Watershed Management Tools: Hazardous Site Case History, Reference Stream Analysis, and GIS Analysis of Fire Risk

My portfolio explores some tools that are used to protect or assess watershed health and the experiences and lessons I learned during my time in the Environmental Studies program. The first piece in my portfolio is a case study that looks at the history of pollution ad cleanup of the kraft pulp mill along the Clark Fork River. In my study, I look closely at the EPA’s investigation of the site and the community’s reaction to the findings. In my second piece, I describe my field and lab experience working for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. During this time, I was part of a team that characterized Montana’s least impacted streams, giving me insight into a process that helps inform water quality standards. For my last piece I analyzed the ignition and spread risks of fire around Lolo Peak using geographic data analyzed in ArcGIS. I also used this data to assess possible watershed impacts from the 2017 Lolo Peak Fire.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/grad_portfolios/1004/thumbnail.jp