By Michael Howell
After getting Town Council approval and obtaining all the necessary permits, Mayor Jim Crews had a temporary access road and boat launch site installed at River Park in short order last week. The fence on the north side of the parking lot was opened up to allow vehicle traffic and the existing walking trail that ran down to the river was widened enough to accommodate a vehicle and trailer.
The first thing Streets and Alleys Supervisor Ed Sutherlin had to say about the project was, “We did it without taking out a single tree.” The removal of trees was a concern raised by some members of the public when the council considered the project proposal. There are no plans for paving or even gravelling the road. The existing trail was simply widened just enough to accommodate a single vehicle with a couple of pull over areas to allow passing. Mayor Crews said that only two vehicles at a time would be allowed into the access road.
The road snakes through the woods for a couple hundred yards, passing between trees and following the existing contour of the ground. It dips into and out of a gully that floods in the spring. The river bank was cut down only a few feet in a twelve- to fifteen-foot stretch allowing a vehicle to drive down the embankment onto the river bed. A gravel bar currently extends out over half the river bed at the site. Vehicles will drive across the gravel bar to launch their boats and then return the vehicles to the parking lot.
The five-man crew that accomplished the installation was happy with the results and pleased that the impacts to the parkland were able to be kept at such a minimum.
“We just need to put up some signage and it’s a done deal,” said Sutherlin.
Mayor Crews said that he believes the rules will be followed and that boat launchers were going to be considerate and respectful in their use. Nonetheless, he plans on going down three times a day, morning, noon and evening, to see how things are going. The Stevensville Police Department will also be making regular patrols at the park as well as maintenance staff.
Crews said that the development also provides an opportunity for people who may be disabled to drive to, or be driven to, the river bank.
“It gives somebody who might not otherwise be able to get there the chance to have a picnic on the riverbank,” said Crews. He said it was also more than a public safety and recreation benefit, it was an economic benefit for the whole area.
At the same time, Mayor Crews is still pursuing the option of installing a more permanent boat launching site on the west side of the river adjacent to the bridge on its northwest side. The 1.52 acre parcel located along the river bank belonged to the county as part of a subdivision parkland dedication. On August 3, the County Commissioners agreed to deed the land to the Town of Stevensville at no charge so long as the land is used as a park for recreation and public access to the river. If it should go for five years in a row without being used for that purpose the property will revert to county ownership.
And just in time for the opening of the boat launch, fishing restrictions on the lower Bitterroot River have been lifted.
The restrictions were implemented last month when criteria were met on each waterbody — water temperatures of 73 degrees for three consecutive days.
The stretches of water where restrictions have been removed on the Bitterroot River are downstream of Veteran’s Bridge near Hamilton.
Cooler temperatures and longer nights have dropped water temperatures in rivers around western Montana. The criteria to remove the restrictions on these three waterbodies–water temperatures not exceeding 70 degrees for three consecutive days–were met as of Monday.