Working for the Watershed
Engage the Community
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Preserve working lands
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Undertake drought and flood planning
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Conserve and enhance fish, wildlife, and their habitats
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Enhance outdoor recreation through stewardship
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Engage the Community 〰️ Preserve working lands 〰️ Undertake drought and flood planning 〰️ Conserve and enhance fish, wildlife, and their habitats 〰️ Enhance outdoor recreation through stewardship 〰️
Our Mission
The mission of the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group is to understand and conserve the Upper Yellowstone watershed, including its agriculture, open space, rural character, wildlife, fisheries, natural resources, and recreational use while protecting private property rights.
We serve as a trusted voice and forum for robust, collaborative engagement, in the Upper Yellowstone community.
With shared goals uniting us, key stakeholders and partners come together to collaborate and to make incredible things happen. As local citizens, we passionately pursue we believe we have an obligation to leave the Upper Yellowstone Watershed better and more sustainable than we found it for the coming generations...no matter the species.
Our History
The Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group (UYWG) is a program of the Park Conservation District, one of 58 conservation districts in Montana created after the Dust Bowl. The Park CD collaborates with agencies like NRCS, FWP, DNRC, and others to support conservation efforts in Park County.
In 2003, the Governor’s Upper Yellowstone River Task Force—formed after major floods in 1996 and 1997—recommended creating a local stakeholder group to guide watershed stewardship. In response, the Park CD led the establishment of the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Basin (now UYWG) in 2004, inviting agricultural operations and interested residents from Paradise Valley and Gardiner Basin to join.
A 2016 fish kill event, caused by proliferative kidney disease, led to a weeks-long river closure and an estimated $500,000 economic loss. This spurred renewed local engagement, culminating in a 2017 Yellowstone River Symposium that brought diverse stakeholders together to discuss the watershed's future.
Since then, the UYWG has expanded its focus while staying rooted in agriculture. It operates on consensus, aiming to be a unified voice for the watershed. If a vote is necessary, a 75% supermajority of present members is required.
Our Objectives:
How We Work:
We have seven primary objectives:
Preserve production agriculture and the open space it provides by promoting a stewardship approach to watershed management.
Protect and respect private property rights.
Conserve and enhance fish, wildlife and habitat.
Provide dependable and accessible information through collection and dissemination of scientifically sound monitoring and assessment data.
Maintain and preserve the overall health of the watershed by developing best practices, seeking innovative solutions, and working to improve -resilience to natural hazards such as drought, floods and wildfires.
Lead community education and outreach efforts on watershed-related issues.
Provide a collective “voice for the watershed” through the exchange of ideas and response to issues.
The strategies, objectives, and tactics necessary to address the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group's (UYWG) goals and priorities are identified, developed, and executed by UYWG members through a set of volunteer-run committees. Guided by our shared values and goals, these committees provide the structure for how we get things done. Each focuses on specific areas of the watershed, working on targeted projects and initiatives, and then reports back to the full group during general meetings.
For 2025, the standing committees are:
Paradise Valley Working Lands Committee (PVWLG)
Drought Planning Committee (DPC)
Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation (FWR)
Upper Yellowstone River Assessment Committee (UYRAC)
Who We Are:
