2022 Water Legend
Mike Roberts
Mike Roberts was honored as a Montana AWRA Water Legend on October 13, 2022, in Butte, Montana. Mike dedicated 33 years of private and public-sector work to water resources, retiring in 2019. Mike earned a B.S. degree in Geology from Montana State University, and an M.S. degree in Forest Hydrology from the University of Montana.
He began his professional career in Helena in 1987, working as a geologist for Systems Technology for a year, then OEA Research from 1988 – 1998. This work focused primarily on riparian, fluvial geomorphic, and water quality data collection and analysis on streams throughout Montana and neighboring states. He worked on many projects, but one stood out: surveying over 100 Montana streams for 319 non-point source pollution for the (then) Water Quality Bureau in the Montana Department of Health and Environmental Services.
Mike began working for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) as a hydrologist in 1999. He spent the next 20 years of his career working throughout the state, focusing on the Big Hole, Bitterroot, and Blackfoot basins, with additional projects in the Smith and Yellowstone.
He has authored and co-authored several applied articles and technical memoranda relating to agricultural water use, canal conveyance efficiency, hydrologic assessments and studies of various streams, quantification of evapotranspiration, and other topics focusing on water use in Montana.
Mike significantly advanced the Water Commissioner Training Program with excellent presentations and hands-on instruction which, in turn, has positively affected how water is effectively managed throughout the agricultural community in Montana.
As perhaps his most recognized contribution, Mike devoted nearly 20 years to streamflow management and monitoring in support of fluvial Arctic Grayling conservation on the Big Hole River. Mike worked directly with Big Hole landowners on strategies that met target flows needed by the fish – especially during low water years – while also enabling ranchers to meet their agricultural needs. Streamflow gaging, water use and availability modeling, and improving irrigation efficiency were some of the tools Mike employed to meet these goals. In 2014, the fluvial Arctic Grayling was removed from the list of potential endangered species candidates, and DNRC was recognized by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for its outstanding contributions to that species’ recovery.
In their nomination for Mike, a colleague said, “Mike is a diligent and enthusiastic ambassador of hydrology, water use, and watershed science. He is a great teacher, instructor, and mentor…. He is a dedicated, hard-working field scientist, but also a great presenter and effective mentor and teacher. He is a thorough researcher and technical writer. One of Mike’s most important talents is building positive connections between his professional work and the water users, ranchers, and general public in a project area.”
Mike has been very active in Montana AWRA, serving as President in 2008. Mike and others introduced the Hydrophile 5K as an annual event. Additionally, he has conducted several plenary sessions and delivered several informative technical presentations at the annual conference.
His volunteer activities include teaching stream hydrology and water measurement for local high schools, Trout Unlimited, and water commissioner trainings. He’s a board member of the Tiny Seed Project and and volunteer manager for Lewis & Clark County’s Vaccination and Testing Clinics.
Post-retirement, Mike says his days are still filled with wading streams and kicking dirt clods across the prairie, but now in pursuit of checking off many Montana outdoor bucket list endeavors. His friends and colleagues said that, “Outside of hydrology, Mike is a talented athlete, great guitar player, and good guy in general.” If you’re in Helena, make sure to catch one of Mike’s gigs with Darkhorse or Uncle Cousin.
