Yaak Valley Forest Council

“The form 990 is reviewed by the board of directors prior to filing”

“Discussed at quarterly meetings and reviewed.”

“The board determines staff salaries using comparable data provided by trec-training resources for the environmental community.”

“The board determines officer and key employee salaries using comparable data provided by trec-training resources for the environmental community.”

“The organization makes it's governing documents available to the public upon request.”

“Yvfc was able to invite scientists, artists, and climate advocates to experience the wildness of the yaak firsthand. In may of 2022, mississippi poet laureate beth ann fennelly visited the yaak valley and toured unit 72 of the black ram timber sale - an intact old-growth ecosystem. She met with local school children for a nature walk to inspire their creative minds, led a community poetry event, and produced a poem about her experience in the ancient forest which was published in orion magazine. We hosted dr. Dominick dellasala, chief scientist for wild heritage, who produced a report on the black ram project area and spoke to associated press, locals, and concerned citizens about the intrinsic value of old and mature forests. He also shared his process for nasa-assisted geospatial mapping to assist yvfc in documenting the yaak's mature forests. We made significant progress toward our goal of designating the northwest yaak as the nation's first climate refuge by gathering key climate data within the refuge - creating hydrological watershed boundary gis maps and to identify specific habitat types required for the yaak's threatened species and producing predictive stream temperature models to prioritize restoration and protection of watersheds identified to be resistant to rising temperatures. Our new conservation director, chris bachman, has been working with diverse groups across the country to develop a framework for climate refuges that can be used to protect key ecosystems throughout the united states. We have also engaged with tribal members of the montana band of the kootenai, and published a joint-op-ed, about how to best protect this region. Headwaters restoration partnership with the generous support of the bunting family foundation, yvfc's field crew was able to complete many restoration projects ro enhance the quality of the yaak river watershed for native species. At the request of the local usfs hydrologist, yvfc surveyed 7.75 miles yaak river headwaters, documenting all sediment sources, nonpoint source pollution, and anthropogenic barriers to native fish migration. This information was returned to the forest service, to be used to prioritize restoration projects in 2023. We expanded the headwaters program to include a partnership with the university of montana's monitoring montana's waters program and the montana department of environmental quality for which we tested 11 sites in the kootenai river watershed for key nonpoint source pollution and other metrics indicative of watershed health. These data have alerted us to concerning trends in water quality from streams originating in the canadian yahk and we have secured funding to conduct additional testing at these locations in 2023. We continued our partnership with the montana invasive species council, confirming that the yaak river watershed remains free of aquatic invasive species. A great success for the headwaters program was a riverbank restoration project on the vital ground foundation's broadie habitat preserve. Yvfc restored 90 feet of highly degraded riverbank, planted native vegetation to stabilize the bank and to shade the water, creating native fish habitat, and removed thousands of lineal feet of barbed wire obstructing wildlife corridors.”

“Community outreach and conservation education yvfc conducted significant bear awareness education and outreach in 2022. We actively reduced human-bear conflict by conducting 22 bear spray trainings and distributing bear-safe food storage equipment to recreators. In october we sent a mass mailer to yaak valley residents informing the public about best practices for minimizing potential conflict with bears, offering igbc certified bear-proof trash cans and our help installing electric fencing in cooperation with mt-fwp. These services were well received and yvfc provided several community members with bear-proof trash cans. Many more requested trash cans and help with electric fencing for 2023. We expanded our partnerships to local schools, educating future land stewards about invasive species and how to prevent their spread. We were invited to present at the local high school about careers in conservation - many students were exposed to this career option for the first time and were excited to learn that they can make a living caring for the environment. We also gave presentations to the local rotary club, attended many local meetings, and always made sure to take time to talk to yaak locals about our goals and how we can work together to protect and enhance this unique ecosystem. In every case, we attempted to share the love we have for the yaak and inspire others to take a stand to protect it.”