Kootenai Climate Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit promoting climate change awareness in Lincoln County, Montana. Founded in 2019, the organization began as a local response to climate misinformation and the intensifying effects of climate change in northern Montana. “Our communities are suffering from increased episodes of hazardous wildfire smoke and direct threats to homes and other infrastructure from wildfires,” writes Kris Newgard, Kootenai Climate Group’s founder. The region is also facing seasonal snowpack declines, rising summer temperatures, and decreased water availability, all of which pose threats to local wildlife, ecosystems, and communities. Kootenai Climate Group promotes climate change awareness in Lincoln County by writing articles, hosting educational events, sponsoring educational films, and lobbying the Montana State Legislature for climate-conscious legislation. In all that they do, Kootenai Climate Group is working to give their community members the knowledge they need to lead more sustainable lives and bolster their climate resilience.
Wildfires blaze in Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest in 2011. Photo: U.S. Forest Service Northern Region
An organization of eight volunteers, Kootenai Climate Group is a grassroots nonprofit working to make Lincoln County, Montana, a more climate-resilient and environmentally conscious community. In 2022, the organization joined other groups in successfully lobbying the Montana State Legislature for a loan program called C-PACE, which enabled businesses to borrow money for energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy installations. In 2024, Kootenai Climate Group received a $9,720 grant from LOR Foundation, which they used to purchase and distribute 160 air filter kits to senior centers across Lincoln County, helping residents who are vulnerable to lung disease cope with increasingly severe wildfire smoke. They also donated 20 HEPA-filtered air purifiers to the Center for Asbestos Related Disease Clinic in Libby, Montana. In October 2024, Kootenai Climate Group hosted a screening of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival at the Maki Theatre in Libby, featuring films highlighting environmental challenges and solutions.
The Kootenai River flows through Lincoln County, Montana. Photo: Alicia Edwards (Wikimedia Commons) (CC-BY-SA-3.0)