The Jefferson River Watershed Council (JRWC) was created in 1999. The JRWC is a Montana based 501-C (3) nonprofit organization which includes all interests that may be affected by water-use and natural resource management in the watershed. The council seeks to develop practical solutions to difficult problems which impact the Jefferson River.
Thus, local landowners, irrigators, ranchers, outfitters, businesses, sporting/recreation, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies contribute to the creation and continued success of the council.
The Jefferson River is formed by the convergence of the Ruby, Beaverhead, and Big Hole Rivers, near present day Twin Bridges and flows for nearly 80 miles before combining with the Madison and Gallatin Rivers at the headwaters of the Missouri River.
The Upper Jefferson watershed area encompasses approximately 734 square miles of land in Jefferson, and Madison counties beginning at the Jefferson Rivers point of origin near Twin Bridges and extending to its confluence with the Boulder River near Whitehall. The watershed area includes a number of tributary streams which drain portions of the Tobacco Root Mountains to the south, and the highland Mountains to the north. Land includes a mix of federal, state, and private lands.
Much of the Jefferson River is braided. During the irrigation season, virtually all of the tributaries to the Jefferson are diverted before reaching the river. Throughout its length, the Jefferson River is extensively used as a source of irrigation water. In below average years, portions of the river are severely dewatered. Two irrigation storage reservoirs (Ruby and Clark Canyon Reservoirs) on major upstream tributaries affect the flow pattern of the river.
