A weed-control contractor stirred up outrage after driving a utility terrain vehicle (UTV) nearly nine miles through the Blackfoot River.
The maker of the UTV, called a SHERP, says it can traverse nearly any type of landscape and navigate through water. A group of conservationists argue that doesn’t mean it should.
The black UTV with large paddle-style tires was recorded on video churning up water over a nine mile stretch of the Blackfoot earlier this month. It was used by a team contracted by Powell County to control noxious weeds, according to Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.
Powell County officials did not respond to requests for comment.
In 2023, Powell County received a federal grant to manage invasive plants along the Blackfoot corridor.
Nearly two dozen conservationists and individuals signed a letter to state and federal wildlife officials condemning the activity.
"It was just shocking," says Mike Bader, natural resource consultant and the author of the letter. "You know, the huge waves of water and the plumes of sediment and moss, so it's damaging all the rocks. It was just hard to believe we were seeing it."
The Blackfoot River is under "hoot-owl" fishing restrictions after waterways reached temperatures and conditions threatening to fish populations.
The river is also designated habitat for bull trout, a species classified as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
"Bull trout are really sensitive to sediments in the streams," Bader says. "And sediments can cover up their redds, their spawning redds, and bull trout are in their spawning period now."
Bader hopes federal officials pursue criminal charges for damaging the trout’s habitat.
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks officials said in a statement the contractors did not have the required permit to use the SHERP on the river. They also noted this can have a negative impact on the habitat and fishery of the Blackfoot.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service replied to Bader, saying that it was sending the letter to its enforcement division.
SHERP does advertise the use of its utility vehicle for invasive plant treatment.
The company says the vehicle’s design “mitigate(s) disturbance to unaffected vegetation and soil … averting harm to imperiled ecosystems.” Representatives for the company declined to comment on the incident on the Blackfoot River and the use of the vehicles for treating invasive plants.
Officials say an investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
