Damage to the Flathead River: Comments on the proposed Comprehensive River Management Plan

I have been advocating for years that there is a very real need for several critical changes in usage on all three Forks of the Flathead River in order to protect one of the first Wild and Scenic Rivers in the country from further degradation to its Outstanding and Remarkable Values (ORV’s), one of the specific mandates of the Wild and Scenic Rivers act.  

As owner of one of the first two commercial permits allocated on the Flathead River system in 1976, I have observed dramatic and irreversible damage to the ORV’s of these rivers through the years. I am an advocate for public use, I understand the needs for increased commercial and private usage, and some of the change that comes with it. However, over the past 10+ years reasonable change has given way to absolutely uncontrolled permission from USFS to allow unsustainable numbers. Without proper monitoring from USFS we’ve seen usage grow to the point that in 2021 over 100,000 commercial trips were allowed on the lower stretches of the MF Flathead, the new CRMP proposal adds even more people to the river.  

The new river management plan has some important changes for the better, including mandating fire pans/blankets for campfires, requiring waste carry out, and prohibiting drones in particular. I commend you for that forward thinking. The idea of not allowing parking for cars and trailers overnight, but parking being permissible for daytime use is hypocritical at best. Why is it ok to pollute the shoreline below high-water mark during the day, but not at night? How do you propose trying to enforce no parking overnight when FS employees are home, not working to stop people who break the rule? The potential for car fluids pollution any time of day should be stopped or mitigated to the highest possible degree. 

Where the real concern lies is with the number of commercial trips allowed down the lower Middle Fork. In the new CRMP, it is completely unreasonable. As I stated, the Flathead River system was one of the first rivers in the country to be designated Wild and Scenic, which is a status comparable to a National Wilderness Area or National Park in many ways. The designation requires the FS to maintain the “ORV’s” of the river, considering wildlife, vegetation, geography, etc.  

Imagine how the allocated permissible numbers of people in the proposed CRMP - 1,700 people/day, Cascadilla to West Glacier, or 1,900 from West Glacier to Blankenship - which, depending on the stretch of river, translates to well over 120,000 people each summer, on a seven-nine mile corridor, will impact those ORV’s?  

Let’s briefly contemplate the repercussions of what it means to see (according to USFS numbers) roughly 25 commercial raft trips of 50 people per day, let’s say five rafts/trip divided between four river companies at Moccasin Creek (we all know no one puts in at Cascadilla.) That translates to at minimum eight-plus trips/day/company over a logical six-seven hour day, or over five trips per hour, or 25-30 rafts/hour moving completely clueless tourists to their rafts in a completely new environment, plus private trips blowing up rafts, with dogs and kids running around, and some adults drinking a beer, all trying to get in and out of an incredibly insufficient river access with only two launch sites going down a tiny creek to get to the river.  

At a recent meeting, the idea of fights at Moccasin was made fun of by a FS employee, but not by me; I’ve seen it. Next comes where to park vehicles and trailers, since the parking above the river access is too small for the current numbers allowed. I’ve already seen cars parked along Hwy 2 for over 1/4 mile in both directions from the Moccasin access, with people walking along a narrow highway next to huge RV’s or giant trailer trucks. That’s so dangerous I can’t believe the highway department hasn’t objected already. Then finally they get on the river, and have a line up of rafts at dangerous rapids to get down one by one. If that will not be a hazard, I don’t know what is. 

That’s the upper stretch of the lower MF, then we have 1,900 more people from W Glacier to Blankenship, one of the finest easily accessible stretches of fishing river on the MF. 1,900 people plus even more locals than the upper stretch in everything from rafts to inner tubes. It will be an endless parade of people on an even shorter river trip. What will this do to a prime fishery? There will be no real fishing, but plenty of casting at each other, with the same dangerous results for people encounters. That stretch of river is beautiful with solitude as one of its primary features, along with fishing, as two of its featured ORV’s, both will be gone forever. Then we have the same problems of parking at both West and Blankenship where 95% of those people will get out. 

This CRMP proposal is totally incomprehensible to anyone who cares about our Wild and Scenic Rivers and their ORV’s. That our USFS Hungry Horse Ranger District, and cooperating agencies somehow believe this is sustainable flies in the face of reality.  

If you wish to share your thoughts on this topic with FS, let them know. Send comments to USFS by March 13. 

— Joe Basirico, Whitefish