Stevi Park Board recommends more time to ponder land swap

By Michael Howell

The Stevensville Parks and Recreation Board entertained an overflow crowd at town hall last week as about 50 people attended a meeting devoted to gathering public comment on a proposed land swap. No one from the public or on the board spoke in favor of the swap as it is currently proposed. Although urged by Mayor Jim Crews to make some recommendation, in the end, the board decided to recommend to the council that more time be taken to examine the proposal and possibly come up with some alternatives.
The swap comes as a joint proposal worked out between Roy Capp, owner of Fort Owen Ranch and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. If the land trade between the Capps and the Town should be approved, FWP has agreed to install a parking lot and a pit toilet at the site and maintain it as an official FWP Fishing Access Site.
As proposed, the deal would involve the Town of Stevensville trading 8.5 acres of land at the north end of River Park for 3.6 acres at the south end of the park along the Cutoff Road and adjacent to the bridge over the Bitterroot River. In addition the Capps have offered to include a 1.25-acre triangular strip of land along the Eastside Highway across from the Forest Service.
The land has been assessed and, though no dollar value was set, it was determined that all the acreage involved in the trade, both the Capps’ and the Town’s, is of equal value. No appraisal has been made of the triangular piece along the Eastside Highway. This fact led many to comment at the meeting that the trade was inequitable and it has been questioned whether it is even legal for a municipality to trade off public park land for land that is not of equal or greater value.
The Park Board was tasked by the Town Council to gather information and public input about the proposal and submit a recommendation to the Town Council. Park Board Chairman Raymond Smith said that the item was on the agenda as a discussion and decision because the Mayor had urged him to get something to the Council as quickly as possible.
Park Board member James Marble was the first to speak and called the River Park “a tremendous asset…not only for anglers but also for dog walkers and bird watchers.”
“I, personally, don’t believe we have to do any land swap whatsoever,” said Marble. He said a boat launch could be installed on the property already owned by the town. He said the board should slow down and examine more options. He said there had to be a better solution than trading off eight acres for three acres of land. He moved to postpone the decision until other options could be investigated.
Under public comment, Desera Towle said that the issue of public access was a serious one and that a recent court ruling about recreational access would support the idea that the public already enjoys a “prescriptive easement” for recreational access to the river at the site. She suggested that the Capps consider donating the land to the Town to resolve the issue prior to selling the land.
Dale Burk, speaking on behalf of Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, said that his organization supports the development of a Fishing Access Site at the Stevensville bridge but urged the board to consider all the values involved in the land, not just the value to anglers, but to bird watchers, photographers, moms and kids and dogs, etc. He too suggested the Capps consider donating the land.
“Those three acres are worth far more to the Capps as a tax write-off and a gift to the public and establishment of good will with the public rather than the ill will they are creating with the way they’ve been treating the public in this thing,” said Burk.
Local fishing outfitter Eddie Olwell said he would love to see a good fishing access site developed at the Stevensville bridge, but that the deal, in his view, was not equitable.
The Bitterroot Audubon Society weighed in with a letter supporting preservation of the natural habitat at the north end of the park. According to the letter, River Park is part of the Bitterroot River Important Bird Area (IBA) in which over 240 bird species have been reported, with five of the species of state concern. The group expressed concern about the potential loss of cottonwood and willow galleries along the river bottom.