BOZEMAN, Mont. — “I’m passionate about rivers,” said Bozeman artist Ben Miller. “I grew up on rivers, fishing them, looking at them, trying to understand the creatures inside of them.”
A lifelong fly fisher, Ben Miller has spent the past eight years using his fly rod a little differently — combing his love of the sport with his passion for painting to create one-of-a-kind portraits of the rivers he loves.
“It has led to this collaboration of the two coming together to use this instrument as a paintbrush to deliver the velocity of the river and create that scene as if you were sitting on its banks,” said Miller.
One of Miller’s favorite rivers to paint in Montana is the Gallatin. Spanning 120 miles, it’s a free-flowing river, one of the few left in the U.S. that remains undammed and undeveloped. But over the years, he has noticed the river change.
“Things are kind of warming up,” said Miller. “The Gallatin, since I’ve been painting on it, up towards Big Sky, all of a sudden there’s these massive algae blooms. And they never had them before and the water (is) almost neon green.”
Rising temperatures, decreasing snowpack, and rapid development are putting strain on the river, and experts say there is a limited window of time to take action to reverse the damage.
“Having neon green algal blooms that trace dozens of miles on a river, that means that our rivers are sick,” said Guy Alsentzer, environmental lawyer, and activist.
Alsentzer is an environmental lawyer and activist who has been working on river protection for more than a decade, serving as the executive director of the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper.
He says algae blooms change the chemical makeup of the river, lowering levels of dissolved oxygen and raising the temperature of the water, impacting local ecosystems.
“I see the algal blooms happening, and it breaks my heart, because I know that means that we’re at that ecological tipping point,” said Alsentzer.
Algae blooms are the result of nutrient pollution, specifically a buildup of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Alsentzer says that while these elements are naturally occurring, development activities can increase their levels through stormwater runoff.
Rapid snowmelt can further exacerbate the problem, leading to fewer flushing events that keep the river clean, and warmer water temperatures ideal for the growth of algae.
“We can’t control how much sunlight, we can’t control how much it snows, but we, gosh darn well, can do a better job of how and where we develop,” said Alsentzer.
If current conditions go unchecked, Alsentzer says the impacts on wildlife, agriculture and the outdoor recreation economy could be dire.
He says there are things that can be done now to safeguard the health of the river, such as taking a precautionary approach to development, implementing the best available pollution control technology, and executing a science-based cleanup plan.
“This is 100% a solvable problem,” said Alsentzer. “We don’t have to wait until we have an absolute crisis, and no fish left in the river and miles and miles of weedy, nasty, slimy algal blooms before we take action.”
Painting with a purpose, Ben Miller’s art helps to raise awareness of the challenges that endangered rivers, like the Gallatin, face by documenting the changes that occur in an objective manner.
“I don’t know a better way to have it explained (than) through art,” said Miller. “How it’s painted and the time and the place there, there (is) no refuting those facts.”
Miller’s work actively makes a difference in the health of the river, with a portion of the proceeds from his endangered rivers collection going toward the organizations working to keep them clean for future generations.
“I love giving back to the organizations that are trying to make a difference as to the health of the river,” said Miller. “It’s really hopeful.”
Currently, three works from Miller’s Endangered Rivers series are on display at Plonk in downtown Bozeman. Fifty percent of the proceeds of those paintings will be donated to Save Wild Trout and the Gallatin River Task Force.
Other local organizations working to improve the health of the Gallatin River include the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and the Gallatin Watershed Council.
