BUTTE – Turning the once contaminated stretch of Silver Bow Creek west of Butte into a lush greenway has been in the works since 2000.
“I am probably more disappointed than anyone that the project isn’t done. We’ve been working on it a long time,” said Project Manager Dori Skrukrud.
Cleaning up the 26-mile path along the creek and adding vegetation and a walking trail comes with many complications.
“We had 17 different permits, license, easements, stormwater permits, flood plain permits, just for a mile of stream corridor,” Skrukrud said.
The $23 million project still has about 17 miles to go to stretch from Butte to Opportunity, but the restoration work that has been done has seen much progress.
“We have beaver and muskrat, I’ve seen great blue heron along the corridor, folks have seen bald eagle,” Skrukrud said.
The DEQ still has more mine waste removal through Durant Canyon, but officials are confident the Butte Silver Bow Greenway Trail only has a few more years to go.
“I would think that we will be able to get that under our belt in the next three or four years,” she said.
On the final stretch.
