BUTTE — A little wetlands area located just off the interstate in Butte is full of construction activity right now, but by the end of the fall officials with the Atlantic Richfield Company say the area will transform into a space of solitude for students and birds and the general public alike.
"This is Atlantic Richfield property that we intended to transfer to Butte-Silver Bow and we felt that there was certain improvements that could be here," says Atlantic Richfield Company liability manager Josh Bryson.
Work began on the Lexington Wetlands on Sept. 5, 2023, and construction is underway for an outdoor community classroom, trails, bathrooms, a boardwalk, and even a pollinator garden.
"We’ll have a community classroom constructed to where our instructors can come out, whether it be a grade school class or all the way up to a, you know, PhD level ecology class. They can come out here and experience, immerse themselves in a functioning wetland," says Bryson.
The wetlands project is not a Superfund project.
"We’re not removing any waste," says Bryson. "This has nothing to do with Superfund work but it was our acknowledgment to the community and what we’re committed to providing in the end, land use amenities."
Bryson says Atlantic Richfield Company worked with Butte-Silver Bow County officials to test the area and they did not see any waste that needed to be removed from the site that will become part of the Silver Bow Creek Conservation Area — a 160-acre greenway that is part of the Consent Decree for the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit.
"We’ll continue to add to what we have and I think by the time we get Silver-Bow Creek Conservation Area done with the proposed eight miles of trails and the playgrounds and the fishing pond, the Lexington Wetlands where we are at now, there will be no shortage of opportunity to recreate in Butte."
Work at the wetlands is expected to be finished next month, and they will return in the spring to plant trees and add finishing touches.
