A project to modernize the campground at Horseshoe Bend in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is making great strides thanks to the efforts of the National Park Service staff members tackling the project, Assistant Supt. John Keck said this week.


Keck said the $495,000 project is being done “in house” by the Park Service crew, which is “actually a lot cheaper than contracting it,” he said, adding, “We can pull people in and out depending on the weather or whatever part of the project we’re working on.”


Keck said visitors will notice significant improvements in the campsites. The original sites were built in the 1960s, he said, when there were primarily two types of campers: tent campers or those with a pickup truck and a camper mounted on the bed.


“Now people are pulling trailers or driving RVs,” he said. “The sites ought to give people flat space to camp on and space to not have to be a master driver to back into.”


Keck said the Park Service will keep about 13 of the old sites as is to use as “primitive” sites for tent camping, but there will be 20 modernized sites. He said the new sites will be “longer, wider and flatter.” The base is in on the sites, and the crew has been putting down gravel and compacting it.


“We want it to be a nice, solid surface so it won’t slough off,” he said. “It should stay intact really well and not erode over the years.”


The Park Service is using the existing shade shelters whenever possible and is putting in some new fire grates but also using existing grates if they are in good shape.
The new sites will have both electricity and potable water when completed, and the crew is working on trenching for the electrical hookups. The trenching in Loop A of the campground is finished, and work on Loop B in continuing. The crew will also lay water lines to be hooked up to a new well that will be drilled this fall and be in place by next season, Keck said.


Sites will be fitted with wooden screens for privacy and screening wind, which will eventually be taken out once trees are firmly established. Once the well is dug and the water system is operating, a drip irrigation system will water the trees, which will likely be planted next year.
Keck said the campground refurbishment was designed by Chief of Resources Rick Lasko, who he said did a great job. He also said the crew has worked very hard on the project.


“Very much so,” he said. “It’s been a hard winter, and every time I go out there they’re working. It’s been a real cooperative effort between the maintenance and resources departments.”


The lead crew, he said, has been Mel McArthur, Bill Pickett, Ryan Felkins and Tyler Ennis, working under the direction of Maintenance Foreman Mike Durtsche.


“I want to give them credit for working hard,” Keck said. “They worked many a cold winter day without complaining.”


Keck also gave credit to the Friends of Bighorn Lake and to NPS Regional Director Mike Snyder for making the project happen. Supt. Darrell Cook put in for the project five or six years ago, but it languished at the regional level until the Friends became interested in working with the Park Service and Snyder personally made it a priority among regional projects, emphasizing that the Horseshoe Bend project was “important to the regional director as well as the (local) superintendent,” Keck said. With Snyder’s interest, he said, “it wasn’t going to get trumped.”

Keck also gave an update on some other projects. He said the Wyoming Game and Fish Dept. is working with the Park Service to put in a new courtesy dock at the Horseshoe Bend launch ramp, applying for a grant through the state agency. The dock is designed to be more user friendly, he said, made of Brazilian hardwood that does not splinter as easily because it is compatible with a humid environment.


The dock would also have rubber bumpers on an experimental basis to see how they work, and it would have a lower draft so people could get in and of boats much easier.


The Park Service has also applied for a Game and Fish grant to upgrade roads in the Yellowtail Wildlife Management Area, also working with Big Horn County on the project.


“We’re working with Big Horn County and the Game and Fish to fix up the road system,” he said. “We’ll put in some new culverts and work with the county on gravel from the county pit, which would save us a fortune. People need to be able to get in and out of there without fear of getting stuck when they go in there to fish, hike bird watch or hunt. We want to prevent resource damage and make it a better experience for visitors, who shouldn’t have to have a four-wheel drive to get to some of these sites.”


Keck said the project would involve laying down surplus coarse gravel from the county, then put finer gravel on top.


“We want to build up a decent road bed so we’ll be able to maintain it better,” he said.


Keck also said he’s working on a longer-term project to develop a trail system through the habitat area, working with the Game and Fish on interpretation. He said a trail system would be great for birders and local citizens who would like to walk on relatively flat terrain and enjoy the riparian area.


Addressing other ongoing projects, Keck said the next stage in the renovation of the Kane boat ramp north of the causeway is to improve the path from the ramp to the parking lot. The new South Kane ramp south of the causeway has been silting in, he said, and said the Park Service is looking at ways to alleviate that, but he added, “All of our energy is focused on getting Horseshoe Bend ready for the season.


Once the new boat dock is in place at Horseshoe Bend, the old courtesy dock can be split to experiment with putting docks in different areas of the park like Abercrombie or Mormon Point to make them accessible to boaters.


“We can use the old dock to experiment and see what people will use,” he said.

The lake is filling, Keck said, noting that the plan announced last week by the Bureau of Reclamation Montana Area Office to reduce outflow to 1,500 cubic feet per second was taking effect this week. As of Tuesday, the outflow was at 1,602.6 cfs and the inflow was at 2,529.8 cfs. The lake elevation on Tuesday stood at 3,608.3 feet.


“The goal is to reach 3,618 (for launching at Horseshoe Bend) by the Memorial Day weekend,” Keck said, “and be at full pool (3,640) by mid to late June, then maintain that level as long as possible. The Bureau has concluded that if they keep the reservoir full it is easier to provide water downstream for what the river people need.”


Keck noted that there will be two concessionaires on the south end of the lake this summer. Lisa Dickerson of the Conoco Country Store will run the marina, and Keck said the park maintenance staff recently fixed up the marina building including putting in a new floor and adding some new appliances.


Dickerson plans to run the marina from the Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends, providing food, beverages and supplies, as well as gasoline at the top of the ramp.


Meanwhile, Mark Garrison is planning to run a 44-passenger tour boat on the lake this summer and has lined up bus tours to come to the lake and ride his boat. He will also run a smaller boat, and Keck said Garrison and Dickerson plan to work together to support each other’s business. Bookings will be able to be made at the marina, for instance, Keck said.


“We want to do everything we can to make them successful,” Keck said. “The better the visitor experience, the better we are.”