Major improvements may be coming to the Shady Lane Fishing Access Site in the coming years, including an updated pier, new gravel paths and additional landscaping.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks acquired the site near Old Steel Bridge in Evergreen in 2001. Officials reshaped the abandoned gravel pit that encompassed much of the 5-acre property into a pond with the aim of promoting family-friendly fishing opportunities.  

Officials are now planning to excavate the pond to create better cool-water habitat for stocked populations of rainbow and westslope cutthroat trout. The pond is currently 10 feet deep at its deepest points, but the water level often drops as much as 3 feet during the drier summer months. The shallow water warms quickly, promoting plant growth and making it difficult for fish to survive, according to a Feb. 13 environmental assessment. 

“Dredging the pond to make it deeper would provide a moderating effect on water temperature and provide several deeper cooler holes for fish to use during times of warm water,” wrote officials. 

Along with the excavation, the document proposes several repairs and modifications to existing facilities at the Shady Lane Fishing Access Site. 

The current pier is “in poor condition,” wrote officials, and the structure does not meet accessibility standards set by the Americans with Disability Act. An asphalt path leading from the parking lot to the pier is buckling and cracked, further limiting accessibility. 

Officials plan to replace and add on to both features, per the environmental assessment. Once the project is complete, a gravel path will jut out from the asphalt path and encircle the pond, providing access to a boardwalk and several additional fishing piers, stands and slabs.  

Landscaping will be added along the southern and western perimeter of the site to screen visitors from adjacent private property and an existing pavilion will be replaced with a model that better “complement(s) the natural environment.” 

The project will likely occur in several stages, as funding becomes available, with priority given to the replacement of existing infrastructure rather than the construction of new facilities. It is unclear when activities are expected to begin and how construction will affect access to the site. 

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is accepting comments on the environmental assessment through 5 p.m.,  Feb. 27, 2026. Comments may be emailed to Tony Powell at [email protected]. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].

    Russ Hartford walks his dog Shorty around the pond at the Shady Lane Fishing Access Site in Evergreen on Wednesday, Feb. 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider