Forest Service warns of soil, water contamination in Dry Fork of Belt Creek

David Murray, Great Falls Tribune
·3 min read

The U.S. Forest Service has issued a warning to central Montana recreationalists that the soils and water in the area surrounding the Dry Fork of Belt Creek are contaminated with heavy metals. Campers, hunters and other recreationalists who use the area should take added precautions to avoid exposure to the toxic substances.

“The Dry Fork of the Belt Creek Basin is a popular spot for dispersed camping and recreation on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, and due to the mining history of this corridor, visitors are advised to take precautions,” Monday’s news release states. “Due to historic mining practices, heavy metals may be present in the water, along shorelines, and within the floodplain.”

The 6,000-acre Barker Hughesville Mining District site is located south of Great Falls and about 12 miles east of Monarch in Judith Basin and Cascade Counties. Rich silver and lead ores were discovered in the Barker Hughesville area in 1879. Mining activity occurred there until 1893 and again at the beginning of the 20th century through the 1940s.

According to a 2016 report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “the site contains about 46 known abandoned mines strewn with waste rock dumps, tailings and water-seeping mine openings. The abandoned mines have contaminated soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water with arsenic and metals such as copper, zinc, cadmium, and lead.”

“Lead is one of the many heavy metals that is present in this recreational corridor,” said Belt Creek-White Sulphur Springs District Ranger Helen Smith. “We now have brochures available at our local district office in Neihart to help folks recreate safely in the area, and we will be installing educational kiosks in the area next spring.”

“Exposure to lead and other heavy metals can occur through ingestion and inhalation of contaminated soils,” the USFS news release warns. “Lead exposure can affect nearly every system in the body and often occurs with no obvious symptoms. Health effects from lead and other heavy metals primarily occur through ingestion and inhalation of contaminated soils therefore good hygiene practices should be used to limit exposure. Lead exposure can harm the nervous system, especially in children and pregnant women.”

Clean-up work in the Barker Hughesville Mining District has been going on since 2004 and has included the removal of more than 330,000 cubic yards of contaminated mine tailings, reconstruction of Galena Creek’s stream channel, and the excavation and backfill of many near-surface underground mine workings.

In fall 2015, a fish barrier was constructed on Dry Fork Belt Creek (DFBC) as part of a larger effort to restore native westslope cutthroat trout (WCT) to the DFBC watershed. Construction of this barrier was a joint effort by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and USFS.

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Here are some tips for minimizing lead/heavy metal exposure:

  • Wash hands and face before eating and limit hand-to-mouth contact.

  • Bring water for drinking, cooking and washing. Do not use water from the stream — even if it is filtered!

  • Keep yourself and belongings clean. Remove dirt from clothes, toys, pets and equipment before leaving the area since soil tracked home from recreational areas can become a source of exposure.

  • Wear bandanas or other dust-coverings over the mouth and nose when riding off-road trails

  • Stay on trails and in designated areas

  • Eat on a table or on a blanket in grassy areas to avoid accidentally consuming soil and dust.

  • Do not harvest edible plants from floodplain areas

  • Limit contact with soil along the streambank

  • Reference Montana Department of Environmental Quality state guidelines for safe fish consumption.

To learn more about the ongoing effort to protect human health and provide ecological restoration in the Barker Hughesville Mining District, visit www.epa.gov/superfund/barker-hughesville to learn more about the work of the Environmental Protection Agency in this area.

Visit here to learn more about the history of the area and view a full-sized map of the impacted watershed and floodplain. Call the Belt Creek Ranger District office at (406) 236-5100 if you have further questions.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Forest Service warns of toxins in soils, water in Little Belt mountains