Fishing pond not a done deal

While Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fully supports a fishing pond in Columbia Falls, the project will take quite a bit of community support to reach fruition, fisheries manager Mark Deleray said last week.

“It’s pretty conceptual at this point,” Deleray said.

The idea is to put a fishing pond at River’s Edge Park in Columbia Falls. But Deleray said FWP doesn’t typically pay to put in the ponds — that’s done through community involvement, from civic groups to local governments.

FWP has, however, done a preliminary design and would also manage the pond fishery into the future with no costs to the city, by stocking the fish. Deleray said additional tests still need to completed, such as the soil type and the flooding potential of the site. The proposed pond would go just east of the community garden.

Deleray said the next step would be to form a working group of folks interested in the pond project. The Columbia Falls City Council Monday suggested a public meeting on the project to get more input from the community. Interested groups can contact the city at (406) 892-4391. One facet of the project includes a wheelchair accessible path to the pond, so everyone can use it.