Volunteer Opportunities

 

Here’s what we’re doing and how you can help

Flathead Rivers Alliance (FRA) is ramping up for the 2024 river season and recruiting 30-40 volunteer team members! Are you passionate about the river system that inspired a national protected Wild and Scenic River system? We’re expanding our River Ambassador, River Recreation Monitoring/Citizen Scientist and Water Quality Monitoring programs – join us to make a difference and give back to the river you love!

INFO + VOLUNTEER PROGRAM TRAINING SCHEDULES

There are a number of ways to give your time including helping with our volunteer programs on the North, Middle and South Forks of the Flathead River. Save the below dates and RSVP HERE if you’re interested in our volunteer program training.

Questions before signing up for a training? Join one of our Volunteer Program Teaser sessions hosted on Zoom or send email HERE.

Become a
FRA River Ambassador

Do you love connecting with people and spending time at the river? We are looking for volunteers to serve as 2023 River Ambassadors. Join our River Ambassador team and serve as liaisons with the public at popular river access sites along the Three Forks of the Flathead Wild and Scenic River. All we ask is a minimum commitment of four 2-hour volunteer shifts between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This summer volunteers will help:

  • celebrate outstanding remarkable values of the river system;

  • provide safety, ethics, and etiquette tips;

  • offer information on river rules and regulations;

  • reference maps to suggest floats;

  • collect access site user related information;

  • offer loaner life jackets through our partnership with MT FWP;

  • and more!

If you are interested in being a FRA River Ambassador we will offer information sessions in the spring and training sessions in coordination with Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, and Montana FWP throughout the spring and summer to onboard volunteers. Please send inquiries to info@flatheadrivers.org.

Become a FRA Citizen Scientist

Photo Caption: River Recreation Monitoring Survey App orientation with Glacier National Park and Flathead National Forest before sending volunteers out on river to collect citizen science data.

In collaboration with Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park, we’re piloting a citizen science river recreation monitoring program. If you enjoy floating the river and have a desire to be an active stakeholder while doing so, this volunteer opportunity is for you. Stakeholders are trained to conduct river recreation use monitoring using a Survey 123 mobile data collection app. This tool allows trained volunteers to collect river user, wildlife, and invasive species data as they float the river. Data collected will enhance data sets that are collected by agency partner river patrols.

If you are interested in becoming a citizen scientist send inquiries to info@flatheadrivers.org.

WHY MONITOR
Flathead Rivers Alliance seeks volunteers to help with water quality monitoring efforts on the North and Middle Forks of the Flathead Wild & Scenic River. We all seek a better understanding of impacts that an increase in river users, population, and changing climate trends will have on the river corridor. Gathering baseline monitoring data will also help our stakeholder groups determine how to focus nonpoint source pollution education and outreach, and where and how to expand monitoring. Monitoring runs May through October.

TRAINING PARTNERS
Thanks to a grant from Montana Monitoring Waters (MMW) we are honored to host Dr. Rachel Malison, Jared Glass, and Brianna Elizondo from Flathead Lake Biological Station’s Montana Montana Waters program to lead the May 6th citizen science training.

Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park and Montana FWP have and continue to be instrumental in assisting with training and providing education materials for our volunteer programs. Programming is made possible through partial funding from National Park Foundation, Flathead National Forest, Flathead County Resource Advisory Committee Title II Project funds, Whitefish Community Foundation, river community, partners, and donors.

Meet the 2024 Volunteer Team

  • Beth Angermeier

  • Debi Bentley

  • Derek Young

  • Eleanor Workswright Smith

  • Erich Spitz

  • Grace Drames

    Description goes here

  • Jeff Zoerner

  • Jesicca Roberts (Jordan)

  • Julie Raine

  • Kate Grenadier

  • Kathleen Gross

    Description goes here

  • Lee Jester

  • Lisa Jones

  • Maddy Westbrook

  • Mark Beckwith

  • Mary Person

  • Smith Works

  • Sue Lewis

  • Terry Richardson

  • Tom Nugent

  • Wayne Crowder

  • Wendi Brassington

  • Coming Soon

    There are a few more volunteers wrapping up training that will be added soon.

Make a donation.

At Flathead Rivers Alliance we know we can not protect this invaluable resource alone. We need your help to ensure this national treasure is safeguarded for future generations. Please consider making a donation today.

Donate