Improvements planned for Teakettle access site

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has released an environmental assessment for a project to improve the Teakettle Fishing Access Site at the U.S. 2 bridge in Columbia Falls.

The FWP plan proposes formalizing the gravel parking at the site with 33 single car-truck spaces and five spaces for trucks with trailers.

The plans also call for a new drive lane to improve traffic flow, moving an existing radio tower, repairing the fencing at the 3-acre property and other improvements.

FWP has owned the site since 1975, and the site has become increasingly busy over the years.

According to recent FWP surveys, the average number of angler days per year from 2005 to 2011 on the 53-mile stretch from Flathead Lake to the North Fork of the Flathead River was 34,507, with a low of 29,814 in 2007 and a high of 42,903 in 2009.

This stretch of river averaged the second most fished body of water in the region for the same period and 17th most fished body of water in Montana out of more than 1,400 stream reaches, lakes or reservoirs that were surveyed in the state.

The proposed improvement project would cost about $37,000, with $27,750 coming from federal Wallop-Breaux funds and the remainder from FWP. The site could be closed for 30 days this fall for construction.

FWP’s draft environmental assessment is out for public review through June 12. Copies of the draft are available at the FWP Region 1 office, 490 N. Meridian Road in Kalispell, and online at www.fwp.mt.gov and at local libraries.

Comments can be sent online at www.fwp.mt.gov under News and then Fishing, or e-mailed to Tony Powell at tpowell@mt.gov, or mailed to Attn: Tony Powell, 490 North Meridian Road, Kalispell MT 59901. For more information, call Powell at 406-751-5423.