River trail dream is in shambles

My dad, Loren Kreck, dedicated his life to preserving the glories of Montana's wilderness, often in the face of criticism from corporations and individuals who didn't share his vision of saving beautiful places for future generations.

Shortly before his death in 2010, he made a deal with the group First Best Place for a trail easement on his property along the Flathead River adjacent to the Red Bridge. His hope was that the easement would provide access so "people will be able to come down to the river and fish, swim or just enjoy this beautiful place."

Less than two years later, his dream is in shambles. Where there was supposed to be permanent beauty, there is an area overrun by graffiti, litter, camp fires, noise and drinking parties.

Under the agreement, no power tools, motorized vehicles or camp fires were to be used in maintaining the three-foot easement designed to connect Red Bridge with the trail toward Columbia Falls.

First Best Place, taking advantage of a loosely drawn agreement, has widened the easement to six feet and in doing so left behind slash and rubble.

The Cahills, who bought the property from my dad, have done their best to keep the area cleaned up, but it is a tough uphill battle. In the face of official inaction, they have tried to make the area off-limits, without success.

One of First Best Place's plans was to connect the trail to the Red Bridge, which stands a truncated, rusting hulk in the middle of the river and would take millions of dollars to restore. First Best Place is nowhere close to raising enough money to make restoration a reality.

Shame on First Best Place for failing to hold up its end of the bargain. Loren was a trusting and public-spirited citizen of Montana for fifty years. What has happened to this trail is not what he had in mind. As it stands, his donation for a trail is a stand-alone strip with no connections on either end and has basically become an eyesore.

In 2006, Loren wrote to the Bigfork Eagle, "One thing that will keep you young - walking and skiing our blessed trails, getting away from the noise and pollution of machines." His gracious gift to the people of Columbia Falls has been desecrated.

Michael Kreck lives in Ely, Nev.