Blackfoot River Community Timeline:
Our Stand, Step by Step
Blackfoot River Community Timeline
Key moments that shaped our community response.
The Blackfoot River is more than a landscape. It’s a living corridor of wildlife, culture, and community identity. This timeline tells the story of how we’ve responded to growing pressures on this sacred place, and how everyday residents have come together to defend the water, the wildlife, and the way of life tied to this valley.
- Fast-tracks gravel pit and opencut permitting.
- Reduces community input and environmental review.
- This proposed Blackfoot River project (along with the Clearwater and Arlee mines) is a direct,public example of HB 599’s impacts.
- Shortened public notice periods and removed the requirement for a hearing unless enough neighbors file objections.
- Created a “dryland permit” that relies solely on an applicant’s CLAIM that surface water won’t be affected.
- Since HB 599, opencut/gravel pit applications have surged, with new pits sited close to homes,rivers, and community spaces.
- DEQ has approved pits near sensitive places like the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas in Arlee and along the Clearwater River, where neighbors had to organize and take legal action without zoning in place.
According to the Missoula Current, this proposal is enabled by House Bill 599 (2021) a state law that made it far easier for companies to obtain open-cut mining permits while limiting public oversight.
Download House Bill 599: Revising Opencut Mining Laws (PDF) →
64 acres of unzoned land sold on the blackfoot river in hopes of having a gravel pit and asphalt plant. if approved, the gravel pit and asphalt plant would bring significant air and water pollution, heavy truck traffic, and industrial noise to one of Montana’s most cherished river valleys.
These impacts threaten public health, wildlife habitat, and the natural character of the Blackfoot corridor. Increased trucking along Highway 200 would raise safety concerns, create noise pollution, and pass costly turn-lane improvements on to local taxpayers.
Beyond immediate damage, such industrialization risks eroding the serenity and recreation value of the river deterring visitors and causing long-term harm that is difficult and costly to reverse. The lessons of Butte’s Berkeley Pit and the Milltown Dam cleanup serve as stark reminders of what happens when short-term development outweighs environmental responsibility.
On September 19, 2025, a Land Use and Zoning Compliance permit was filed to create a 64-acre gravel pit operation with a crushing mill and hot-mix asphalt plant at 14815 Highway 200 about 3.5 miles upstream of Bonner and 6.5 miles downstream of Johnsrud Fishing Access Site in the Blackfoot River corridor.
The permit applicant is Riverside Contracting, Inc. Download the Permit Application (PDF)
Concerned citizens create a grassroots group called the Blackfoot River Community. The Blackfoot River Community works to preserve clean water, healthy habitat, and the natural character of the Blackfoot River.
Letter submitted to Missoula County Commissioners urging them to enact Emergency Interim Zoning. The Blackfoot River Community is calling on Missoula County to enact emergency interim zoning to protect public health, clean water, and wildlife habitat while long-term land-use solutions are considered.
State law allows county commissioners to establish an “interim zoning district” in response to an emergency affecting public health, safety, or general welfare. Once enacted, the county must begin a study within 30 working days, and the interim zoning remains in effect for up to two years.
Emergency zoning gives our community time to gather facts and protect the Blackfoot before it’s too late and the developers file for a permit to have a gravel pit and asphalt plant. Because HB 599 fast-tracks DEQ permits, we must act now.
Lawsuit says DEQ keeping public in the dark on mining decisions, violating state Constitution. State not disclosing ‘minor changes’ to most permits. Read the article.→
Emergency Interim Zoning is being reviewed by Missoula County Commissioners. Sign the petition and reach out to Missoula Commissioners urging them to approve emergency zoning and halt the ability for a DEQ permit to be submitted for mining!
Sign the Petition
