Land swap proposed for Stevensville river access

By Michael Howell

State Senator Fred Thomas of Stevensville presented a proposal on behalf of Roy Capp, owner of the Ft. Owen Ranch, for a land swap along the river near the Stevensville bridge that would involve the construction of a Fishing Access Site (FAS) that would be managed and maintained by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) in perpetuity.
Although the land trade would be solely between the Town of Stevensville and the Capps, FWP would enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to construct and maintain an official FAS at the Stevensville bridge.
“What this is really all about is the creation of the best river access site in the Bitterroot,” Thomas told the Town Council last Thursday evening.
He said that the law does give the public the right to access the river at the bridge within the public right-of-way. But the property belongs to the Capps. He said the Town owns parkland at the river with an easement for the public to get to the area that used to be a town dump site. People used that easement to get to the river, but the Capps have contested it.
Thomas said that the Capps have had historical problems with people trespassing, littering, sanitation problems and other damage. He said the landowners also have worries about liability issues. The site itself has not been managed or controlled so that the parking is disorganized and the river bank has been severely degraded.
FWP Region 2 Supervisor Randy Arnold called the deal “a win/win/win” situation. He said his agency was willing to commit the resources to develop and maintain the site. He estimated that the necessary improvements would cost about $250,000. It would include placement of a concrete latrine and development of 27 truck & trailer parking spots and 14 single vehicle parking spaces. He said the agency had determined that it would be more environmentally sound to leave the gravel bank the way it is for boat launching rather than try and build a concrete ramp.
All three parties involved split the cost of an appraisal to get a handle on the value of the property. The trade, as proposed, is not a 1 to 1 trade and it also involves a 1.26 acre piece of land that the Capps own in town.
Overall, as proposed, the town’s acreage would drop from 22.93 acres to 19.29 acres (with 1.26 of those located in town.) With no money involved, the Capps would come out ahead by about 3.6 acres. Thomas said that the difference made sense because the land near the highway that the town was getting is worth more than the land at the back of the park that it is giving up. Social and economic values were not considered in the actual appraisal.
Dale Burk, with the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, said his organization backed the deal. He said it is one of the most important fishing access sites in the Bitterroot that has had a precarious history with poorly understood ownership questions.
Town Council member Bob Michalson said that he hoped the issue could be taken up by the Park Board for some sort of recommendation. A few other people commented positively on the deal. Dan Severson said that he believed that downtown businesses would get behind it.
Darlene Grove questioned whether all the river users were being considered or just the fishermen and boaters. She said families use the area for swimming, wading and picnicking, and the back of the park is used heavily by bird watchers and dog walkers.
Stevensville resident and fishing outfitter Eddie Olwell also complimented the deal. He said it would prove to be a great economic benefit to the town.
No date was set to consider the matter.