Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument

04/01/2023

The Friends are hiring!

We're looking for a part-time Program Manager to organize volunteer stewardship events this summer, while also working to advance the organization's funding and membership programs.

Please visit our website for the full position posting.

https://www.missouribreaks.org/get-involved/employment/

11/24/2022

The Friends are thankful for all of your support this giving season. We hope everyone is spending some quality time (preferably on our public lands) with family and friends this weekend.

This upcoming Giving Tuesday, consider supporting the Friends’ stewardship, education, and advocacy for our beautiful Monument.

missouribreaks.org/donate

09/02/2022

Join the Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument for our 2022 Wilderness Study Area monitoring event in celebration of National Public Lands Day. Every year, thousands of people help show support for our public lands by engaging in stewardship and education events across the country. In the West, we are fortunate to have extensive amounts of public land available to us and NPLD is a day for us to gather together to care for these critical landscapes.

On Saturday, September 24th, the Friends will be putting on a WSA walk at Antelope Creek Wilderness Study Area located on the east side of the monument in support of Wild Montana's Wilderness Study Area volunteer monitoring program. We will gather for the day at American Prairie's Antelope Creek Campground in Mars Vista.

Registration is required for this event so please sign up by following the link below! More info will be sent out to registrants via email as we get closer to the event including driving directions and WSA reading materials.
https://forms.gle/bp79RwVY5wsGXYd89

If you have any questions, email Ethan at [email protected]

08/22/2022

Thank you to everyone who came out for our Bashin’ Trash River Cleanup!

Last Saturday, the Friends, joined by an awesome crew made of 4 volunteers and 2 BLM monument staff members spent the morning collecting trash along the banks of the Missouri River in Fort Benton. This was a small part of an enormous effort being put on river-wide this weekend by the Friends and other conservation groups from Helena to Fort Benton.

During this event, volunteers helped the Friends and BLM remove more than 10 bags full of trash from 1.5 miles of river and shore as well as numerous large items like old pipes, fence posts and of course, a tire.

The amount of trash collected from this stretch of river shows us all just how well used and well loved this area is to locals and visitors alike, so we thank you again for helping us make it a better place for all who recreate on and visit the Mighty MO.

Stay tuned for information about our final event of the year taking place on Saturday, September 24 in celebration of National Public Lands Day!
Bureau of Land Management - Montana/Dakotas

08/15/2022

There's still plenty of time to sign up for our Bashin’ Trash river cleanup that's taking place this Saturday in Fort Benton. We hope to see you there!

Sign up by following the link below.
https://forms.gle/4VFoxfYeJot3tgoc8

08/10/2022

The Bashin' Trash Missouri River Cleanup is just around the corner and we need your help! This event is an enormous effort led by conservation groups up and down the Missouri River from Helena to Fort Benton to join together on one day to clean the banks of the Mighty MO. Last year, this event brought over 120 volunteers out to clean more than 140 miles of river and remove 80 bags of trash and this year we hope to see even bigger numbers!

Be a part of the fun in 2022 and join the Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument on Saturday, August 20th at the BLM Interpretive Center in Fort Benton where we will begin our river clean-up through town. After a morning of work (and fun), volunteers will meet back up at the Interpretive Center for cold drinks and a prize raffle for participants. We will also be hosting a river-wide Trash Bingo so make sure to grab your card at the beginning of the day and keep track of the goodies you find along the way!

We would love to see folks out on the water and volunteers are welcome to float the river in personal water crafts; however, FMB will not be able to provide boats or shuttles.

After the event, stick around for the weekend and check out the Chouteau County Fair happening at the fairgrounds in Fort Benton.

We need all hands on deck for this event so sign up today by clicking the link below https://forms.gle/4VFoxfYeJot3tgoc8

If you have any questions, email Ethan at [email protected]

08/03/2022

A huge thank you to the 3 amazing volunteers who joined us for watering and caging cottonwoods yesterday at Hole in the Wall!

With the help of these outstanding volunteers, we were able to fence in more than 70 naturally regenerating cottonwoods to help protect them from browsing wildlife all while watering our newly planted trees.

Thanks again to Steve, Jim and Will for taking the day to help FMB fortify this critical riparian zone.

We still have plenty of opportunities left for you to help us water and protect these trees. If you are interested in helping out, email Mikayla at [email protected] to find out how!

07/20/2022

Our 2022 Summer Newsletter is out and this one is definitely worth a read! Check it out on our website at

A look at 2022 so far, honoring a legacy and looking ahead…

06/27/2022

The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument's BLM staff will be hosting a series of focus group outreach meetings in Fort Benton, Lewistown and Winifred this July to discuss recreation on the monument and to help inform an update to the Comprehensive River Management Plan for the Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic River.

This is a great opportunity to share your thoughts and concerns about the current and future management of the monument, to inform the BLM about what means the most to you as a recreator, and to hear what others in the communities around the monument have to say.

We highly encourage as many of you to participate in one or more of these focus groups as possible and to share your voice for the betterment of the monument.

Meeting times and locations:

*July 12 @ 10 AM and 6 PM - Fort Benton - BLM Interpretive Center (701 7th St)

*July 13 @ 6PM - Lewistown - The Calvert Hotel (216 7th Ave S)

*July 14 @ 6 PM - Winifred - Winifred Community Center

* July 15 @ 10 AM - Fort Benton - BLM Interpretive Center (701 7th
St)

For more information please contact: Paul Sever, BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner at 406-622-4020 or email [email protected]

06/22/2022

Last weekend marked our annual Confluence Campout event where we celebrate the passage of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery through the monument and take it from us, this event didn't disappoint!

FMB staff was joined by 16 marvelous volunteers from 10 communities for a day of education, stewardship and fun by the river. Volunteers helped the Friends remove a full pickup load of weeds and trash from the Decision Point trail and Wood Bottom Recreation Area!

After an afternoon of work, we were lucky enough to enjoy a presentation by Larry Epstein about the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery's encounter with the Blackfeet Tribe on their way back east. Ellen Anderson of American Prairie followed this awesome presentation with one of her own as she led volunteers on a plant walk to identify native plants and to discuss local restoration efforts. We can't thank our speakers enough for making the trip out to the monument and sharing their expertise with us.

We wrapped up the day with a bison burger cookout and some well deserved relaxation by the Mighty MO. We enjoyed burgers donated by American Prairie, beer donated by Lewis and Clark Brewing Co. and all the fixings were generously supplied by Fort Benton's River Market. Not to mention a couple high stakes games of co****le! Thank you again, donors!

This was our last scheduled volunteer event until our Bashin' Trash river cleanup on August 20. We hope you all get some adventures in in the next couple of months and we hope to see you in August!