forking and Playing the Land 



Tm going to put up a $30,000 electric sign 

 with a big hand pointed at the Snake Pit, " Cordell 

 told the Missoulian. "It'll have a flasher, too." Never 

 mind the .^''O-pound python, the pygmy rattlers, the 

 Tegue lizard, or the eight-foot replica of a Bigfoot 

 skeleton; neon shouting from the mouth of Rock 

 Creek was more than many western Montanans 

 could bear. 



The Montana Wildlife Federation warned 

 that increased traffic, over-fishing and campground 

 congestion would follow the reptiles to Rock 

 Creek. •'^ Richard Sheridan, an assistant professor of 

 botany at the University of Montana, told the 

 Missoulian such a development on Rock Creek 

 would be an "abomination. . . like wrapping your 

 garbage in the Dead Sea Scrolls." 



But John Crowley, director of the Missoula 

 Planning Board, reminded critics the county had 

 no land-use controls in the Rock Creek area. Tex 

 Cordell needed only meet state health regulations, 

 obtain a roadside menagerie permit from Fish and 

 Game, and he was in business. Beside the Rock 

 Creek Lodge, Cordell built his reptile zoo and gift 

 shop. He agreed to forego the fiasher, and for near- 

 ly five years he scraped along, becoming a "general- 

 ly accepted part of the Rock Creek scene," accord- 

 ing to the Missoulian. -^^ But when at age 82, Cor- 

 dell sold the Lodge and took his reptiles on the road 

 again, he expressed his bitterness about the en- 

 vironmental sensitivity surrounding Rock Creek. 

 "Everything Lve done in this state has been tough," 

 said Cordell. "I don't think the Montana people 

 want any business." 



Even if they don't want reptile zoos, they do 

 tend to favor private cabin homes nestled on the 

 banks of blue-ribbon trout streams. The first ranch 

 in the Rock Creek canyon was subdivided in the 

 1960s. In 19"'0. the state noted a potential for at least 

 1,000 home sites along the privately owned land 

 within the Lolo National Forest. ''•' Officials 

 predicted rapid subdivision following the new in- 

 terstate highway bridge across the Clark Fork River 

 in 19"1. They warned that coliform data was inade- 

 quate and sanitation regulations were needed. Fear 

 of rampant subdivision, as well as Forest Service 

 plans for expanded campgrounds, played a big part, 

 along with logging, in launching the effort to save 

 Rock Creek. In March of 1973, the Granite County 

 commissioners issued a one-year moratorium on 

 subdivision in Rock Creek.'*' 



"Back then there were no subdividing 

 regulations at all' says Granite County Commis- 



sioner Frank Waldbillig. "If they could bring in a 

 plat that would fit in the plat book we were told 

 wed get in trouble if we stopped them. But we 

 knew there was legislation in the mill that would 

 put some sensible restraints on subdividing. For the 

 ecological good, we imposed this moratorium — 

 and surprisingly, no one challenged it " 



One of the laws "in the mill " at the time— 

 the Montana Floodplain and Floodway Manage- 

 ment Acf**— has helped limit growth both in the 

 Granite County portion of the canyon and the 

 much smaller Missoula County portion. The Act 

 identifies lands that are unsuited for development 

 because of fiood hazards. (Structures built in a 

 floodplain are vulnerable, the reasoning goes, and 

 they may also displace water, thus raising flood 

 levels.) Under the Act, Rock Creek and its major 

 tributaries were mapped as far upstream as the con- 

 fluence of the Middle Fork; the maps indicate the 

 boundaries of the 100-year floodplain and the 

 "floodway fringe." Neither the floodplain nor the 

 fringe may be developed in ways that might in- 

 fluence 100-year flood elevations. To avoid such 

 developments, a permit is required for any activity 

 that may affect flooding."*^ 



Granite County Planner Mike Kahoe has 

 never issued a permit for construction within the 

 Rock Creek floodplain. "It would be possible to get 

 a permit by raising the level of the land," sa\-5 Kahoe. 

 "But nobody does that; it's simpler just to move out 

 of the floodplain. "■*» The floodplain regulations limit 

 residential growth because they discourage con- 

 struction close to Rock Creek and away from the 

 road, where most people would prefer to live. 



In addition, both Missoula and Granite 

 Counties have adopted ordinances requiring soil 

 tests and permits before construction of any sewage 

 system.*' The problem, as always, say health of- 

 ficials, is enforcement; sanitarian Pat Higgins alone 

 covers three rural counties, including Granite. 



Efforts to control growth in the canyon 

 through zoning have consistently failed. The Mon- 

 tana Land Reliance reported in 1990 that most Rock 

 Creek residents oppose zoning, though, ironically 

 they also oppose further subdivision.'" The alter- 

 native promoted by the Reliance is conservation 

 easements. A landowner can protect a piece of pro- 

 perty forever by donating or selling an easement 

 to such agencies as the Reliance, the Nature Con- 

 servancy, the Forest Service or the Rock Creek Ad- 

 visory Council. An easement may restrict anything 

 from svibdivisjnn and the number of buildings 



