Development In A Wealthy Montana Boom Town Is Fouling A World-Class Trout River

Rapid growth in Big Sky is threatening the Gallatin River, a tributary of the Missouri River and a renowned fly fishing destination.

Montana’s exclusive Yellowstone Club is a private playground for the rich and famous: world-class skiing and golfing, luxurious multimillion dollar homes nestled in the mountains, and the company of other elites.  “Your mountain sanctuary awaits,” the club’s website says, alongside revolving videos of people fly fishing on the Gallatin River and skiing fresh lines on empty slopes. Bill Gates, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are just a few members of the Yellowstone Club, where condos start at around $4 million and mansions fetch upward of $25 million.  But in the near future, the club’s “private powder” — yes, it trademarked that phrase — will be generated in part from treated wastewater. The club already uses effluent to water its 18-hole golf course, and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has granted the resort a permit to use more than 25 million gallons of wastewater for early season snowmaking. The club’s environmental manager, Rick Chandler, said the move “will help conserve our limited water supply and protect the watershed.”