Visitors can learn about wetlands at Story Mill Community Park
Chapter ONE A STORY ABOUT STORY MILL Montana is full of dramatic landscapes soaring mountains raging rivers rugged prairies and thriving wetlands Yet in some places people have completely changed its natural ecosystems One such place lies just outside of Bozeman This former wetland is now part of Story Mill Community Park Its name comes from a man named Nelson Story a successful gold miner and rancher In 1882 he settled near Bozeman and established a mill In time that business was successful as well becoming the largest flour mill in the state In order to build the water powered mill and the complex of barns the neighboring wetlands were filled in and other alterations were made to the landscape to serve the mill The site
sitting at the intersection of two streams the East Gallatin River and Bozeman Creek had been an important habitat for many fish birds and other animals The alterations however harmed the wetland ecosystem The mill was abandoned in the mid 1900s By the 2000s plans for urban development were under way at the site When the planning stopped for financial reasons conservationists saw an opportunity they wanted to restore the area to its original state as a wetland MAN MADE WETLANDS Not all wetlands are made by nature As people have come to understand the value of these highly productive ecosystems some have constructed their own to serve the needs of humans Some man made wetlands are used to raise shrimp and fish or grow rice Other wetlands have been constructed to store and clean water Still others are created to improve flood control or even to treat sewage Other wetlands are specifically constructed near schools or in communities to educate children of their importance and provide places for recreation In 2012 the Trust for Public Land organization acquired the property with plans to create a community park Private public and nonprofit organizations came together to put a plan into action to restore the rivers and wetlands The restoration began in the fall of 2014 The collaborative effort included excavating the river floodplain restoring streambeds and banks removing debris and doubling the size of the original wetland Due to its location in a wildlife corridor between two mountain ranges the restored wetland will once again provide an important habitat for wildlife Beavers otters mink fish and birds will all benefit In addition the wetland will improve water quality downstream and reduce flooding
In March 2017 the Trust for Public Land received the 2017 Montana Wetland Stewardship Award for its work to restore Story Mill Community Park Maddy Pope who managed the project for the Trust for Public Land acknowledged that the success was due to the partnership with many organizations and professionals who were equally dedicated to the area's conservation and restoration WHAT ARE WETLANDS Wetlands are areas covered in water part or all of the time or that have water saturated soil Some wetlands such as vernal pools are dry for a portion of the year Wetlands are found in all climate zones from the tropics to the tundra and on every continent except Antarctica These unique ecosystems are home to a wide variety of plants and animals both terrestrial and aquatic that have adaptations that allow them to live there Wetlands vary in size and shape and take on many forms Generally wetlands are divided into two main categories tidal and nontidal wetlands Tidal wetlands as their name suggests are found along the coasts and are affected by the tides In the United States this type of wetland is found from Alaska down the Pacific coast to California along the Gulf Coast states and up When the Story Mill wetland was cleaned up 15 000 pounds 6 800 kg of metal the Atlantic coast The wetlands in these areas have waste and 500 pounds 230 kg of varying levels of salinity due to the mix of freshwater concrete rubble were removed from the East Gallatin River and salt water Tidal wetlands include shorelines both saltwater and freshwater marshes and mangrove
