Scouts build trail, amphitheater
Eagle Scout candidate Brandon Karschnik, 17, drills supports for an educational outdoor amphitheater under the guidance of Ben Conard, Troop 17 scout master, while bio-technician Dave Bermel, center, looks on at the Creston National Fish Hatchery. Karschnik and fellow Scout Connor Tice have been working on the grounds of the hatchery, adding a nature trail and amphitheater. Jennifer DeMonte/Daily Inter Lake
By JIM MANN
The Daily Inter Lake
Outdoor education in the Flathead Valley just got an addition with the construction of a nature trail and amphitheater at the Creston Fish Hatchery.
The joint projects were spearheaded by Connor Tice and Brandon Karschnik, Eagle Scout candidates from Whitefish Boy Scout Troop 17.
"I'm real pleased," said Mark Maskill, manager of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hatchery.
"We've been wanting to develop a trail for quite a while, so it was nice we could work something out with the Scouts. We helped them quite a bit, and they helped us a lot."
Tice, 15, said he and Karschnik, 17, got word of the desire to build a trail at the hatchery from Scout leader Ben Conard, who works at the hatchery. The two Scouts followed up by contacting Maskill and developing their project plans over the summer. The actual work was done over two weekends in September.
Maskill said the trail and amphitheater will add to a gradually growing network of outdoor venues being used by local schools for natural sciences and conservation education. Other locations include the Glacier Institute's Big Creek Outdoor Education Center and the Trumbull Creek Experimental Forest on F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber property.
The hatchery has always been a destination for local classes, Maskill said.
"This will improve our outdoor education program," he said. "We have a spring fish day for fourth-graders. And we also do a ton of tours in the spring when the schools are looking for avenues to get kids outside."
To prepare for building an amphitheater, Karschnik said he went to the Trumbull Creek Experimental Forest and photographed an amphitheater and took measurements of benches. He showed the bench design to Maskill, who approved.
"We got a big crew together and got to work on it," Karschnik said, noting that he had help from other Scouts, scouting parents and hatchery workers.
The amphitheater is situated near Mill Creek, just south of the hatchery, and is reached from a spur trail that connects to the nature trail that is the focus of Tice's Eagle project.
Tice said he and Maskill walked the trail route, a quarter-mile loop on a two-acre parcel. Hatchery workers used a Bobcat and chain saws to clear trees and heavy brush. Tice organized a work crew of Scouts to clear ground brush for a four-foot-wide trail.
The scouts leveled out areas, raked the route, spread gravel to give the trail a firm base, installed log water bars in some locations and spread wood chips along the length of the trail.
Tice now plans to take GPS positions along the trail, using the coordinates to develop a map that will be included in a brochure at the hatchery. He also will help develop signs for the trail.
"I hope that people will go out and use this trail," Tice said. "It was a lot of work, but in the end, it was really worth it. It looks really nice."
The Eagle Scout project is necessary to earn the badge. Both Tice and Karschnik will next go before review boards to earn the prestigious scouting rank.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com