Flathead Rivers Alliance Hires Executive Director
Sheena Pate, executive director of the Flathead River Alliance, pictured on the banks of the Flathead River in Columbia Falls on Feb. 2, 2023. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Sheena Pate will serve as the nonprofit organization’s first director to bridge the gap between agencies and the public with outreach and education
BY MAGGIE DRESSER
FEBRUARY 7, 2023
In response to a spike in river recreation in recent years and the anticipated release of the multi-agency Comprehensive River Management Plan, the Flathead Rivers Alliance (FRA) formed in 2019 to protect the three forks of the Flathead River.
Starting as conversations between river outfitters, nonprofit leaders, agency partners and river users, stakeholders began meeting at breweries to brainstorm ways to bring education and outreach to the public. Every person involved had the same goal in mind – to improve management on the 219 miles of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act-designated system, which includes the North, Middle, and South forks of the Flathead River.
Four years after those initial conversations began, the FRA raised enough funding to hire Sheena Pate, the new executive director and sole staff member of the newly formed nonprofit organization.
“It came together because of increased use on the river and also because of the Comprehensive River Management Plan – those were the two big things that were moving the engine towards the formation of the Flathead Rivers Alliance,” Pate said. “They brought me on as a contractor to develop systems to run education and outreach events.”
Officials with the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park have been working to update the river management plan, which hasn’t been updated since 1980. The plan will likely limit group sizes and institute a permit system and other restrictions on certain portions of the three forks during peak summer months to manage its increased use.
With a background in hydrology, education and consulting, Pate has worked for municipalities, nonprofits and consulting firms throughout her career, focusing on watershed protection and conservation.
In 2021, Pate helped launch the River Ambassador Program to educate recreationists at river access sites. In its pilot season, about six volunteers set up information booths at popular access sites on the three forks with maps and information about rules, ethics and etiquette. Loaner life jackets are available at the stations, and there are permanent stations at the West Glacier River Access Site on the Middle Fork and the Glacier Rim River Access Site on the North Fork from Memorial Day through Labor Day. About 12 volunteers participated last year and Pate hopes the nonprofit recruits 20 to 30 volunteers for the 2023 season.
“They are just friendly local stakeholders volunteering their time because they care so much about the resource, and I think that means a lot to the river users,” Pate said.
Volunteers also collect data on the number of recreationists observed and the different types of users, which is documented in a shift report to help identify trends. For example, volunteers last year noticed more inner-tubers at the Blankenship Bridge access site on the Middle Fork, which is not recommended. The trend helps Pate identify gaps in education so the nonprofit partners can provide outreach in specific areas.
Last year, Pate said the citizen science river recreation monitoring program was launched where volunteers use a Survey 123 mobile data collection app to document different types of river users, as well as capture wildlife and invasive species information as they float the river. In a collaboration with the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park, data is shared with partnering agencies along with river patrol data.
“We’re really excited about that program,” Pate said. “It gives us the capacity to collect more data that both agencies have access to so that they can use it to make decisions.”
Additionally, FRA is working to improve American Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility on the Three Forks at popular river access sites. A baseline analysis was recently finished, and engineering plans have been passed along to Forest Service officials.
In the future, Pate hopes the organization will have enough funding to hire additional staff. A variety of grants and fundraising efforts have financed the executive director position, which also helps fund a part-time position through Big Sky Watershed and AmeriCorps.
“The desire and need for service projects on the three forks is overwhelming in the best of ways,” Pate said. “We have a huge opportunity here to expand the capacity of not only FRA, but for the community to give back to the landscape.”
For more information about FRA or to donate, visit www.flatheadrivers.org.