Plans to deal with Lewis, Clark fans shelved after crowds fail

HELENA, Mont. -- The hordes of Lewis and Clark fans expected to visit the Gates of the Mountains area along the Missouri River haven't materialized and plans to deal with them have "died a quiet death," officials said.

So far, the millions of anticipated Lewis and Clark bicentennial tourists haven't shown up, and neither have the restrictions discussed in 2002 by federal and state officials for the popular, scenic "Gates" area northeast of Helena.

"What happened was that between the various agencies, we could never quite get it together," said Duane Harp, a district ranger with the Helena National forest. "We were looking at taking a unified management approach, but it just died a quiet death. And anyway, we are not getting indications that the numbers might be as great as had been expected, although that's not to say it couldn't happen," Harp said.

Three years ago, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials were voicing concerns about the possible impacts of 10 million people heading to historic sites along the expedition's route.

The major commemoration in Montana of the 200th anniversary began Wednesday, with the "Explore the Big Sky" celebration in Loma. But tickets to the 34-day event, which is based out of Great Falls, have lagged significantly. Elsewhere in the nation, officials at other commemorative events also reported lower-than-expected interest.

Tim Crawford, who runs commercial boat tours through the Gates of the Mountains, said bus tour operators initially made reservations for boat tours based upon anticipated expedition tourists, but many have canceled.

Instead, Crawford expects that this will be a normal summer, with perhaps a few hundred tourists specifically coming to the Gates of the Mountains to see where Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their crew traveled and camped during their search for the northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean.

Mike Korn, regional fish and game supervisor, said he expects the public will be pleased that no restrictions were instituted for the summer at the Gates, although the agency may increase its patrols on the water.