Residents of the Flathead Reservation can now access real-time air quality data thanks to a new initiative by the University of Montana and the CSKT. Over 30 PurpleAir monitors are now providing crucial information to the community, making it easier to understand and respond to air quality issues.
RONAN, Mont. – The University of Montana and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) are working together to better monitor air quality on the Flathead Reservation. This initiative involves the installation of a comprehensive PurpleAir network.
The Montana Climate Office and CSKT have installed dozens of PurpleAir monitors across the reservation. These devices are placed both indoors and outdoors to provide real-time air quality data to the community.
Kyle Bocinsky, Director of Climate Extension at the Montana Climate Office, highlighted the scope of the project. "We were able to install, over 30 of these PurpleAir monitors across the reservation, both indoor and outdoor," he said.
These monitors are placed in schools, fitness centers, and homes. Montana ranks second in the U.S. for households using wood-burning stoves, making indoor air quality monitoring crucial.
Mike Durglo, CSKT’s Climate Program Director, emphasized the importance of awareness. "A lot of people have wood stoves in their houses. They really don't realize how bad the air gets when they light up their wood stove," he said.
The air quality sensor network is part of CSKT’s broader Climate Change Strategic Plan. This plan provides a framework for community climate change adaptation and is one of the first tribal programs of its kind in the U.S.
Durglo further added, "Climate change is really having a huge impact on the intensity of these fires."
The data from the air quality monitors is publicly accessible online, and Durglo hopes to integrate the data into a mobile RAVE Alert system to notify residents when air quality becomes hazardous.
For more information about the PurpleAir monitors, please follow this link.
