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Environment

Gravel Beach Proposed at New Somers Beach State Park

The beach would halt erosion and reduce recreational impacts

By Maggie Dresser
Somers Beach. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon

Since Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) designated a 106-acre Somers Beach parcel a state park last year after it was acquired from a private owner, the agency is now proposing to construct a gravel beach erosion control structure along its north shore to halt erosion and minimize recreational impacts.

FWP officials are proposing a dynamic equilibrium and gravel beach, similar to beaches installed at other eroding sites on the lakeshore, to collect sediments, detritus and coarse woody debris, which are caused by fluctuating water levels and waves, without isolating the adjacent wetlands.

The gravel beach would be similar to an existing erosion structure at FWP’s Osprey View Wildlife Habitat Protection Area a few miles to the east of Somers Beach.

Somers Beach State Park is the last remaining shoreline that continues to erode at a rate of approximately one meter per year, according to an environmental assessment, and gravel beach construction has historically been used as a solution to address shoreline erosion on Flathead Lake for more than 30 years. Gravel beaches have stabilized approximately two-and-a-half miles of eroding shoreline on the north shore.

Construction for the project would take place in the winter and spring when the lake is drawn down and tracked equipment would be used to reduce disturbance and prevent lakebed compaction.

A temporary road constructed of logs and gravel would be built from the agricultural field to the shoreline with access to the construction site on the west side of the park via Burnell Avenue due to another 15-acre property bisecting the shoreline. The proposed construction would occur in the winter when the ground is still frozen and would be rehabilitated once all erosion control work is completed, likely until winter 2023. Some or all of the road footprint could eventually be converted into a pedestrian trail

Previously owned by the Sliter family who permitted access to the property for many years, the FWP acquisition was a collaboration with the Flathead Land Trust with funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant and Park Earned Revenue funds matching grant.

“For more than a decade, we have worked with the Sliter family with a shared goal to find a conservation outcome for this special property and expand much needed outdoor recreation opportunities along the north shore of Flathead Lake,” said Paul Travis of Flathead Land Trust in an October press release. “We are beyond excited that it is now a new Montana State Park and give a big thank you to the Sliter family, FWP and all donors and partners who helped make it happen.”

The new state park adds more than 100 acres of public access to Flathead Lake, which currently has less than 20 public access points along its 185 miles of shoreline as recreational demand continues to increase.

Additionally, FWP proposes basic interim visitor amenities including an access road and parking area to accommodate 50 to 75 cars, a portable toilet, pet waste dispensers, temporary trails, visitor signs and boundary marking.

“After a couple of years, a lot of hard work and after building some amazing partnerships, we’re finally here opening an amazing new park on the north shore of the lake,” Montana State Parks Foundation Executive Director Coby Gierke said last year. “Over the last five years, we’ve seen how much Montanans love their state parks, especially on the sites on Flathead Lake.”

A public meeting about the erosion proposal is scheduled for Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The meeting information will be posted online at https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/regions/region1. Written comments will be accepted until Jan. 24 at 5 p.m.