Missoula County outlines carbon‑neutrality steps, home upgrade hub and wildfire‑smoke adaptation work

Missoula County’s climate action program manager, Feain Newman, told commissioners the county adopted a carbon‑neutrality plan that applies to county‑owned buildings, fleets and employee commutes and lays out strategies across buildings, fleets, procurement and worker commutes.

Newman said the county is exploring implementation tactics, including an internal revolving loan fund that would finance energy efficiency and renewable projects and then be replenished from the savings the projects generate. He credited colleague Ally Kaine with authorship and collaborative development of the plan across county departments.

For residents, Newman highlighted the Home Upgrade Hub — a no‑cost resource housed in the Ecology & Extension department at the GW Marks Exploration Center — and named Callie Foster as the hub coordinator. The hub offers home energy assessments, contractor referrals, guidance on rebates, and a May workshop series on home energy retrofits.

On adaptation, Newman described the county’s Climate Ready Missoula work with the city and Climate Smart Missoula; he said staff are assessing implementation progress and running subgroups on topics such as smoke and wildfire response. He noted practical adaptation options under consideration, from identifying clean‑air refuge locations to home air‑filtration guidance and resilient landscaping.

Newman also promoted community outreach: Electrify Missoula is hosting a Resilient Homes Tour on May 16 as a hands‑on opportunity to see heat pumps, solar and wildfire‑mitigation approaches.

What this means for residents: Newman and commissioners emphasized bite‑by‑bite approaches: residents can start with small retrofits, call the Home Upgrade Hub for guidance, and attend workshops or the resilient homes tour to learn practical steps.

Next steps: The county will continue implementation work across departments, pursue internal funding mechanisms where feasible, and report progress as plans are executed.