The Fort Belknap Reservation is home to the White Clay and Nakoda Nations. The Reservation is located in north central Montana within Blaine and Phillips Counties and encompasses 1,200 sq. mi. There are three communities comprised of, Fort Belknap Agency, Hays, and Lodge Pole areas. The southern end of the Reservation is where the Little Rockies sit, reaching an elevation of approximately 6,000 ft. The northern part consists of rolling plains and river valleys. The Zortman/Landusky Mines are located on the south end of the Reservation, where at one time, it was the largest heap leach pad gold mine in the world.

Clean air plays a great role in the life of the White Clay and Nakoda Nations as, without air, there is no life.

The air quality program began with a Clean Air Act Section 103 grant from USEPA in October of 2000. The Tribes seen the need to find out what was in their airshed, especially the impacts from the Zortman/Landusky Mines. With the disastrous effects the mining had on the water in the communities of Hays and Lodge Pole, they needed to see what our people were breathing also. The air program will do this through emissions inventory and air monitoring.