Proposal detailed in draft environmental assessment

DILLON – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff are seeking public comments on a proposed fee-title acquisition of about 3.5 acres of private land west of Dillon to become a new fishing access site along the Beaverhead River.

FWP is undertaking the process of acquiring the parcel as a donation from the Beaverhead Trails Coalition, a nonprofit in Dillon. A neighboring landowner donated the property to the coalition in 2021.

The site would be known as Cornell Park Fishing Access Site.

Following the acquisition, FWP staff would restore 325 feet of streambank for improved habitat and shoreline stability. The development would also include installing a gravel put-in boat ramp, a new concrete vault latrine, walk-in access points along the river and other facilities. Parking would be moved to Park Street, a Beaverhead County road.

A draft environmental assessment has been published and is available online at go.usa.gov/xztHa. Comments on the proposal are due by 5 p.m. on April 25. They can be emailed to jpape@mt.gov or sent by mail to:

Jay Pape
Regional Maintenance Manager
1400 S. 19th Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59718