Conservation Calendar

Warm wishes for a happy, healthy, peaceful and greener New Year

Jan 17 (Mon) — Martin Luther King Day — “All life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. … We aren’t going to have peace on Earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality.” Martin Luther King, 1967

Jan 17 –– Phenology — Rhythms of the Natural World — zoom presentation to Bitterroot Audubon. 7pm. All welcome. Info/Register here for zoom link. 

Jan 17  -Feb 27 — online course on War and the Environment. offered by World Beyond War.Info & Registration here.

Jan 18 — Webinar series on High Elevation Pines management. noon to 1pm and continuing on 3rd Tuesdays thru May. More info & register here. 

Jan 18 — Public hearing (virtual) on proposed rule to redefine the Waters of the US (WOTUS). EPA and Army Corps propose to return to a more science-based earlier definition. Feedback is sought. Info on rule & how to signup for hearing here. Must pre-register by Jan 13. 

Jan 18-19 — Water Policy Interim Committee of the MT Legislature hybrid meeting (capitol & zoom). public welcome.  Info  & Agenda here. Flathead reservation water, nutrient standards, etc. 

Jan 19 (Wed) — Free Webinar on Communicating with Bees — offered by Western Apicultural Society. 7pm. Info/register here. 

Jan 19 — Soil Regeneration webinar series continues.  noon MT time. Free registration & info here.  continues Jan 25 & 29.

Jan 20 (Thurs) — Mosey through Missoula’s Greenough Park with fellow naturalists. 10 am-noon.

Jan 20 — The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists will reset the Doomsday Clock. Last January, they set it to 100 seconds to midnight — the closest it has ever been. 

Jan 21 (Fri) — Free webinar on World Bank’s financial support for ecological restoration projects. 10 am MT. part of a monthly series on ecological restoration. Info/Register here.

Jan 22 (Sat) — Winter Wildlife Tracking at MPG Ranch in the Bitterroot Valley. Learn snow tracking & track ID. 10:30 am- 3pm.  Space limited. To request a space & get more info, email Joshua. 

Jan 22 —  Missoula’s WINTER Farmers Market continues in Southgate Mall. Saturdays 9am to 2pm. Also Wed 4:30- 7pm. Info on Bozeman market and Butte market. 

Jan 25 (Tues) — Learn about the CSKT Water Compact from Casey Ryan of CSKT Natural Resources dept, speaking at Missoula Public Library, 5-7pm. Masks required. hosted by Watershed Education Network. Depending on pandemic, may switch to zoom, so check back for updates.

Jan 26 (Wed) — 11th Annual Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent. Virtual symposium on Planning for the future of the Crown. 1-3pm MT. Info & register here. 

Jan 26 — MT Citizen Botany program offered by MT Native Plant Society online at 7pm.

Jan 27 — Legislative Committee on Selenium Standards for Lake Kookanusa meets. 8:30 am in Capitol room 172. Will be streamed live on www.leg.mt.gov.  Background info & how to comment will be here. 

Jan 28 (Fri) — Biocultural Restoration of Whitebark Pine on the Flathead Reservation (free webinar, 10 am MT). Michael Durglo  serves as CSKT’s Tribal Historic Preservation Department Head and has led climate change work for over a decade. He facilitated development of a Flathead Reservation Climate Change Strategic Plan for the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes (CSKT).  Register here. 

Jan 29 (Sat)– All day birding trip to Mission Valley with 5 Valleys Audubon. Info on their calendar. 

Feb 1-May 3 — Master Naturalist Class offered by MT Natural History Center, Msla. 

Feb 1-April 16 — Pasture Management workshop series. Zoom classes plus field trip. Info/register here.

Feb 2  (Wed) — Nuclear Energy for Montana ? (webinar). hosted by MT Renewable Energy Association. All welcome. Part of a monthly series of webinars. First Wed at noon.

Feb 7 (Mon) — Public comments due on the Missoula Rattlesnake Valley Transportation Plan. Read the plan and submit comments here. 

Feb 8 (Tues) — Public Hearing on proposed new rule for narrative nutrient water quality standards (2021 legislature repealed the numeric standards). 2pm via zoom and in-person in room 111 of Metcalf Building in Helena.  More info here. <–at that web site, click on ‘Framework rulemaking for SB 358’.  

Feb 8-10 — Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation workshop (virtual). .

Feb 9 (Wed) — Trout Fishing in MT– past & future. hosted by MT Trout Unlimited — Westslope Chapter. check back for time/place. 

Feb 9-10 — Montana Soil Health Symposium hosted by MT Association of Conservation Districts. Billings. Info/register here. 

Feb 9 & 12 — Birding for Beginners, offered by MT Natural History Center. Missoula.

