A century after mining wastes started quietly accumulating behind the dam, a new Web camera will provide close-up views of the Superfund site's restoration, starting in January.
The Clark Fork Coalition and three of the Missoula-based Washington Corp. companies announced Friday they will install an “Eyes on Milltown” webcam to provide live video footage of the dam's removal.
The companies contributed $10,000 to the Clark Fork Coalition to buy a webcam, which will be installed at the Milltown cleanup site. The coalition also is starting a campaign to raise another $30,000 to keep the camera operating over the next three years.
The camera initially will be perched on a 30-foot-high pole near the dam. It may later be shifted to the bluff overlooking the reservoir.
The camera will stream images of the cleanup, dam removal and restoration of the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers.
“This camera will allow everyone to have a front-row seat to see Montana companies and Montana workers restoring two of Montana's greatest rivers,” said Mike Halligan, a Washington Corp. spokesman.
The images will be streamed through the Clark Fork Coalition's Web site and the three Washington companies' Web sites.
The images are scheduled to begin in January 2008.
“The Milltown webcam underscores the Clark Fork Coalition's ability to find new partners for the benefit of the watershed,” Missoula Mayor John Engen said. “To have an industrial partner like Washington Corp. assist with this project proves that Montanans are committed to our environment.”
Karen Knudsen, the coalition's executive director, said the camera will provide historic images.
“As this project unfolds, we'll see the removal of a dam and the first fish in over 100 years to swim upstream to native spawning grounds,” she said. “We're thrilled to be working with so many helpful partners.”
The $110 million
Milltown project started last year. It's scheduled to be complete by 2001.
The next big step is demolition of the dam's powerhouse. That project should start next month and be complete by March.
Reporter John Cramer can be reached at 523-5259 or at JohnCramer@missoulian.com
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