Authorities look to improve Ninepipes viewing areas

Authorities want to improve the Ninepipes Wildlife Management Area with the addition of two elevated wildlife viewing stations and improved parking, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Region One Information officer John Fraley said.

 The area, located on Highway 93 south of Ronan is a popular site for a variety of wildlife viewing enthusiasts.

Fraley said bird hunters are the primary recreational users and that the Ninepipes Wildlife Management Area offers spectacular views of the area’s high wildlife diversity.

But before crews can begin working to improve the area, authorities must first submit their draft plans to the public for a 30-day review.

That process, which ends June 1, is nearly half completed and offers the public the ability to understand and comment on the proposed ideas.

The planned improvements are important  FWP Ninepipes expert John Grant said.

“Narrow road shoulders and steep barrow ditches where developments are planned necessitate that vehicles stop in the roadway to view unusual species or large concentrations of migrating birds,” he said. “This creates risks to the parked vehicles, their occupants, and other travelers. Planned parking expansion will reduce these risks.”

Current parking areas were established primarily to accommodate hunters who tend to disperse away from one another.  

Wildlife-watchers gather more at specific sites to view birds, sometimes as caravans of vehicles or organized group field trips.  They also tend to remain in their vehicles to avoid disturbing the critters they observe, he said.

“The proposed developments are on only a small portion of the 4,200 acre Ninepipe Wildlife Management Area,” Grant said. Authorities believe that visitors will use the viewing site between 300 and 400 times annually. 

Authorities anticipate the start of construction in mid-July, following the peak-nesting season for local ground-nesting birds. 

The construction process is expected to last a few weeks. 

Anyone interested in viewing the document can see it on the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks website or in local libraries. Copies of the draft are also available at the FWP office in Kalispell, the Montana State Library in Helena and the FWP headquarters in Helena.

In order to view the draft plan online, go to fwp.mt.gov/news/public notices/.

The document is officially entitled Ninepipes Wildlife Management Area Proposed Viewing Stations Project.