An image attached to a proposal to remove an artificial boat slip in Seeley Lake shows the decades-old excavation has caused erosion to the shoreline and nearby cabins.
An image attached to a proposal to remove an artificial boat slip in Seeley Lake shows the decades-old excavation has caused erosion to the shoreline and nearby cabins.
Missoula County
An overhead view of an artificial boat slip in Seeley Lake. The owners of the property secured approval to fill in the decades old excavation.
An artificial boat slip along the banks of Seeley Lake will soon get refilled after the Missoula Board of County Commissioners approved two variances Thursday to allow the work to move forward.
Several properties along the lake have dug out boat slips from the 1950s that over time have increased erosion. Current regulations outlaw the creation of artificial boat slips on shorelines.
"Basically back in the day this was a water driveway," Commissioner Josh Slotnick said at the meeting.
Property owners Michael and Nancy Colgan sought to fill in the boat slip adjacent to their property, which is beginning to impact a nearby cabin and generate algae blooms.
The proposal included two variances of county regulations that needed commissioner approval. One rule prohibits construction within 20 feet of the shoreline, and another prohibits the use of fine materials like gravel or sand.
County floodplain administrator Matt Heimel said the project would include several protective measures to not damage the lake, like a fine materials liner. County officials will continue to check in on the work over the next five years.
"We know that there should not be any adverse impacts to the water quality, wildlife or aquatic habitat either, because we are going to have sediments controlled," Heimel said.
The area would then be reinforced with new sediment and revegetated. The proposal also secured approval from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.
Several other artificial boat slips exist nearby on the developed portions of Seeley Lake. On Wednesday, the commissioners discussed the possibility of developing a larger restoration plan for the area.
Also on Thursday, the commissioners finalized a rezone request for a proposal called Buckhouse Shoptown, which seeks to restructure a property near the Bitterroot River into a mix of zoning designations, including 8 acres of commercial center, which would allow more intensive development.
The owners of the land seek to build several storage buildings that can function as personal workshops. The property owners would next need to secure a special exception permit from the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board.
Griffen Smith is the local government reporter for the Missoulian.
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