In early April, personnel from the U.S Forest Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and volunteers from the Montana Vet Program embarked on a five-day trip down the Smith River to remove and raft out all the latrines from boat camps, officially ushering in the new era of recreational management on the river.
After more than 40 years and 1,200 holes, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has dug its last pit latrine on the Smith River.
The Smith River is unique and alluring to recreationists for its beauty, geology, wildlife and fishing. That appeal has caused river managers to adopt more sustainable management approaches as more and more people float the river every year. In early April, Lee Newspapers joined personnel from the U.S Forest Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and volunteers from the Montana Vet Program on a five-day trip down the river to remove and raft out the latrines, officially ushering in the new era of recreational management on the river.
Colin Maas on the past, present and future of management of the Smith River MONTANA UNTAMED: As management of the Smith River enters a new era, the river's manager talks about what's in store. In 2007 the agency convened a citizen advisory committee tasked with drafting recommendations for the decennial management plan update. Among other issues, the hot topics at the time were banning floater groups from bringing pets and a human waste pack-out requirement.
Skyrocketing demand to float the river as the COVID-19 pandemic forced people out of doors and forced the river’s managers to make drastic changes. Both Freistadt and Maas agreed it was time to move the Smith River in line with river-use policies in effect across the West and change the culture of river users.
Due to the backcountry nature of the river and limited road access, officials quickly realized they would need to get creative on getting the latrines out. The required manpower was also a topic of concern in planning. The hands-on process to remove the latrines started with detaching the toilet pedestal from its wooden base. The wooden base was then cut into pieces and buried in the latrine pit.
The organization was founded seven years ago by three U.S. Marine veterans: Luke Urick, Scott Moss and Joe Miller, who all live in Montana Typically the group works with veterans from recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they have had some Vietnam veterans participate. In the past the group has dug countless new latrine pits, cleaned up boat camps and bucked up fallen hazard trees for later floaters to use as firewood.
The state has approved eight different types of portable toilets for use by floaters. They range in price from $30 to over $1,000 and there are some do-it-yourself options. It’s important floaters use only these approved toilets because of compatibility with the SCAT machine. For a full list visit FWP’s website.
But now that river rangers will no longer spend a majority of their time digging latrines, it allows them more time to educate floaters and work with with private landowners along the river.
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Colin Maas on the past, present and future of management of the Smith RiverIn early April, personnel from the U.S Forest Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and volunteers from the Montana Vet Program embarked on a five-day trip down the Smith River to remove and raft out all the latrines from boat camps, officially ushering in the new era of recreational management on the river.
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