09/29/2026
Today, we’re celebrating an important victory for the Clearwater, the Blackfoot watershed, and for every Montanan who believes that our communities deserve a meaningful voice when decisions affect our water, wildlife, and public lands.
A Missoula County judge has ordered the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to negate the permit for the proposed 21-acre gravel pit near Elbow Lake and the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area. The ruling follows an earlier finding that DEQ failed to conduct the thorough environmental review required and failed to provide adequate opportunity for public participation.
Most importantly, the court recognized that these protections are not simply procedural technicalities. Public participation matters. Environmental review matters. Montana's constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment matters.
For more than three years, the community-led Protect the Clearwater has stayed in this fight—organizing, showing up, navigating the administrative process, and taking the case to court. Their persistence has now resulted in a significant decision not only for the Clearwater, but potentially for communities across Montana facing similar environmental permitting decisions.
GCA congratulates Protect the Clearwater, and everyone who stood together to defend this extraordinary landscape. 👏
This is what community conservation looks like: ordinary citizens standing up, doing the work, and insisting that Montana's laws—and Montana's Constitution—be respected.
🌲💧🦌 Congratulations, Clearwater!
Read the full story from the Missoula Current:
Judge nixes Blackfoot Clearwater gravel pit permit — Missoula Current
