The Whitmore Ravine, which is a normally dry ephemeral stream system, has been eroded by stormwater runoff from Malmstrom Air Force Base to the extent that approximately 470,000 tons of sediment has been deposited in the Missouri River, creating a delta that extends nearly 1/3 of the way across the channel.  The delta can be viewed by traveling the River’s Edge Trail on the south side of the Missouri River downstream from Crooked Falls.  Erosion in the ravine is so extreme that in some places the ravine walls are completely vertical to a height of 50-feet or more.     

The Council is proud and honored to support the BLM’s video and interpretive display of the historic settlement of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Long before the area was proclaimed a National Monument in 2001, families like the Darlingtons, Andersons, Wortmans, and others recognized the unique beauty and splendor of the Middle Reach, bringing their families here in the early 1900s and creating a heritage of hard work, respect for the land, and dedication to the rural communities they helped establish.

After what has seemed like years of meetings, conference calls, presentations, phone calls, and letters, Montana’s $57 million Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) has been amended to make it more user-friendly. CREP assists farmers and ranchers in improving the water quality within a two-mile wide corridor long the Missouri and Madison River systems. The total project area reaches more than 500 miles from Hebgen Dam to the Fred Robinson Bridge, encompassing over 338,000 private land acres.