The Tribal Water Management Program, in the Natural Resources Department has been monitoring snow courses in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through an agreement that between both agencies entered into on October 20, 1988.

The initial agreement provided for the management of seven snow measurement sites on the Flathead Indian Reservation with the general focus to upgrade the manual sites to SNOTEL telemetry. SNOTEL telemetry provides real time data to all managers that depend on the information. Tribal staff also assist the NRCS with measuring ten sites adjacent to the Reservation. Since the initiation of the agreement all but two sites on the Reservation have been upgraded to SNOTEL.

The Water Management staff consists of a Hydrologist, Chief of Field Operations, and three Hydrologic Technicians, provide staff for the field measurements. NRCS and Flathead Agency Irrigation Division staff provide assistance as required. Two Reservation sites and one located north of the Reservation are reached by snowmobile. The remainder of the sites are reached by helicopter.

Annual maintenance is done during the summer months by NRCS staff. These visits to the sites are coordinated with the Tribes through the Wildlife Management Program, Wildland Recreation Program and the Conservation (Game Wardens) Program. 

The collected information is used for stream flow forecasting for irrigation and fisheries management, forecasting for reservoir and lake management, determining and predicting flood flows and timing, fire planning and wildlife management.