Feb 10 (Thur) — Natural History of Quaking Aspen, hosted by Clark Fork Chapter of MT Native Plant Society.  7pm in UM’s Gallagher Business bldg (rm L09). Masks required. 

Feb 12 (Sat) –– Running up for Air event on Missoula’s Mt Sentinel to raise awareness about air quality and raise funds for Climate Smart. Hosted by Runners Edge. Info & Registration here.

Feb 14-28– Global Farmers Assembly (virtual) organized by farmers in the Bitterroot Valley. Farmer to farmer sharing on how to mitigate & adapt to climate change. Free registration & info here. 

Feb 18 — Ecosystem Restoration webinars continue monthly. Info/register here. 

Feb 18 to March 3 — Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Many films have environmental themes. Festival is in-person in Missoula Feb 18 to 27 and online Feb 21 to March 3.

Feb 19 (Sat)– Beginner Bird Walk at Metcalfe Wildlife Refuge in Bitterroot Valley, led by 5 Valleys Audubon. 10 am – 1 pm.  Info on their calendar. 

Feb 23 Wed) — Recovering our roots: Salish ethnobotany for community well being. a talk by Rose Bear Don’t Walk of the Salish Native Plant Society.  offered by MT Native Plant Society online at 7pm.

Feb 24 (Thurs)— MT Watershed Coordination Council annual meeting via zoom. 9am to noon. 

Feb 26 (Sat) — MT Trout Unlimited — Westslope Chapter  annual banquet/auction. check back for time/place. 

Feb 28 (Mon) — Bitterroot Focus Watershed Stakeholder meeting. Hamilton & online. For more info, email Hannah Riedl of DEQ 

March 1-4 — MT Chapter of American Fisheries Society’s 55th annual meeting (virtual). Montana’s Fisheries at a Crossroads: Evaluating All Pathways.  

March 2  (Wed) — Storing  Energy in Batteries (webinar). hosted by MT Renewable Energy Association. All welcome. Part of a monthly series of webinars. First Wed at noon.

March 8-11 — Recreation in the Crown of the Continent. An online forum sponsored by the Crown Managers Partnership, focused on mitigating the growing impacts of recreation. Info & Register here.

March 15-16 –Water Policy Interim Committee of the MT Legislature hybrid meeting (capitol & zoom). public welcome.  Info  & Agenda here.

March 23 (Wed) — Mycorrhizae & Plant Communication with Cathy Cripps, MSU.  offered by MT Native Plant Society online at 7pm.

March 30-31 — Montana Native Plant Society hosts 11th Plant Conservation Conference via zoom. Free. Info will be here once it is available. Scroll past the earlier conferences. 

APRIL IS EARTH MONTH — check back for plans.  

Special Earth video here.  Earthrise by Poet Amanda Gorman 

April 2 (Sat) — MT Environmental Education Association offers virtual professional development day. 10 am  – 1 pm. Free to MEEA members.  Register here. .. Info on this event and the fall in-person conference here. 

April 23-30 — International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula IN PERSON! Note the films will also be available online from May 1 to May 7. 

May 1- 7 — International Wildlife Film Festival  virtual version 

May 2-4 — Stormwater Management Conference in Missoula. .

May 3 (Tues) — School Board elections in Montana .

May 15-18 — Scientific Conference on Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. at MSU 

May 17-18 –Water Policy Interim Committee of the MT Legislature hybrid meeting (capitol & zoom). public welcome.  Info  & Agenda here.

May 24-26 — Water in the West: Toward Convergent Solutions to Water Security, an interdisciplinary regional workshop to be held in Bozeman, MT. Link works in Google CHrome; not in some browsers. 

June 3-5 — Wings Across the Big Sky Bird Festival, Lewistown area. MT Audubon. 

June 6-10 — Master Naturalist course offered by MT Natural History Center, Msla. 

June 7 (Tues) — Primary elections in Montana .

June 24-26 — Montana Native Plant Society’s long postponed annual meeting will be at Timberland Campground, 8 miles north of Libby, in the Kootenai National Forest. Theme: Ferns and Forests — a celebration of Montana’s rain forest. 

July 12-13 — Water Policy Interim Committee of the MT Legislature hybrid meeting (capitol & zoom). public welcome.  Info  & Agenda here.

Aug 21-25 —American Fisheries Society annual meeting in Spokane. 

Aug 22-26 — Master Naturalist course offered by MT Natural History Center, Msla. at the link — may have to scroll down to August. 

Sept 16-18 — Montana Environmental Education Association annual conference. Missoula.  

Sept 20-21– Water Policy Interim Committee of the MT Legislature hybrid meeting (capitol & zoom). public welcome.  Info  & Agenda here.

Check back later.

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