Each year, the dedicated WestSlope chapter board of directors works diligently to raise tens of thousands of dollars to go straight toward boots-on-the-groud conservation projects. The chapter has been more than lucky to receive unwavering support from local businesses and generous individuals who have chosen to invest in the future of our cherished cold-water fisheries. The high-quality projects that the chapter decides to fund often result in significant benefits for Missoula area fisheries such as opening up additional miles of stream for spawning, reducing entrainment of trout in irrigation systems, or restoring degraded habitat. 

Despite having a robust annual conservation budget, the WestSlope Chapter is honing its efficiency by exploring how to fund “the right projects.” Over the past few months, the chapter— in coordination with MTU and TU national staff, Montana FWP biologists, and other partners— has been developing a new strategy to determine how to prioritize funding for on-the-ground conservation projects. 

Solidifying this formal process will help determine how to appropriately allocate funding based on the quality of projects being considered each year. More so, it will serve as a guide for the board of directors to select conservation projects and levels of funding based on the potential benefits and outcomes for cold-water fisheries, watersheds and the angling public.  

The WestSlope chapter hopes that this model will be helpful to other chapters in ranking conservation projects based on a variety of considerations. The chapter hopes to finalize and approve a document that outlines the process by the end of the year and it will be sharable to other chapter leaders at that time.