Experiencing urban nature

The wind rustles through the leaves of many mature trees while deer walk through the open field.

The James Bakke Nature Reserve on West Seventh Street is a quiet place in a rural part of Whitefish that’s still within walking distance to downtown. By summer’s end, the city of Whitefish hopes to have its newest park ready for wider use.

The Nature Reserve is planned to be a natural park with a walking trail along with interpretive signs on the four-acre property. The Whitefish Parks and Recreation department has set an anticipated grand opening for the reserve for September.

Whitefish Parks and Recreation Director Maria Butts said the city has worked with the friends and family of James Bakke to create a “different type of park.” The late artist James Bakke donated his property to the city.

“James was pretty clear that he didn’t want anything built there,” Butts said. “We want to make sure that it has the experience of being in nature. That it is still in town is a huge benefit. This is a different experience that will hopefully speak to people.”

Bakke died in June 2013 at age 82. He moved to Whitefish with his family in 1947 from a wheat farm near Gilford, Montana. He graduated from Whitefish High School in 1949 and went to work for the railroad, but his real passion was painting. He drew inspiration from Glacier National Park and Whitefish, along with other parts of Montana.

The Whitefish Rotary club has worked to help maintain the reserve and last year raised $23,000 toward creation of the park. A home and several outbuilding have been removed from the property, and a small parking lot has been constructed on the edge of it.

The natural park is planned to include a handicap accessible walking path at a quarter-mile distance. The path will offer a few unique experiences — signs that allow for tree identification, a fitness experience that includes stops for exercise and an exploration of Bakke’s life through his artwork. Kiosks will be in the shape of art easels and a nod to his cats is also planned — Bakke at one time had as many as 27 cats at his home and affectionately referred to them as the “aristocats.” The property also lends itself to winter activity offering the chance for cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

“It has been a fun process to be able to honor James — the fact that he gave this to the community and wanted everyone to experience it,” Butts said.

A whole list of other projects are scheduled for work by the city Parks department for this summer and fall.

“I didn’t think we had that many projects planned,” Butts said. “But somehow we have a lot again.”

For the past two summers the city parks have been busy with construction projects as the city has continued to upgrade its parks and recreation facilities. Funding for the projects have come largely from the resort tax fund.

The city is planning improvements to the Whitefish Landing, a public river access and canoe/kayak landing that was dedicated in 2013 just off the city’s pedestrian pathway. The city is looking to rename the area the Roundhouse Landing and has submitted plans to BNSF Railway to use a $25,000 grant for the project.

“We want to make improvements to the design of it,” Butts said. “We want to add benches, change the walkway and replant some vegetation. It’s a great place to take dogs swimming and to access for kayaks.”

At Riverside Park the construction of new tennis courts began last fall, but wet weather delayed the completing of the courts.

“It’s weather dependent, but it’s been moving smoothly and those should be done in June,” Butts said. “We started those last fall, but we had the wettest October we’ve had and so it took a little time.”

Wet weather has also impacted the construction of lacrosse fields at Armory Park. Two of the four softball fields will be converted into lacrosse fields.

“High ground water has made it a challenge to work on,” Butts said. “We’ve had so much precipitation it’s taken a little while to work on those, but the contractors should be done this summer.”

Work continues on a major improvements list for the Roy Duff Memorial Armory. Completed projects include a new HVAC system, new lighting and new flooring. New paint is planned for the gymnasiums interior, and an office will be converted into a party room that will have access to sports equipment for private events.

“That’s been a long project,” Butts said. “But it’s looking a lot better.”

The revitalization of Memorial Park has largely been completed after more than two summers of work. A new playground was installed in 2015, along with converting tennis courts into pickleball courts. This spring a new full-court basketball court has been constructed in the park. There is some landscaping left to complete and a few future projects such as constructing a pavilion at the park remain, but work on the park is mostly complete, according to Butts.

Work has already begun on some major changes at Depot Park.

The construction of a gazebo in the southeast corner of the park is underway with the pouring of a concrete foundation and the gazebo is set to be installed the second week of June. The Whitefish Rotary club donated $15,000 for landscaping and picnic tables for the gazebo.

The removal of the building in Depot Park and adjacent parking lot will take place in June and then that area will be leveled and sod installed. Drainage issues in that area of the park will also be fixed.

On the recreation side, the city also continues its summer programs for children and adults.

The Stumptown Summer Day Camp runs in three sessions from June 12 to Aug. 11. The camp includes field trips, physical activities and educational opportunities. There’s also a number of programs that can be attended separately — skate camp, tennis camp, arts club, theatre club, marital arts, yoga and rock climbing club.

“In the summertime children need activities to keep busy,” Butts said. “Some parents use it as a way to have fun activities for their kids to get out of the house and for others it’s important because they need to make sure their children are being taken care of in summer.”

Beginning in the fall, parks crews will undertake an update to the city’s urban tree inventory. The last inventory was completed in 2014 cataloging the health and location of the city’s trees. The city received a $7,300 grant from the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for its tree inventory.

“This includes every tree the city manages — in the boulevards and in the parks,” Butts said. “Every tree that we are responsible for.”

Since the last inventory, the city has removed 32 hazard trees and planted 138 trees.

“In three years the health of a tree can change significantly,” Butts said. “This will allow us to update annually so we can care for the trees and will be less likely to have hazard trees.”