Less than two decades ago, the scars left by lead smelting company ASARCO covered what was once a wetland just across the highway from East Helena. Industrial roads and bridges carried massive trucks that wove between containers, storage tanks and stacks.
Prickly Pear Land Trust director Mary Hollow calls that spot the “Grand Central Station” of the former smelter.
“Today, and going forward, unless you saw that in the past, you would never know,” Hollow told MTPR in a phone interview.
Now, the 240-acre site is a wetland again. It’s home to the meandering Prickly Pear Creek, groves of aspen trees and rehabilitated habitat for sandhill cranes, deer, elk, moose, beaver and more.
Hollow helped facilitate the restoration and creation of Prickly Pear Park. Superfund cleanup of the site began about 15 years ago after ASARCO went bankrupt. Hollow says the nearly $100-million settlement from that bankruptcy paid for the park in its entirety, with funds to spare.
Hollow attributes the fast cleanup and restoration of the area to a team of stakeholders all “pulling in the same direction.”
“Everybody’s on board, and they are pumped. They are so excited to get out and check out the park,” Hollow said.
The park opened Thursday, but more cleanup work remains on the former smelter site – a massive slag pile still sits along the highway.
