Blackfoot Challenge starts new process for recreation management

BONNER — The Blackfoot Challenge, with the help of the University of Montana, is gathering input on recreation issues across the Blackfoot watershed so it can come up with some options for managing recreation.

About a dozen people met in the Bonner School on Tuesday night to provide their input on recreation issues that are affecting the land, water, wildlife and people of the Blackfoot watershed.

It was the first of six meetings this October where members of the various Blackfoot Valley communities will be asked to comment yet again on the increasing pressures of recreation and what if anything should be done.

Blackfoot Challenge board member John Teller and Jennifer Thomson, University of Montana Recreation Management program director, welcomed the participants, explaining that any solutions that might eventually be reached have to work for all the communities and apply “from ridgetop to ridgetop.”

“This discussion narrows in on recreation use on the Blackfoot River and concerns about that use that affects our communities. Blackfoot Challenge recognizes that these concerns have an impact on all of us and our businesses, our schools, families and future in the larger watershed,” Teller said.

After Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks conducted a few years of river-user surveys that found a surge in use starting in 2020, the Blackfoot Challenge Water Committee started meeting in 2022 with fishing guides, landowners and river watchdogs.

People suggested that limits be put on some aspects of use, such as float-party size or that permits be required. But former FWP Region 2 supervisor Randy Arnold said regulatory changes like that probably wouldn’t pass the FWP commission so nothing came of it.

A year ago, the committee created the Blackfoot River recreation subcommittee to try to work on smaller projects. At the same time, Thomson devised a Capstone project for the Blackfoot Challenge where her students interviewed Blackfoot Valley land managers about recreation challenges, hot issues and opportunities that might be worth exploring.

“That was the starting-off point. Now we’re in this second phase - how do we build off some of those perspectives that we already got but also what perspectives do we not have,” Thomson said. “Recognizing that each community is really unique and is going to have unique aspects to it, but they’re also part of a shared watershed. So is there a way that we can dive deep into each community but also find a way to connect the communities?"

As with every brainstorming meeting, Thomson had easels situated around the classroom with five open-ended questions written on them and participants would write their thoughts on Post-It notes to stick on the easels.

Questions ranged from “Why is outdoor recreation in the Blackfoot watershed important to you?” to “What are the primary issues/concerns in the community or watershed?”

As groups of three to four people rotated past each easel, many of the same issues raised over the past two years ended up stuck to the easels, including overcrowding, parking at fishing access sites, poor behavior, speeding, lack of enforcement and the need for visitor education. By the end of the meeting, Post-It notes covered the tables under the easels.

Once all the meetings are complete, Thomson and her colleagues will host a few additional meetings with representatives of all the communities. Then they’ll summarize the responses in a report that the Blackfoot Challenge should receive by February or March. What that will lead to is hard to tell.

When asked to summarize his thoughts, Forester Tony Leon said it’s important to maintain recreational opportunities but it doesn’t stop there.

“If we don’t protect the resource itself, those recreational opportunities won’t exist anymore,” Leon said.

The remaining meetings will be held at 5 p.m. as follows: Oct. 10 in Ovando at the Ovando School; Oct. 15 in Helmville at the Helmville Community Center; Oct. 17 in Greenough at the Lubrecht Conference Center; Oct. 28 in Seeley Lake at the Seeley Lake Community Foundation; and Oct. 30 in Lincoln at the Library Community Room. For those who can’t attend, they can contact the Blackfoot Challenge to fill out a survey.