Outstanding RC&D Council

This award is presented annually to an RC&D council that exemplifies the spirit of the RC&D by “Making Things Happen” in its area.

Bitter Root RC&D Council, MT

This year’s recipient for outstanding performance by an RC&D Council is Bitter Root RC&D Council of Hamilton, Montana. The Council was authorized in 1965 as the twelfth in the nation and the first in the state of Montana. Since then, it has built itself up from one part-time employee and a $25,000 budget to a staff of twenty and a budget of over $2 million. It manages a portfolio of more than 40 projects a year in a wide variety of topics, including environmental education and stewardship, farmers markets, and youth recreation. But it has truly excelled in its wildfire programs, increasing the awareness of wildfire risk in its community and reducing hazardous fuel loads where they occur in nearby forests. Most notably, the Council pioneered Fuels for Schools, a program that has expanded throughout its region and beyond, benefitting schools and ecosystems alike across the country. (Bitter Root President, Allen Bjergo holds the plaque awarded to the council. He is flanked (l-r) by Bruce Kroetch, Western Region President; Angela Zito, Bookkeeper; Bjergo; Becki Koon, Executive Director; Kit sutherland, Retired Coordinator. Not pictured, Pam Grouse, Secretary/Treasurer.)

Previous Honorees

2009       AL Mountians, Rivers and Valleys RC&D Council     Alabama
2008                                                                                         
2007       Cumberland Valley RC&D Council                         Kentucky
2006       Time & Tide RC&D Council                                       Maine
2005       Tallgrass RC&D Council                                      Oklahoma
2004       Cherokee Hills RC&D Council                              Oklahoma
2003       Southwestern Illinois RC&D Council                         Illinois
2002       Southwestern Nebraska RC&D Council                 Nebraska
2001       Southern Iowa RC&D Iowa Council                            Iowa
2000       Down East RC&D Council                                        Maine
1999       Five-Rivers RC&D Council                                 Tennessee
1998       Central Coast RC&D Couoncil                             California
1997                                                                                          
1996                                                                                          
1995       St John Aroostook RC&D Council                              Maine
1994       Clinch-Powell RC&D Council                               Tennessee
1993