When wildlife biologist Beverly Skinner’s only option to cross an old irrigation canal within the Flathead Waterfowl Protection Area was a collapsed footbridge, she worked with Bigfork High School students to get it replaced.

“This [area] is used quite a bit by hunters,” said Skinner, who works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

She noted the dilapidated bridge was there when the area was purchased in the early 1970s. With few employees responsible for thousands of acres, Skinner said replacing the bridge wasn’t a top priority.

“It could have been there from the past landowner. Our guess is that somebody built it because they were going back and forth to go hunting and they got tired of having to cross the ditch, so we did not maintain it because it wasn’t a legal bridge,” Skinner said.

Replacing the bridge became possible when Bigfork High School science teacher Hans Bodenhamer suggested to Skinner that high school shop students would be willing to help out.

“He’s been doing a bird route on this piece of WPA for us for a couple of years and a few times I came out with him it was really hard to get across, and I realized that we need to provide better access,” Skinner said. “I went back to the refuge manager and Hans mentioned the shop class could do it, so it’s kind of a win-win. We provided the wood and they’re doing all the labor.”

Wednesday morning, industrial arts teacher Steve Melkioty and his Woods 1 students packed up a bus and headed to the Flathead Waterfowl Protection Area, reaching it at what Skinner refers to as the “S-curve entrance” on U.S. 93.

The bus passed yellow gates that shop students rebuilt after a car accident damaged them, and drove along a narrow road to the site.

Melkioty hustled 16 students to unload equipment and get to work. They had half a day to complete the new bridge adjacent to the old one.

The start of the school year was spent designing and pre-cutting most of the lumber, according to Melkioty.

“The size is very specific to foot traffic and bicycles, but not motorized,” Melkioty said. “It’s narrow enough for wheelchairs but not for a four-wheeler.”

Melkioty and some students set to work clearing tall grass to place pavers. Junior Kyle Saxton said the pavers will help keep the bridge level and spread weight.

A generator was fired up and batteries were charged but some of the older drills drained quickly. Senior Charlie Haug’s drill died in the middle of drilling a long screw into a support beam. Not missing a beat, he found a wrench and finished the job.

“I’ve worked construction for the past two summers,” Haug said. His leadership skills were evident when he helped out some of his younger classmates.

The students first put together the main support for the bridge.

“This is going to be the main support, this is the bottom,” Haug said. “We’re going to flip it upside-down and put the planking on.”

The main support, weighing hundreds of pounds, takes some heavy and careful lifting to heave it right-side up without causing damage.

The class wrapped up construction by installing decking and handrails. Once the work was completed, the students posed for a group picture on the new bridge, which will provide improved access for future hunters and bird watchers.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.