Northwest Bozeman Area Plan

The August 2026 Gallatin Water Collaborative meeting focused on the Northwest Bozeman Area Plan (NBAP), a long-range planning effort for roughly 3,000 acres on Bozeman's northwest edge that will help guide future growth and development. The Collaborative discussed how to help protect the area's water resources as the plan develops. Chris Naumann from Sanbell presented and discussed water priorities for the area. Tom Jones, long-range planner from the City of Bozeman, also listened in. 

Meeting Goals:

• NBAP is a high-level guiding framework that will shape future land use, transportation, and infrastructure decisions if and when land within the area is annexed into the city.

• The plan is built around three layered "framework" maps: natural resources, public infrastructure, and active transportation, with natural resources (streams, ditches, wetlands, and steep slopes) treated as the foundational layer that shapes everything else.

• Collaborative recommendations centered around protecting watercourse and wetland setbacks, exploring the feasibility for planning to consider a future wetland mitigation bank and/or regional stormwater facility in the area, the potential for aquifer recharge, and clearly distinguishing natural watercourses and irrigation ditches.

Meeting Resources:

• Agenda

• Notes

• Full Recording

Northwest Area Plan Resources:

• Engage Bozeman project page

• Phase One community engagement open house information and maps

• Bozeman 2025 Community Plan

• Gallatin Valley Sensitive Lands Plan

• Gallatin Future Land Use Plan (FLUM)

• Sensitive Lands Modeling Tool

• Watercourse Commons Report

• Mandeville Creek Restoration Project Story Map

• Shiloh Conservation Area example