Dedicated to protecting and restoring water quality, fish and wildlife habitat in the wild Rockies of northwest Montana

The Swan and Flathead River drainages are home to some of the most rare and imperiled fish
and wildlife in the continental United States. Lynx, wolverine, grizzly bear, fisher and bull
trout find shelter in these mountainous wildlands. Friends of the Wild Swan is a non-profit
environmental organization that works to protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat on
public lands.

Our goals are to:
• Protect and improve water quality for people and native fish.

• Maintain and recruit old-growth forest habitat to insure the viability of old-growth dependent
birds and wildlife.

• Improve fish and wildlife habitat security by reducing road densities on public lands.

Since 1987 Friends of the Wild Swan has been committed to accomplishing our goals through a
multi-pronged approach of citizen advocacy by participating in state and federal agency
administrative processes (comments and appeals), public education and outreach, scientific and
economic research, and litigation enforcing environmental laws. Our approach has produced
positive changes in the way agencies manage public forest aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

What we’ve done
• Secured Endangered Species Act protection and critical habitat for the imperiled bull trout - a
leading indicator of our water quality.

• Ensured the development of clean-up plans for impaired waters throughout Montana.

• Challenged logging and road building projects that threaten fish and wildlife habitat.

• Constructed the Sprunger-Whitney Interpretive Nature Trail to demonstrate that protecting
old-growth forest habitat can also provide educational benefits from state school trust lands.

 

P.O. Box 103, Bigfork, MT 59911
email: wildswan@wildswan.org