Forest opts for status quo on Blankenship camping

The Flathead National Forest will allow overnight camping on a plot of land it owns along the Flathead River at Blankenship for at least one more season.

“We are planning on implementing Blankenship the same as last year as we did not see any additional resource or new social concerns that would warrant taking action before we get an opportunity to analyze our options through the Comprehensive River Management Plan effort,” Forest spokeswoman Tamara Mackenzie said in a recent email to the Hungry Horse News.

The land is primarily a gravel bar along the river and used to be a sleepy campground used primarily by a handful of locals.

When the pandemic struck, people flocked to Montana to get away. Glacier National Park, in turn, closed its campgrounds in the summer of 2020 and the Blankenship site was discovered.

Not only is it close to Glacier, it’s free. The caveat that one has to pack in and pack out supplies and garbage and adhere to a three-night stay limit.

The Forest Service installed portable toilets there last year.

Locals complained it was overcrowded, a hazard and contrary to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Last summer, a bus got stuck in the river at high water trying to access the campsites.

All of the other access sites to the river at Blankenship are day-use only.

Hungry Horse Glacier View District Ranger Rob Davies indicated earlier this year at the North Fork Interlocal that aforementioned river plan would recommend Blankenship be a day-use only site.

The river plan, with a draft due out later this year, is a comprehensive plan that will look at river use, and possible regulations, for the three forks of the Flathead River System.

The plan hasn’t been updated in decades while use on the river has ballooned with visitors from other states as well as a growing local population.