Even with closure, campers getting stuck at Blankenship

Hungry Horse News

The Forest Service managed land south of the Blankenship Bridge has not reopened to public use, Flathead National Forest spokeswoman Tami Mackenzie said Monday.

Over the course of the past week, the Hungry Horse News has received photos of people with their rigs stuck in the gravel bar at the bridge.

Over the years, the area has become a de facto camp for visitors who are looking for a free place to pull in an RV or truck camper.

But after a pickup truck got stuck in the gravel earlier this spring, the Forest Service closed it down temporarily.

MacKenzie said the Forest Service received a report of illegal camper there last Wednesday and law enforcement officer had them removed by later in the day.

In May a group of concerned residents calling itself Friends of the Flathead River filed a federal lawsuit against the Forest Service claiming the agency is violating the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, The Forest Service Organic Act and the Administrative Procedures Act for allowing people to camp there.

The camp has no permanent bathroom and other facilities, though the Forest Service has put in temporary bathrooms in the past.

This spring and early summer, the camp was under water, as the river was close to flood stage, but with water levels dropping, camping interest is sure to ramp up again.

But neighbors claim they’ve seen people dumping their RV tanks into the river, washing dishes in the river, defecating into the river and throwing trash into the river in the past. They have also witnessed between 50 and 70 campers a day at the site during the summer tourist season.

The suit hopes to obtain an injunction from a federal judge to close down the camp until the broader legal arguments over the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act can be addressed.