Dispatches from the Wild: The question of Wilderness 

Deciding if motorized or mechanized equipment should be used when removing dams in Wilderness areas 

By Benjamin Alva Polley EBS COLUMNIST 

On July 25, a relatively quiet summer day with a hint of smoke in the air from all the forest fires, a dam was blown to smithereens deep in the Rattlesnake Wilderness. The boom could be felt and heard for miles. The explosion’s plume rose hundreds of feet while rock shrapnel flew in many directions. The debate about Wilderness and the technicalities in language has been brewing since its inception but renewed in some circles this past year. 

Last November, Lolo National Forest Supervisor Carolyn Upton approved limited motorized equipment and mechanical transport use and limited helicopter and vehicle access to decommission the earth and timber dam—even though the 1964 Wilderness Act prohibits using mechanical or motorized equipment unless it was grandfathered in when the wilderness was designated, or the U.S. Forest Service grants a waiver. The Act, passed to protect and preserve the country’s wilderness areas, allows for certain exceptions under specific circumstances such as this.  

Upton allowed the use of mechanical equipment because mechanical equipment and the dams were grandfathered in. The City of Missoula, Mountain Water, and the Montana Power Company—the previous water-rights owners—routinely flew annual maintenance flights into the eight lakes and 10 dams and drove motorized vehicles on the gravel road into the Wilderness.  

“I am limiting helicopter use to one day to bring in equipment and supplies for the expected 12–13-week work window and one day to remove the equipment and supplies,” Upton wrote in an email to the Missoula Current. “This avoids the negative impacts that approximately 48 pack train trips (round-trip) would have on the trail and work area and enables the work to be completed in one field season.” 

Other mechanical or motorized activities for the project include driving the single-lane gravel road leading to the boundary biweekly to drop off work crews, using a motorized dewatering pump at the breach site, using a power auger to drill holes for blast charges, and moving rocks using wheelbarrows and carts. 

Opposition 

Most people were in favor of the dam removal. However, some wilderness purists were riled over the process and the means used for the removal. These groups argue that the gear to get the work crews into the Wilderness and the dam’s remains should be packed out by horseback and no motorized or mechanized tools should be allowed. 

The alternative would mean dozens of mule pack strings carrying gear in and out of the wilderness, nearly 15 miles each way. Work crews would also have to hand-pump water out of the breach site, hand-drill holes with non-motorized augers into the earthen dam and carry all fill material by hand or on the backs of mules. 

The National Wilderness Preservation System defines wilderness as areas “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man.” These areas are untouched by most forms of development and motorized vehicles. 

Wilderness Watch, a Missoula-based organization, liked the idea of dam removal but didn’t support using mechanized or motorized equipment because it violates the concept of wilderness that must be untrammeled. Wilderness Watch conservation director Kevin Proescholdt was disappointed with the USFS decision. 

“The Forest Service authorized helicopter and motor-vehicle use up to the dam. Unfortunately, it seems the Forest Service chose expediency over wilderness values,” Proescholdt stated in an email to the Missoula Current. 

History 

The Rattlesnake Wilderness, north of Missoula, has 10 storage dams on eight lakes. The Montana Power Company built the dams between 1911 and 1923 as a city’s backup water source. A century ago, the dams were crucial to managing the city’s water. Thus, when the Rattlesnake Wilderness was designated as wilderness in 1980, certain maintenance activities were grandfathered. In 1979, they sold the dams and the water rights to Mountain Water Company. However, after a giardia outbreak in 1983, the MWC transitioned to well water, leaving the lakes as backup water. The City of Missoula now operates the wilderness dams under a special use permit with Lolo National Forest after buying the rights from MWC. 

The McKinley Lake Dam, constructed in 1923, is an earthen dam with a crest width and height around 15 feet, and a maximum storage capacity of 211 acre-feet. The dam was composed of rock piles, and the removal is a point of contention among wilderness groups. This dam was the first to be decommissioned and blown to smithereens. 

According to Missoula Water’s 2018 Rattlesnake Dams Feasibility Study, the dam was outdated and needed to be removed. It was classified as a “Significant” hazard, which means that its failure for any reason wouldn’t endanger human life but could cause non-recoverable environmental damage. A breach failure could result in erosion and sediment transfer to Lake Creek and ultimately to Rattlesnake Creek, which hosts bull trout, a threatened species. 

The dams are no longer necessary, but the USFS must maintain them. They need repair, and the city must keep the road leading to them in good shape. The dams either need to be repaired or decommissioned. The feasibility study estimated that the rehabilitation of the dams would cost $7 million for all 10 dams versus just $1.2 million to decommission them. Eliminating them makes economic sense and paves the way for a more sustainable and cost-effective solution. 

After extensive public outreach and meticulous planning, the City of Missoula has initiated the dam’s decommissioning in collaboration with project partners Trout Unlimited, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the U.S. Forest Service. This work involves a series of steps and requires careful execution. 

First, removal of the dam spillway, embankment, and adjacent apron for nearly 100 feet along the top of the dam. The second is removing piping, outlet valves, and other control structures. Third, the natural material from the earthen dam will be repurposed as fill, lining the lake edges. Finally, the dam’s gravel, cobble, and boulders will be used for the project’s stream construction portions, ensuring minimal environmental impact. However, it’s important to note that even with these precautions, the removal process may still cause some disruption to the local ecosystem, particularly in terms of noise pollution and disturbance to wildlife habitats, which is a concern for some wilderness groups. 

Trout Unlimited, FWP, and the Forest Service are deeply committed to removing some of the no-longer-necessary dams that hinder trout migration to some of Rattlesnake Creek’s headwaters. Their dedication not only preserves the wilderness character of this place but also restores the natural habitat and eliminates signs and impacts of modern humans. 

The proper steps in this situation are not always black and white. Howard Zahniser, the writer of the Wilderness Act, probably knew that people in the future would wrestle with what the wilderness character meant and that answers ahead wouldn’t always be evident. In this case, opening up motorized or mechanized tools in the wilderness can be slippery, especially when and where not to allow it.  

Benjamin Alva Polley is a seasoned place-based storyteller with a profound passion for environmental conservation. His stories are published in Audubon, Esquire, Field & Stream, The Guardian US, Outside, Popular Science, and Sierra, with a master’s in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism from the University of Montana and extensive field experience, including two seasons in Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness area, one in California’s Trinity-Alps Wilderness, and 13 years in Glacier National Park.