Commission to review Church Slough no-wake petition
Jack Carroll, left, and Josh Mortenson head out onto Church Slough to fish for bass in anticipation of an upcoming local bass fishing tournament on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake FILE)
Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials say boating speeds at Church Slough on the Flathead River just north of Flathead Lake remain a “social issue” of no great further impact to wildlife or resources in the area.
So the department has deferred recommendation to the Fish and Wildlife Commission concerning a petition asking the state to enforce no-wake boating on the slough, year round.
In an agenda largely tasked with elk hunting, the commission on Friday is expected to review the slough petition and receive public comment on the matter.
Previously, the commission issued a petition-driven ruling to close boating on the entire slough from March 1 through April 10, annually, to protect migrating waterfowl.
The related petition, however, asked the commission also to issue a no-wake rule for Church Slough from April 11 to Feb. 28 to help reduce bank erosion and boating hazards.
The commission ultimately approved just the April-March boat closure, deciding among other reasons that a no-wake measure for safety was not supported by the slough’s current activity, according to agenda materials for the meeting.
The commission determined that accelerated erosion from boating wakes also proved unfounded, according to the agenda materials.
Last October, the commission received a separate petition for the slough requesting a year round no-wake rule.
The petition was submitted by Ben and Maureen Louden, and Melanie Cross and Andy Hurst.
The group noted several concerns for public health and safety; shoreline and river bottom degradation; fish and wildlife habitat losses; noise disturbing other users and residents; and chemical toxins released from boating, according to the agenda materials.
Public comment has not yet been collected on the petition but will be during the Friday meeting. Registration for comment expired at noon Thursday.
FWP has recommended only to retain the current March-April boat closure.
If the commission opts to move forward with the wake petition, public comment will be reopened during the rulemaking process.
If denied, only current seasonal restrictions would remain in place. The meeting will be live-streamed Friday at fwp.mt.gov.
Reporter John McLaughlin can be reached at 758-4439 or jmclaughlin@dailyinterlake.com