Missoula News

Paddling

Brennan’s Wave Begins to Take Shape

By Dylan Tucker, 1-26-06

Photo by Jennifer Michaelis

The view of the Clark Fork River from downtown is one of the simple joys of Missoula living. On any given day you might see deer crossing the cold waters, a fisherman trolling for trout, or a family of ducks cruising the currents.

For the past few weeks, these idyllic views have been replaced by giant construction equipment, moving rock and rebar to create a place for a new sight on the Clark Fork: brightly colored kayaks spinning and turning in the churning water.

Brennan's Wave, a water park for kayakers, is quickly taking shape below the Higgins Avenue Bridge, to be completed by late February. By March, the cranes and earth-movers will crawl out of the waters and leave behind a series of waves, whitewater bumps and rolls to be enjoyed by tubers, rafters and kayakers -- as well as by the native trout.

Missoula's paddling community has been chomping at the bit lately in anticipation of completion of the project, and the rumor mill has been alight with tales of pre-completion runs and the prospect of one half of the project being completed by the weekend.

"I've thought about actually going down there with a shovel," says Peter Coyle, who sells kayaks at Edge of the World in downtown Missoula. "I'm pretty much speechless. I'm going Sunday, that's all I can say."

The park is named for Brennan Guth, a local kayak legend who died in a boating accident in 2001. The $325,000 project is under guidance from the Missoula Whitewater Association and the World Class Kayak Academy, and has been in the works since 1996, when the Missoula Redevelopment Agency recognized the need to remove the dangerous and unsightly water hazard from Missoula's downtown.

The money for the project has come in part from the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, as well as construction donations from Modern Machinery, Envirocon, and the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.

Construction began on January 20, with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by the Guth family and much of the Missoula-area boating community. The whitewater park will improve upon the design of an irrigation ditch owned by the Orchard Homes Ditch Company.

"They have been an integral part of the project from the beginning," says Trent Baker president of the non-profit Brennan's Wave. "Without their help we wouldn't have gotten anywhere."

The water park replaces a long-unused irrigation dam, full of debris that has been a hazard for river users as of late. The park will create a series of class two rapids -- a level that can be inspiring to beginners and challenging enough for experts to hone their skills.

The park will cater to a new style of kayaking known as play-boating. The style has become increasingly popular in recent years, and has spawned the term "park and play" in the boating community. Until creation of the water park, Missoula's paddling community had to drive out of town to the Blackfoot River, or Alberton Gorge -- each destination an hour drive or more.

"Now these kids can go right downtown to a standing wave right off of the park," Baker says.

Peter Coyle has been excited about the prospect of a local wave since the project began five years ago.

"This means I can boat ever day even if I work late," Coyle says. "We'll be able to boat year round. For us, this is amazing."

Local search and rescue groups will also use the area for practicing white water rescue techniques, and kayak instructors at the University of Montana hope to bring more advanced students there for classes.

Construction crews have built a series of anchor points into the structure for search and rescue boats to use during their swift-water training, and local fire and rescue crews are excited about the effect the park will have directing the flow of traffic on the river.

The Missoula Whitewater Association predicts the wave park will boost the local economy as well. The group cites estimates of more than $1.4 million in revenues annually based on numbers from a similar park in Golden, Colo.

The rapids will have other beneficial aspects for the river: Improved oxygenation of the water and the rock cover will provide better fish habitat and improve conditions downstream, as the Clark Fork continues its slow meander through downtown Missoula.

"It will help increase river diversity, and provide a nice, deep, cool pool for fish to hang out in during the hot summer months," Baker says.

The addition of rock and boulder will provide stability to the riverbed, which will help limit erosion during spring runoff. Baker also believes the water feature will provide Missoulians with a new reason to be aware of their environmental responsibility.

"People using the wave will have more of a stake in the river, as well as those who are seeing the action," Baker says. "It will give them another reason to care about what goes on in the river."

But the most inspiring benefit may come to the people of Missoula in another way -- we have a new reason to stare longingly at the Clark Fork as it runs through town.

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