Get Your Feet Wet this Summer with the Madison Stream Team

Calling all community members interested in learning about stream health and making a difference in the Madison Watershed!

Did you know over 15 streams in the Madison Watershed have been identified as impaired by state regulatory agencies? Our watershed is a complex and interconnected system, and the tributaries play an important role in maintaining ecosystem function and healthy fisheries.

Anyone can join us weekly as citizen scientists by becoming members of the Madison Stream Team. Volunteers will have the opportunity to visit and collect data on 3 streams in our watershed during weekly sampling events, beginning in late June. We will also be hosting a watershed-wide sampling event, the Tributary Blitz, on August 22^nd, where Stream Team members divide-and-conquer to collect data on 15 tributaries and the mainstem of the Madison River.

Who is the Madison Stream Team?

The Madison Stream Team is a volunteer-based water sampling initiative that began in 2010 with community members collecting water quality and surface flow data. The data collected helps us to better understand stream conditions and to identify potential concerns that can be addressed through conservation and restoration actions. The Madison Stream Team is one of several groups of dedicated individuals across the state play a critical role in resource management at the local level, and they always have a great excuse to get outdoors!

The streams monitored by the Madison Stream Team were selected based on knowledge of water quality concerns or because they hold a particular importance to the community. As of 2024, 15 streams have been monitored by this team of volunteers. Our weekly monitoring occurs at several sites along Moore Creek, South Meadow Creek, and Jack Creek. The Tributary Blitz will monitor all 16 sites in one comprehensive sampling event.

This map shows the sampling sites throughout the Madison Valley.

Figure 2: Map of summer and winter sampling sites in the Madison Conservation District area

For each stream, volunteers collect information, such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, and discharge. Our Tributary Blitz will also provide a snapshot of the watershed through nutrient sampling and photo monitoring. All of the data is then submitted to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and is made available to the public through the MSU Water Quality Extension Data Hub at https://waterquality.montana.edu/datahub_about/index.html. The Madison Conservation District also develops a report at the end of each sampling season, called “The State of the Streams.” This report summarizes the findings of the Stream Team and other watershed-related business. To see reports from past years, visit our website!

Volunteer Training

If you are interested in joining us this Summer, or would like to learn more about the state of streams in the Madison Watershed, we encourage you to join us for our Volunteer Training event! Our training will be on Monday, June 23^rd at 10 am, at the Madison Valley Public Library. The training will include presentations on stream sampling techniques, data from last year’s sampling, and aquatic invasive species. Attendees will also get to put their knowledge to the test, by trying out these techniques on part of Moore Creek, just downstream of town, so be prepared to get your feet wet. Lunch will also be provided for attendees!

For more information or to RSVP for the training, email us at maia@madisoncd.org.