Dense residential and commercial development is not needed to preserve the Old Post Hospital. Historic grants, historic tax credits, community and organizational support can be utilized for stabilization and preservation. The existing Fort Missoula public and private preservation agencies have successfully accomplished a wide variety of building preservation projects for nearly half a century. This unique area and its history can and should be preserved for future generations.
Fort Missoula provides an opportunity for citizens of all ages to visit and enjoy. The natural values develop a sense of wonder, understanding and stewardship. The convenient location of Fort Missoula becomes increasingly important to meet the open space needs of Missoula’s expanding population. Visitors can gain a sense of place and well-being and an understanding of the important role that Fort Missoula has played in the history of Montana and the United States of America.
From Buckhouse Bridge to Maclay Flat, the Bitterroot River corridor supports a unique array of riparian and wetland wildlife. The riverbank is one of the most valuable, bird-rich locations in the Missoula Valley that provides essential habitat for significant number of migrant and breeding bird species. The Clark Fork-Grass Valley Important Bird Area (IBA) encompasses this corridor. This IBA is formally recognized as a cornerstone in the Missoula Urban Area Open Space Plan.
Residential development now proposed for Fort Missoula will irrevocably degrade the sensitive habitats along the river, which make up some of the most ecologically important areas under our community’s care. We believe that this entire three mile reach of river corridor should be kept in its natural state for inclusion in a Fort Missoula Natural Area. This river corridor is a gift to the City of Missoula, and a treasure needing protection for all citizens to enjoy and in future generations.
This development would require a rezone of the current Fort zoning which protects the buildings, historic landscape, and open space. The residential development would reduce an area with approximately 90% open space down to 40%. This unwarranted for-profit redesign of Fort Missoula would radically alter the historic landscape and remove open space, eliminating historic green space for townhomes and private parking.
This overbuild ill serves the heritage of the 1200 Italian and 1000 Japanese men interned at Fort Missoula during World War II. The average age of the Japanese internee was 60. In the area of the proposed townhomes these elderly Japanese men gathered stones along the riverbank to polish and use in artworks. Fort Missoula is the most intact wartime incarceration camp in the United States and is recognized as an International Site of Conscience.
