Yellowstone River Cultural Inventory—2006 Part V: Springdale to Gardiner Research Team: Susan J. Gilbertz, Ph.D. Montana State University—Billings Cristi Horton Tarleton State University Damon Hall Texas A&M University Sponsored By: Yellowstone River Conservation District Council Funded By: US Army Corps of Engineers YRCI 2006: Springdale to Gardiner—Acknowledgements i Acknowledgements The research team acknowledges the people of the Yellowstone River. The participants in this study were friendly, hospitable, open and generous. We shared coffee, cake and sometimes breakfast or lunch with our participants. More often than not, we were invited onto their properties and into their homes. The tours were enlightening and each of us felt privileged that we were allowed to share in the lives of so many. There can be no doubt, “Western Hospitality” is alive and well in Montana. The team also acknowledges the members and administrators of the local Conservation Districts for their assistance in identifying and recruiting participants. Additionally, members of the Resource Advisory Committee of the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council provided invaluable support. Finally, the team wishes to acknowledge the support given by the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council, the Technical Advisory Committee of the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council, Dr. Tarla Peterson from Texas A&M University, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Montana Office of Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. YRCI 2006: Springdale to Gardiner—Table of Contents ii Table of Contents YRCI 2006: Springdale to Gardiner Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………... i Preface………………………………………………………………………... iv The Significance of the Yellowstone River….……………..….……... iv Purpose………………………………………………………..….…… iv Identification of Geographic Segments……………………………….. v Recruitment of Native Americans…………...……..……………….… vi Recruitment of Geographic Specific Interest Group Participants…….. vi Description of Interviews and Collection of Participant Comments…. viii Steps of Data Analysis…………………………………………..….… viii Organization of the Reports……………………………....................... xi Research Team and Support Staff….………………….……………… xi Springdale to Gardiner: Geographic Segment Overview…..…………….. 1 Springdale to Gardiner: Geographic Segment Summary………………… 2 Introduction……………….….…………………..………..……..…… 2 Paradise in Flux………………..………………………....................... 2 The Floods of 1996 and 1997……………………...……………….… 6 An Involved Community—The Task Force and Its Legacy..……..….. 9 Complications Near the River: Rip-rap, Setbacks, Mill Creek……….. 11 Observations from the Veteran Community………………………….. 18 Springdale to Gardiner: Agricultural Interest Group Overview………… 25 Springdale to Gardiner: Agricultural Interest Group Analysis………….. 26 Specifics of an Agricultural Perspective………………………...….… 26 Agriculture’s Viability in a Developing Area………………..……...... 29 Living with the Yellowstone River………………………………....… 35 Life-forms of the River…………………………………………….… 36 Controlling the River with Rip-rap………………………………....… 38 Visions of the Future and Collective Management……………..……. 40 Springdale to Gardiner: Local Civic Leaders Overview……………….…. 46 Springdale to Gardiner: Local Civic Leaders Analysis…………….……... 47 Park County is Growing and Changing……..………….………….… 47 Resource Concerns…………………………………………………… 53 Dealing with a Growing Community………………………………… 56 Managing Resources—You Do the Best you Can…………………… 59 YRCI 2006: Springdale to Gardiner—Table of Contents iii Springdale to Gardiner: Recreational Interest Group Overview……...… 68 Springdale to Gardiner: Recreational Interest Group Analysis…………. 69 Valuing the Yellowstone River………………………………......…… 69 Shifting Scenery: Development Along the Riverbanks………………. 73 Access Dilemmas: Demands, Limits and Controls…………….….….. 77 Ideas About Erosion and Rip-rap……………………………...……… 79 Comprehensive River Management…………………………………... 82 Sympathies and Concerns………………………………………..…… 86 Springdale to Gardiner: Residential Interest Group Overview…..……… 91 Springdale to Gardiner: Residential Interest Group Analysis…………… 92 Living Near the River………………………………………………… 92 Floods of 1996 and 1997 Precipitate Public Debates……….…….….. 97 Growth in Livingston and Paradise Valley………………………….... 100 Observations Regarding the Governor’s Task Force…………………. 104 Other Concerns…………………………………………………….…. 105 Changes in Management and Controls…………………….…………. 