“There is no place like home, there is no place like home!” That is what I say to myself every time I take my daily dog walk down at Steve Powell Park. I see the river sparkling as the cottonwoods tower along the banks of the river. In the backdrop, the Bitterroot Mountains are as majestic as ever. I walk by the river and see a fish feeding–this makes me smile. Every day I say this to myself, “there is no place like home.”
The Steve Powell Park exists today thanks to the community-minded vision of one local family and Ravalli County citizens like you and me who voted in 2006 to approve the Ravalli County Open Lands Program. The Open Lands Program provides local funding to create hunting and fishing access sites for the public, as well as community parks like Skalkaho Bend and Steve Powell Park. These parks provide us all the opportunity to enjoy the recreational opportunities we love so much here in the Bitterroot.
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I am one of the rare, lucky individuals that grew up in this wonderful valley. I have so many great memories growing up fishing, biking, skiing and recreating in the Bitterroot. From fishing with my Dad as a young girl on the banks of the Bitterroot River, to biking up and down the old mountain roads and trails along the valley floor, to hiking up the many majestic canyons, this place is home! As the Bitterroot Valley continues to grow faster than ever, the Open Lands Program is our only tool to help ensure the beauty and rural way of life we enjoy here is conserved for future generations.
Over the past 16 years, the Open Lands Program has helped local landowners and the community protect over 10,000 acres of family farms and ranches, wildlife and fisheries habitat, and nearly 40 miles of river and stream-front. As a fly-fishing guide and outfitter for the past 20 years, fishing cold, clean water is so vital for the health of not only our rivers and streams which provide fish and wildlife habitat, but to the livelihood of our valley.
Think about what you love most about the Bitterroot Valley. Is it local foods provided by your neighboring farmer or rancher? Or the ability to hike, bike, hunt, or fish along the banks of the Bitterroot River? Maybe it’s simply taking in the beauty of our open lands on your way to work or dropping your children off at school. No matter what you love most about the Bitterroot, we all have a chance to conserve it and pass down this incredible rural way of life in the future. I urge you to vote “YES” to renew the Ravalli County Open Lands Program this Nov. 8. There is no place like home and the Ravalli County Open Land Program makes sure we keep it that way!
Jenny West is a fly fishing outfitter in Hamilton.
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