HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-17-21 Public Comment - L. Deford - Bozeman Gateway Subdivision Phase 5 Major SubdivisionFrom:Lilly Deford
To:Agenda
Subject:Re: Bozeman Gateway Subdivision Phase 5 Major Subdivision Preliminary Plat
Date:Tuesday, August 17, 2021 11:59:42 AM
Attachments:Public Comment Bozeman Gateway Subdivision.pdf
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To Whom it May Concern,
Please find public comment attached from the Gallatin Watershed Council in regards to theBozeman Gateway Subdivision Phase 5 Major Subdivision Preliminary Plat.
Thank you,
Lilly McLane
-- Lilly McLane, Watershed Restoration DirectorGallatin Watershed Councilhttp://gallatinwatershedcouncil.org
Cell: 410.371.8221
Re: Bozeman Gateway Subdivision Phase 5 Major Subdivision Preliminary Plat
Dear Commissioners,
The Gallatin Watershed Council (GWC) appreciates the opportunity to comment on this project.
GWC is not opposing or supporting the project but would like to provide some information
relative to Watercourse Setbacks.
The small branch of Baxter Creek potentially impacted by this project is part of a larger
hydrologic system, flowing through and under the streets of Bozeman and into the East Gallatin
River. The East Gallatin River is impaired, and struggling to support a healthy cold-water
fishery, and impacts to each tributary can either help or hurt this “impaired” designation.
Although the wetlands upstream of Technology Way were deemed non-jurisdictional by the
Army Corps of Engineers, they are not insignificant. I believe it was determined that the
groundwater on the site is artificially high due to man-made infrastructure. The hydrology in the
Gallatin Valley is now heavily influenced by irrigation canals: water that was once naturally
distributed across the valley, is now re-distributed via man-made ditches and diversions. It can
be difficult to distinguish between the two, as often the man-made borrows old, natural channel
scars from decades and centuries past, and both can appear and function hydrologically
similarly. Countless beaver dams once checked, impounded, and re-routed spring creeks,
creating an extensive wetland network all across the valley. According to the Gallatin Water
Source Book, it is estimated that we have lost 1/3 of our wetlands since pioneer settlement.
When we see “artificial” wetlands supported by undersized culverts under Huffine, or by the
presence of Farmers Canal, these are just tiny remnants of what was.
The Baxter Creek Branch, Farmers Canal, and the wetlands in between, provide critical
ecosystem services. When we encroach on their setback, fill them, and pave them over,
regardless of whether they are jurisdictional or not, we are losing those ecosystem services.
The impacts of pollution, flooding, and drought are dispersed: each creek, riparian area, and
wetland across the landscape must be taken into account when building a resilient community.
It is unfortunate that the watercourse set-back relaxation was granted in 2006, and I am unsure
of what action the Commission can take at this point. If possible, GWC recommends revisiting
the watercourse set-back relaxation to better align with the current city priorities.
Thank you,
Lilly McLane, Watershed Restoration Director
Gallatin Watershed Council
P.O. Box 751
Bozeman, MT 59715