Crew clears out Stillwater River logjam
<p>Lincoln Chute, Flathead County Fire Service Area manager, pauses as he cuts a tree into smaller sections Thursday morning. In the background an excavator removes logs and debris from a logjam on the Stillwater River. Some of the removed logs will be used to build up the bank to help prevent future flooding in the area.</p>
Three logjams are being pulled out of the Stillwater River north of U.S. 2 in Evergreen to ease potential hazards.
Employees of the Flathead County Road and Bridge Department and the county Office of Emergency Services spent Thursday at the island site behind Valley Ford removing logs and trees and cutting them into manageable pieces.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Ovila Bird said the removal effort will continue today and possibly stretch into Monday.
An excavator removed the logs from the jams, placing them on dry ground so county workers can cut them into 10- to 15-foot-long sections.
Logs of every imaginable size have been yanked out, Bird said, from a few inches to 60 feet long.
Once the large logs are cut into smaller sections, the excavator stacks the wood on the island. A few logs were placed back in the trees along the river at the request of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks personnel. It’s believed those logs will help prevent some erosion and help stabilize the bank, county Fire Service Area Manager Lincoln Chute said.
By midafternoon Thursday, Bird said nearly all the logs were out of the water and the river could again run freely.
Chute has discussed the logjam with county commissioners many times since last year’s high river levels. He and Sheriff Chuck Curry said they were worried about the potential danger the jams posed to people navigating the river in canoes, kayaks or inner tubes.
If a boater were to get trapped or injured in a logjam, it becomes the sheriff’s responsibility, Commissioner Jim Dupont said. That’s why he wanted the jam cleared out. Dupont also wanted to remove the jam to avoid harming the county’s reputation as a great place for summer water recreation.
Last summer, county employees cut out many logs from the jam in an attempt to clear it out, but it kept growing in the last eight months, Chute said.
The county obtained a permit from Fish, Wildlife and Parks to remove the jam. As soon as it was determined the ground was frozen enough to hold the excavator, the work was scheduled for this week.
Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.