Somers lake access impacted by high summer traffic

It’s the middle of a Sunday afternoon and the Somers Fishing Access is swarming with boaters. The site’s 28 parking spots are filled, yet a long stream of truck and trailers wait to enter from U.S. 93. The highway itself is lined with vehicles on either side and pedestrians and cyclists flow in from the bike path along the shoreline. Inside the lot, the scene is equally chaotic, as drivers jockey for position to either load or launch their watercraft on the two-lane boat ramp.

As the local population and tourism increases in the Flathead Valley, more and more people are utilizing public access points on Flathead Lake, including the Somers Fishing Access. However, despite the influx, site managers say opportunities to provide alternate access points and expand current venues are limited.

“In the busiest months of the summer — June, July and August — we’re counting 350 cars per day coming through there, so you see where the problem lies,” Region 1 Fishing Access Site Manager Tony Powell said. “There’s 28 parking spots and 350 cars per day. You just can’t fit everybody.”

Last year, the site saw 48,533 vehicles, up 32 percent from 2014, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks car-counter statistics. Somers also outpaces other access points along the lake — Sportsman’s Bridge saw the second-highest number of users in 2018 with 35,429 cars counted and Woods Bay came in third with 17,617. For those seeking less crowded locations, Powell suggested Elmo or Walstad Memorial Fishing Access Sites, although both require longer drives and an additional tribal fishing license.

Prior to 1987, what is now Somers Fishing Access Site was operated by the Montana Department of Transportation as a rest area, Powell said. There has been a primitive boat launch and dock there since the 1960s. During the mid 1980s, the Department of Transportation and FWP began talks about transferring the site to FWP management because it was being used as a lake access as much as a rest stop. In 1987 FWP received a 50-year easement to operate a fishing access site at the Somers location. In 1990 the state agency completed an improvement project that included the boat ramp that exists today, a dock, and designated boat trailer parking area among other components.  

“There is physically not enough property there [at Somers] for us to accommodate all the use. We’d love to pick up more access points along the lake but it’s hard to find and when you do find it, it’s incredibly expensive,” Powell said. “I think we have statewide an FAS (fishing access site) acquisition budget of about $400,000. … For access on Flathead Lake, we could easily spend that whole budget and then some.”

Eighty-nine percent of the shoreline on Flathead Lake is privately owned and just 3.5 percent is under state ownership, while the remainder of shoreline public lands are owned by other government agencies.

“Money can fix a lot of things but money can’t fix everything — money can’t make Somers fishing access site any bigger than it already is,” Powell said. “There’s just nowhere to grow.”

Michael Jousma, of Bigfork, operates Captain Mike’s Fish~N~Fun charter service on Flathead Lake and has used the Somers site daily during the summer for the past six years. He said in the last three years, he’s witnessed the number of boat launch users double — or more. Sometimes he’ll show up in the mid-morning for an afternoon charter, just to be sure that he gets a spot.

He’s also observed a lack of awareness among users and a failure to adhere to boating etiquette.

“People will pull up here and they’ll be pulling out coolers from last year, moldy towels … and they’re just holding everybody hostage — they’ll sit there for 30, 40 minutes. …It seems like everybody just puts the blinders on and it’s only what’s going on in their little world that matters,” Jousma said. “I honestly believe that there has to be some kind of boating class. If you can’t back a trailer in a busy parking lot and you can’t operate a boat and be on and off that ramp in five minutes, you shouldn’t be allowed to be even using it.”

The increased usage, coupled with limited space, creates other issues besides long wait times at the launch ramp.

The trash cans at the Somers site also frequently overflow — Jousma has even witnessed non-users stop by to dump their household garbage at the site.

To help keep trash levels in check, Powell suggested recreationists pack their garbage out with them since Fish, Wildlife and Parks doesn’t have the budget to have it picked up more than twice a week.

The annual operations budget for all 34 fishing access sites in Region 1 is $110,000, which equates to approximately $3,200 per site. Due to the high usage at Somers, the department spends closer to $10,000 each year, Powell said, which covers things such as operations, supplies, garbage service and utilities.

Despite the challenges of the summertime crowds, not all users are feeling the strain.

Jay Metzger, of Kalispell, has been using the Somers boat ramp for the past 15 years and has yet to encounter any “major issues.”

“It’s convenient, it’s close. A lot of people come here, but I would say it’s actually not that bad. I think it’s set up pretty well,” Metzger said.

On the other hand, Powell said the most common complaint he receives is parking-related — either users couldn’t find a place to park or observed a single vehicle using a boat trailer parking spot.

Along with parking in the appropriate spot for your vehicle, best practices are for site users to prepare their boat with everything they need for their outing before heading down the launch ramp and to clear the ramp as quickly as possible once their boat, Jet Ski or other watercraft is in the water.

“The main thing is just be friendly and respectful of other users,” Powell said.

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss may be reached at 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.