Bridges over Big Hole?

By Justin Post of The Montana Standard - 09/23/2008

Leaves have started turning yellow on Justin Post / The Montana Standard

Roughly 200 opponents of two proposed private bridges over the Big Hole River have signed a petition against the projects.

Tony Schoonen, a director with the Public Lands/Water Access Association, launched the petition drive after two separate landowners recently applied for permits to build bridges.

The Ramsay resident contends the bridges will lead to new development and impact wildlife migrations and fisheries.

"It's an absolute disgrace to destroy the river's aesthetic values simply to satisfy wealthy new-age landowners," Schoonen wrote in an August letter published in The Montana Standard.

Schoonen argues the Big Hole River is public and should be protected from private interests.

"These people want to turn the river corridor into a mega-subdivided metropolis for the few who can afford to build million-dollar bridges to million-dollar developments over and near a public resource," he wrote.

Landowners are proposing the private bridges across the river, one just west of Wise River and another near the Mill Creek Highway junction with Montana Highway 43.

Planning officials in Butte-Silver Bow, Beaverhead and Anaconda-Deer Lodge counties are reviewing the proposals.

The river serves as the county line with Beaverhead County to the south. To the north, Butte-Silver Bow has jurisdiction over that section of the proposed project nearer Wise River.

The bridge near Wise River is proposed by property owner Pete Kamperschroer. Butte-Silver Bow planning officials denied his first application for a private bridge in February 2002, in part because the structure included support pillars into the river that may have been dangerous to floaters, said Lori Casey, senior planner.

Kamperschroer's newest application is for a free-standing bridge intended to access a cattle grazing area, according to his proposal.

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, meanwhile, also is collaborating with Beaverhead County on KL and Jane Spear's bridge proposals near the Mill Creek Highway junction.

They are requesting permission to build a 220-foot single lane bridge over the Big Hole near LaMarche Creek, and a second 25-foot bridge on their property in a marshy area located in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, but not crossing the river.

Representatives of local conservation districts, planning officials, biologists and sportsmen's organizations are reviewing the proposals and toured both sites in recent weeks.

Schoonen said he plans to present his signed petitions to officials reviewing the requests.

Meanwhile, biologists with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks have voiced concerns about the projects.

In a June 13 letter to the Deer Lodge, Beaverhead and Mile High conservation districts, regional fisheries biologist Jim Olsen recommends denial of a 310 permit to construct the bridge near LaMarche Creek.

After reviewing the application and inspecting the proposed crossing, Olsen said he is "very concerned about the potential impacts of a bridge across the river at this location." He pointed out a "significant risk" of substantially altering the hydrology of the river, which could increase erosion and impact the fisheries habitat, particularly for artic grayling.

He said his main concern is the possibility of ice jams blocking portions of the floodplain where flood and ice flows would likely move through.

Olsen further pointed out visual impacts of the proposed bridge.

Vanna Boccadori, the Butte area wildlife biologist for FWP, raised concerns about Kamperschroer's request in an Aug. 16 letter to Steve Hess, Butte-Silver Bow's assistant planning director.

Kamperschroer proposes to use his bridge to access his property north of the Big Hole River, located along a major migration route for elk, Boccadori said.

Elk that summer in the Pintler Mountains/Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area use that stretch as a travel corridor to and from critical winter range on the Fleecer Wildlife Management Area to the east, she wrote.

The area, including Kamperschroer's property, also contains prime mule deer winter range.

While the proposed bridge would not directly impact wildlife in the area, she said any traffic north of the river has the potential to displace wildlife and reduce the security level that currently exists.

"This is of special concern during those critical times of year when wildlife is already stressed," she wrote.

Fall and spring migrations, as well as anytime during the winter, would be considered key critical times, Boccadori wrote.

"In addition, it has been my experience that where access is provided, development soon follows," she wrote.

Boccadori's final concern is that the proposed bridge would provide access not only to private land, but to public land that the public cannot directly access, potentially creating a private reserve on public land.

Kamperschroer's proposal is the first since Butte-Silver Bow codified in 2005 a new policy outlining minimum development standards for private bridges over the publicly owned river.

The standards were adopted after Butte-Silver Bow approved in September 2002 a private, free-spanning bridge across the Big Hole River for the Meriwether Ranch subdivision complex, just north of Melrose.

The latest requests are in preliminary review phases by the three counties.

— Reporter Justin Post may be reached at justin.post@lee.net.