Water Quality District
Milltown Area Redevelopment
- Milltown/Two Rivers Park Conceptual Design Report
- Meeting Summaries
- Working Group Newsletters
- Conceptual Redevelopment Plan, 2005
- Proposed Hybrid Pedestrian Bridge Plan
- Milltown Area Redevelopment Conceptual Plan (By Gary Weiner, National Park Service Rivers & Trails Conservation Assistance Program)
- Milltown Trails & Pedestrian Bridge Project
- Bonner to Turah Trail Project
- Kim Williams Trail Extension, Jacobs Land Acquisition
- Bandmann Flats Trails
- Milltown Area Recreation Map (By Gary Weiner, National Park Service Rivers & Trails Conservation Assistance Program)
Milltown Superfund Site Redevelopment Working Group
Convened by
the Missoula County Commissioners in 2003, the Milltown Superfund Site
Redevelopment Working Group comprises some 20 citizens representing a
variety of community and stakeholder interests. The Working Group has
counted on excellent technical support from
Funding for
initial park development has been obtained through a $2.6 million grant
from the Montana Natural Resource Damage Program, and an additional
$730,000 appropriation from the 2009 Federal Transportation, Housing and
Urban Development funding bill. Additional funds and land
donations have secured ownership of approximately 640 acres of land
owned by NorthWestern Corporation, Plum Creek Timber Company, the Nature
Conservancy, BN Santa Fe and the Northwest Carpenter’s
The Montana
Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has initiated plans to take
ownership of lands, hire staff to manage a State Park at the restored
confluence and complete designs of
recreational access facilities including pedestrian trails, picnic
pavilions, parking and toilet facilities and the design of a new
pedestrian bridge crossing the Clark Fork River below the former
Milltown Dam site. Hiring of Park management staff and final
designs for the park facilities will be initiated
in 2010, and construction may begin in 2011.
The
Redevelopment Group continues its work to raise funds for the Park
development and long term operation and maintenance. It also
co-sponsors events such as the native plant restoration plantings and
weed pulls, and the annual Superfun(d) run in Bonner. The group
also is working to develop plans for historic interpretation of the
confluence area, including
the
history of the Milltown and Bonner Dams and their removal, and the
restoration of the two rivers.
The
Milltown Redevelopment Group meets every other month except during the
summer months, at the
The Working Group developed a vision statement, a set of guiding
principles and objectives, which were revised in 2007. The Working Group
operates under the following vision and guiding principles:
Vision
We envision the Milltown/Bonner area as a healthy, participatory,
growing community of individuals and families of diverse age,
background, and income, who want to make their home here. We are focused
on quality education, maintenance of local heritage, conservation of the
natural setting, opportunities for recreation and sense of community.
Formal and informal community gathering places encourage ongoing
research and education, and maintenance of local history and culture.
Guiding Principles
1.
We believe that Milltown Superfund Site
remediation and restoration must be state-of-the-art, environmentally
friendly, and provide a permanent base upon which redevelopment and the
community vision can be built.
2. We believe that redevelopment efforts
should:
-
Contribute to a desirable community where people of all ages and income levels can and want to live.
-
Build on current community character and strengthen roots and sense of community pride.
-
Maintain the rivers and protect a riparian buffer area and community open spaces that support the natural environment.
-
Be compatible with commercial, industrial, retail and service interests.
-
Foster diverse, free, and safe public river access and recreational opportunities compatible with the natural environment of the area. †
-
Maintain and enhance the quality of the existing school district.
-
Provide educational opportunities and facilities that allow people of all ages to learn about the history of the area and restoration efforts.
3.
We recognize that whatever happens here
will have long term benefits as well as implications for local citizens,
the broader community, and the State of
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