106 We All Need to Get Along…………………………………………… 109 YRCI 2006: Springdale to Gardiner—Preface iv Yellowstone River Cultural Inventory--2006 Preface The Significance of the Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River has a long history of serving human needs. Native Americans named it the Elk River because of its importance as a hunting environment. William Clark explored much of the river in the spring of 1806 and found it teaming with beavers. By 1906, the US Bureau of Reclamation was sponsoring diversion projects that tapped the river as a source of irrigation waters. The river then enabled “twentieth-century progress” and today it supports many nearby agricultural, recreational and industrial activities, as well as many activities on the Missouri River. Management of the shared resources of the Yellowstone River is complicated work. Federal and state interests compete with one another, and they compete with local and private endeavors. Legal rights to the water are sometimes in conflict with newly defined needs, and, by Montana law, the public is guaranteed access to the river even though 84 percent of the riverbank is privately owned. Interestingly, in spite of the many services it provides, the Yellowstone River in 2006 remains relatively free-flowing. This fact captures the imaginations of many people who consider its free-flowing character an important link between contemporary life and the unspoiled landscapes of the Great American West. As a provider, as a symbol of progress, as a shared resource, as a management challenge, and as a symbol of our American heritage, the Yellowstone River is important. Purpose The Yellowstone River Cultural Inventory—2006 documents the variety and intensity of different perspectives and values held by people who share the Yellowstone River. Between May and November of 2006, a total of 313 individuals participated in the study. They represented agricultural, civic, recreational, or residential interest groups. Also, individuals from the Crow and the Northern Cheyenne tribes were included. There are three particular goals associated with the investigation. The first goal is to document how the people of the Yellowstone River describe the physical character of the river and how they think the physical processes, such as floods and erosion, should be managed. Within this goal, efforts have been made to document participants’ views regarding the many different bank stabilization techniques employed by landowners. The second goal is to document the degree to which the riparian zone associated with the river is recognized and valued by the participants. The third goal is to document concerns regarding the management of the river’s resources. Special attention is given to the ways YRCI 2006: Springdale to Gardiner—Preface v in which residents from diverse geographical settings and diverse interest groups view river management and uses. The results illustrate the commonalities of thought and the complexities of concerns expressed by those who share the resources of the Yellowstone River. Identification of Geographic Segments The Yellowstone River is over 670 miles in length. It flows northerly from Yellowstone Lake near the center of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. After exiting the park, the river enters Montana and flows through Paradise Valley toward Livingston, Montana, where it turns eastward. It then follows a northeasterly path across Montana to its confluence with the Missouri River in the northwestern corner of North Dakota. Five geographic segments along the river are delineated for purposes of organizing the inventory. These five segments capture the length of the river after it exits Yellowstone National Park and as it flows through eleven counties in Montana and one county in North Dakota. The geographic delineations are reflective of collaborations with members of the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council and members of the Technical Advisory Committee and the Resources Advisory Committee. Working from the confluence with the Missouri River towards the west, the first geographic segment is defined as Missouri River to Powder River. This geographic segment includes some of the least populated regions of the entire United States. This segment is dominated by a broad, relatively slow-moving river that serves an expansive farming community whose interests blend with those folks living along the seventeen miles of the Yellowstone River that traverse North Dakota. Here the Yellowstone River is also important as a habitat for paddlefish and Pallid sturgeon. At the confluence with the Missouri River, the size of the channel, significant flow and substantial sediment carried by the Yellowstone River makes its importance obvious to even the most casual of observers. Prairie, Dawson and Richland Counties of Montana are included in this segment, as well as McKenzie County, North Dakota. The second geographic segment, Powder River to Big Horn River, is delineated to include the inflows of the Big Horn and Tongue Rivers as major