How is the cleanup going and what's next? Come find out from the experts!
Join CFRTAC board members and experts from Montana DEQ, Montana NRDP, and EPA for the 2026 Clark Fork River Field Tour and BBQ. You will see firsthand the results of the recently-completed cleanup of Phase 7 (near Racetrack Pond); learn about the new wetlands being designed on this site; see progress on the recovery in Phase 1 (below Warm Springs Ponds -completed in 2014); and learn about where things stand with cleanup at Arrowstone Park. The tour is FREE and open to the public, and will be followed by a delicious BBQ at Arrowstone Park (also free!). No RSVP required.
- WHEN: Tuesday, June 16,. 2026: Tour from 1-4 pm; BBQ immediately after
- WHERE: Meet at Arrowstone Park in Deer Lodge, vans will take you to the Phase 7 and Phase 1 field tour sites, BBQ back at Arrowstone Park
- WHO: Sponsored by CFRTAC (with support from DEQ, NRDP, and EPA)
- WHY: Cleanup and restoration of the Clark Fork River impacts everyone who lives, plays, or works in the Deer Lodge Valley, and will influence the future of this area for generations to come. Your input helps shape how this vital work proceeds, but to participate effectively you need the best and most timely information available. This event will help keep you up to date and provides an excellent opportunity to ask questions of the experts, scientists, and decision-makers behind the cleanup. Please join us!
Note: We recommend wearing sturdy shoes and appropriate clothing for Deer Lodge Valley weather, and bringing a water bottle for use during the tour.
Related: See our June 2026 newsletter: Clark Fork Cleanup Then & Now: Lessons Learned and the Challenges & Opportunities Ahead
August 2025 Clark Fork River Cleanup Field Tour & BBQ
On August 26 local residents joined CFRTAC board members and staff from MT DEQ and MT NRDP to visit Racetrack Pond in the heart of Phase 7 of the Clark Fork River Superfund cleanup. Forty-four participants took a brief walking tour of the site and heard updates on cleanup progress to date, lessons learned and being applied, and plans for a future wetland that will be built in a borrow area on the east side of the site. After the tour, attendees were treated to a CFRTAC-hosted BBQ and social at Arrowstone Park, where friends and neighbors shared more discussion, delved deeper into their questions about the cleanup, and enjoyed some great food to boot!
Learn more about this event here.
May 2025 "WTF: Where are the Fish?" Presentation
On May 14, 2025 CFRTAC (with experts from MT FWP, USGS, MT NRDP and MT DEQ) gathered in Deer Lodge to explore causes, theories, and potential solutions for the historic decline of trout in the Upper Clark Fork River basin. The upshot? Like all things Clark Fork, it's complicated, and we're still learning as we go. But we know the decline is more pronounced upstream of Deer Lodge; loss of recruitment is a major culprit; and low flows are not a smoking gun in this case (persistent heavy metals, nutrient pollution, temperature, and habitat loss, degradation, and disturbance are also key limiting factors). Learn more about this meeting here.
February 2025 Superfund Cleanup Update & Public Meeting
CFRTAC joined with DEQ and NRDP to host a public meeting in Feb. 2025 about the status of cleanup activities in Phase 7 near Racetrack Pond, which got underway in January 2025. Attendees also heard updates on progress toward cleanup at Arrowstone Park, and about the recent decline in the brown trout fishery in the Upper Clark Fork. Learn more about this meeting here.
June 25, 2024 Clark Fork River Cleanup Tour Photo Album
Thanks to everyone who attended the June 25, 2024 tour! We visited Phase 7 near Racetrack Pond (where cleanup will begin this fall - see Status page) and Phase 4, an upstream site where cleanup was just completed.
See below for photos from the day, and if you have more questions or comments about the tour or the cleanup, please drop us a line!