The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MT DEQ) is a proud supporter of local efforts for low-tech watershed restoration. For instance, check out this video about local volunteers completing a beaver mimicry project! Beaver Dam Analogues and Post Assisted Log Structures are low-tech restoration processes that mimic beaver structures in areas where beavers are no longer a large part of the ecosystem. These structures increase habitat biodiversity and contribute to natural water storage by creating pools along a flowing water body.
Through host site cost-share, project development and implementation, and professional development training, MT DEQ has supported groups, such as the Gallatin Watershed Council and the Big Sky Watershed Corps, in their restoration work since 2015. MT DEQ believes that members of BSWC and similar groups provide vital capacity to local organizations and go on to become conservation leaders in Montana.
