting
2021-07-21 08:30 - 10:00
This month’s Board of Directors’ meeting will take place via Zoom.
The public is welcome to participate in our board meetings. Contact our Operations Manager Sydney Weydemeyer for more information: sydney@blackfootchallenge.org.

Board Meeting
2021-06-25 08:00 - 17:00
Location TBD.
The public is welcome to participate in our board meetings. Contact our Operations Manager Sydney Weydemeyer for more information: sydney@blackfootchallenge.org.

Board Meeting
2021-06-16 10:00 - 12:00
This month’s Board of Directors’ meeting will take place at Lubrecht Experimental Forest, Greenough.
The public is welcome to participate in our board meetings. Contact our Operations Manager Sydney Weydemeyer for more information: sydney@blackfootchallenge.org.

Prescribed Fire Tour - Nine Mile Prairie & Bandy Ranch
2021-06-15 09:00 - 16:00
Photo by Erin Carey, Bureau of Land Management.
This spring, private landowners and public agencies across the watershed conducted prescribed burns to enhance forest health and community safety. Join members of our Prescribed Fire Work Group to visit these fires and learn about why and how they happen.
This tour will bring participants to two prescribed fires conducted this spring. In the morning participants will visit a 600-acre burn conducted by the Bureau of Land Management in the Nine Mile Prairie and Dunnigan Gulch area. In the afternoon we will drive up river to the University of Montana’s Bandy Ranch to explore the burn conducted by students and faculty in April.
Participants will drive their own vehicles, lunch is provided, and participants are welcome to join for either the morning or afternoon sessions if they can’t make all day. Email Forestry Coordinator Cindy Super for more info and to register: cindy@blackfootchallenge.org.

Pure Montana Tales presents: Bird Walk with Erick Greene
2021-06-13 09:00 - 11:00
Bird enthusiasts of all levels are invited to join Erick Greene for this fun and informative bird walk. Erick does all sorts of fascinating research on bird behavior, communication, and ecology at the University of Montana, and he is a gifted teacher who loves to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for birds. We’ll stroll around Lake Upsata and the Bandy Ranch looking and listening for birds and learning how to identify them by sight and sound.
Participants will meet at the Lake Upsata Fishing Access Site parking lot at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 13. Please RSVP to Education Coordinator Elaine Caton at elaine@blackfootchallenge.org or 793-5038, and bring binoculars if you have them!

Drought Response Committee
2021-06-10 09:30 - 11:00
The committee’s first meeting of the year. Contact Water Steward Jennifer Schoonen for details and zoom participation link: jennifer@blackfootchallenge.org.

Prescribed Fire Tour - Twin Creeks & Primm Meadow
2021-06-08 09:00 - 16:00
Photo by Cindy Super, Blackfoot Challenge Forestry & Prescribed Fire Coordinator.
This spring, private landowners and public agencies across the watershed conducted prescribed burns to enhance forest health and community safety. Join members of our Prescribed Fire Work Group to visit these fires and learn about why and how they happen.
This tour will bring participants to two prescribed fires conducted this spring. In the morning we will visit a private property in the Twin Creeks area in which the landowner spent years conducting restoration logging to prepare the site for a prescribed burn. In the afternoon we will drive up Gold Creek to visit the historic Primm Meadow, an area with old-growth ponderosa pine that was burned periodically by Native Americans for centuries.
Participants will drive their own vehicles, lunch is provided, and participants are welcome to join for either the morning or afternoon sessions if they can’t make all day. This tour is capped at 20 participants so don’t wait to sign up! Email Forestry Coordinator Cindy Super for more info and to register: cindy@blackfootchallenge.org.

BCCA Annual Field Tour
2021-06-03 14:00 - 18:00

Board Meeting
2021-05-19 10:00 - 12:00
This month’s Board of Directors’ meeting will take place via Zoom.
The public is welcome to participate in our board meetings. Contact our Operations Manager Sydney Weydemeyer for more information and the participation link: sydney@blackfootchallenge.org.
