State considers abandoning Painted Rocks State Park

And not promoting visitation to Fort Owen State Park

By Michael Howell

Regional State Parks Manager Chet Crowley and Bitterroot District Manager Loren Flynn told the Ravalli County Commissioners last week that their agency is considering dropping Painted Rocks State Park from its inventory and reducing its involvement in Fort Owen State Park in Stevensville.
These are options being considered due to budget restraints combined with steady increase in use at all the state’s parks, according to Crowley. He said that Montana has the most parks and the smallest budget compared with other states in the area, with a budget running about 68% of its peers. The $7.7 million budget comes primarily through an optional $6 automobile registration fee which is augmented by park fees, and a portion of bed tax, coal tax and motor boat fees, as well as some firewood sales.
With visitation outstripping the funding, the department undertook an inventory and analysis of its parks system, ranking parks in classes from 1 to 4. Then they looked at ways to possibly reallocate staff and funding to get the best bang for their buck. It could mean eliminating some parks and diverting funds from underused parks to priority parks in the system.
Flynn said that Painted Rocks State Park produces about $9,000 annually in revenues and DNRC owns the land. It is leased to the Department of State Parks for no money and a possible termination of that lease is being considered. The park is also at the end of a long single destination drive. It also suffers from a very short season, being operative from about mid-June until the boat ramp is left high and dry in August. There is no public drinking water source at the park. Management from the Missoula office is also expensive and time consuming with a round trip of about 180 miles.
The County Commissioners offered several suggestions to the state officials such as contracting the maintenance of the site to a local resident, possibly involving the U.S. Forest Service, and other options.
Commissioner Jeff Burrows said that they could close the park but it wouldn’t stop people from coming.
“You can walk away, but you will be leaving a big mess,” said Burrows.
Crowley said that the department was willing to consider all options and was open to alternative solutions.
Fort Owen State Park was recognized as being extremely significant to the state’s history but it fails miserably in meeting the other criteria. It is a one-acre site that is completely landlocked with only an easement across private ranch land for entry. There is only room for parking two vehicles and no room to turn around when it is full except by using private land. The ranch house is located immediately adjacent to the park.
Commissioner Greg Chilcott said that, “pulling the plug on this is to abandon our history. It will go away.”
Crowley said that the department recognized the great historical significance of the site and was not considering a closure, but given the magnitude of the other problems they did not believe it was wise to try and direct the public to the site and were considering the removal of any highway signs directing the public to the park.
“We are considering backing away from our management responsibilities there,” he said.