by Michael Howell
The Bitterroot Conservation District voted unanimously last week to accept the withdrawal of a 310 Application to install up to 16 fences across Mitchell Slough, a 16-mile-long channel of the Bitterroot River stretching from Corvallis to Stevensville. Ken Siebel, owner of Bitterroot Springs Ranch, and his manager Roy Fenster, notified the District that they intended to withdraw the application and re-submit at a later date. The landowner’s request to install up to a dozen “floating islands” constructed of PVC pipe and plywood was denied at a previous meeting.
There was not much discussion about the “floating islands” proposal when that permit was denied, however, the proposal to install the fencing was discussed at length at that meeting with no decision being made in order to allow for further discussions with the applicant. Although a map had been included in the application, BCD Supervisor Dan Kerslake expressed concerns about the fact that it only outlined the property boundary of the ranch but did not show any specific locations for the proposed fences. He said on-site inspections of the projects would be necessary before anything could be approved. Vice-chairman Kent Myers also expressed concern about potential impacts to the riverbank if people floating the river were forced to pull their boats up and down the banks to portage around the fences. The District sent Siebel a request for specifics surrounding the fences’ potential installation, but had not received any response.
There was no discussion at the November 26 meeting prior to accepting the withdrawal of the application or afterwards. But the District did receive letters of objection from local conservation organizations including the Bitterroot River Protection Association, Bitterroot Trout Unlimited, Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, and Public Lands and Water Access.
At the end of the meeting Chairman Jeff Mark asked if there was any public comment and the Director of BRPA, Michael Howell, asked if the District had received the organization’s letter containing photographs of a “floating Island” and a couple of fences that had apparently already been installed on the ranch. District administrator Julie Ralston said that floating islands had been installed but were since removed. Asked about the fencing she said she had no information about any fencing. Although ranch manager Roy Fenster announced his presence on the telephone at the beginning, he made no comments during the meeting and did not respond to the question. The Chairman said that he was not going to be asking an applicant who had already withdrawn his application any questions and said this was not a question-and-answer session but only a time to accept public comment.
According to BRPA President Andy Roubik, having received photographs from a member of the public showing a floating island and a couple of fences in the river channel and getting no response to their questions, the organization had no alternative but to make their own inspection. He confirmed that the floating island and the fences pictured had indeed been removed.
“We saw fencing coiled and hung around one fencepost along the bank and brand-new hardware on another wooden fence post,” said Roubik. “But we were glad to see the fencing across the river had been removed.”