Miranda Margetts
IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH Across TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
Across the country, water quality plays an important role in the overall public health of tribal communities. Despite its importance, however, the legal framework surrounding water quality varies regionally and is often difficult to comprehend.
In response, Miranda Margetts (above left), Montana State University graduate student researcher, and a team of public health experts at MSU (including Dr. Vanessa Simonds in the Department of Health and Human Devlopment) are developing a toolkit aimed at improving environmental health literacy in tribal communities nationwide. This toolkit will assist tribal community members in making more informed environmental health decisions by strengthening local understanding of basic environmental laws and water policy.
Here at the Montana Water Center, we are excited for our new collaborative partnership with Miranda, and look forward to helping provide tribal communities with the necessary resources, knowledge, and incentive to reduce water pollution, improve tribal health, and conserve aquatic ecosystem services.
For more information regarding up-to-date water policies in Montana, we recommend reading about the 2015 Montana Water Plan.