Ziplines going up near Bad Rock Canyon
Construction is underway for a zipline and educational facility on U.S. 2 just north of the House of Mystery.
Reno Baldwin, who formerly owned Great Northern Raft Co., has entered into a five-year lease with the Montana Department of Transportation for about 26 acres of land at the site of the Glacier Zipline Adventures and Learning Center.
Baldwin will pay $20,000 per year, to be increased by 15 percent after every fifth year if renewed. The lessee is required to maintain the site and keep the grounds clean.
The lease allows for a well, septic drain field, signage and a replica of a fire tower. It also allows brush clearing and minor site leveling under the ziplines.
Baldwin said the 70-foot high tower will have a platform where the ziplines will drop down to other platforms in the trees. He said the business is taking pains to not harm the trees, using special fasteners that can be loosened to allow the trees to grow.
The final platform will attach to a big larch tree with a spiral staircase, Baldwin said. The hope is to have the business open in early to mid-July.
“It’s going to be phenomenal,” he said.
The business has raised some concerns by residents. In an e-mail, Homer Fisher asked about development on lands that are a wildlife corridor near the Flathead River and wondered why there was no public notice or other review.
Ed Toavs, MDT’s district administrator for Missoula, said the agency leases hundreds of parcels of “surplus” lands across the state, and a public review is not part of their process.
“MDT does not consider leases significant,” he explained to the Hungry Horse News.
Toavs said Baldwin has been working on the project with MDT for several years.
Other residents are concerned about traffic hazards in the area, which has seen half a dozen fatalities over the years.
Toavs noted that Baldwin must build and maintain a 24-foot approach to the highway that meets MDT standards. Access to the leased property is currently shared with a state fishing access site.