The International Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board (Study Board) is seeking literature, data and knowledge that may be related to its study that is exploring the impacts of transboundary water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed.

The Study Board is an independent body comprised of experts and knowledge holders from Canada, the United States and the Ktunaxa Nation established by the International Joint Commission (IJC).

As part of the Study, four Technical Working Groups have been established; 1) Water Quality Status and Trends, 2) Human Health and Well Being, 3) Impacts to Ecosystems, including Cumulative Effects, and 4) Mitigation.

The Study Board is tasked to conduct transparent and coordinated transboundary data and knowledge sharing; share, synthesize, and analyze data and information to support a common understanding of water pollution within the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed and the impacts of that pollution on people and species.

The Study Board is seeking literature, data and knowledge to assist the working groups in exploring these topics for use in their reports which will be completed by spring of 2026 in advance of the transmittal of the board’s final report to the IJC in September 2026.

The Study Board recognizes that many entities may have specific knowledge of literature, data and knowledge related to this study that may not be identified through conventional searches or may be lesser known. In this regard, we are requesting help with the identification of literature, knowledge and/or data that relate to water quality, human health, ecosystems and cumulative effects, and mitigation within the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed (including British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho).

Please include in your response some specific information about any quality assurance/quality control that has been done, where the data is stored, format, time period, sampling locations, organization hosting the data, a contact person, and other details that could be considered supporting data (metadata).

If you have any information related to pertinent literature or data sources, please respond to [email protected] by October 31.

The IJC established the Study Board in response to a March 2024 request to the IJC from the governments of Canada and the United States, in partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation. This request (“the Elk-Kootenai/y Reference”) represented an historic moment in United States-Canada transboundary relations, because it is the first time that Indigenous Peoples have played a key role in the development of a Reference to the IJC.

 The Elk-Kootenai/y Reference was the result of many conversations and cooperative initiatives involving United States and Canadian federal agencies, provincial, state, and Indigenous governments, and stakeholders regarding the impacts of water pollution in the watershed.

Lead image: The Elk River at Elkford.  e-KNOW file photos

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