Pine Grove Fishing Pond
It Takes a Village: The Making of a Community Fishing Pond
As with most things worthwhile, an innovative vision by one person became reality with plentiful collaboration and years of hard work. For many years, Robin Street had an enduring dream of donating a portion of his family’s homesteaded property north of Kalispell to create a public fishing pond. In 2010, although Mr. Street was terminally ill, he energetically pursued the project.
The original project encompassed 13 acres donated to the state by the Street family who homesteaded the land. Many partnerships and endless volunteer efforts came together to build Pine Grove Fishing Pond, named after the school that Robin Street’s grandfather founded.
The site opened to the public in 2011 and is stocked with trout annually by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Each year school groups and families reel in the fruits of this collective labor. Several years later, Whitefish Credit Union donated an adjacent 5-acre parcel bordering nearly 1,800 feet of the Whitefish River to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to add to Pine Grove Pond Fishing Access Site.
Focusing on further protection of the surrounding area, Flathead Land Trust worked with two adjacent private landowners to help conserve additional land bordering the newly minted fishing area. Charles and Sarah Barrow and Carol Fontaine, each owning parcels bordering the fishing pond, were interested in conserving portions of their land along the Whitefish River. Maintained as open space and providing excellent riparian habitat for fish and wildlife in the floodplain of the river, each of these landowners wanted to ensure that their properties remained undeveloped, in public ownership, and would be preserved as open space. Flathead Land Trust facilitated the purchase of two acres from each landowner by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks using fishing license dollars. Ten years ago, in 2014, the additional four acres of forested riparian habitat were incorporated into Pine Grove Pond Fishing Access Site. The acquisition of adjacent lands created a buffer zone between the valued fishing access site and neighboring private property, and added nearly 750 feet of river frontage to the site.
Now spanning 23 acres, Pine Grove Fishing Pond is one of the most popular public family fishing ponds in the state, with more than 25,000 visits per year. Osprey, bald eagles, waterfowl and whitetail deer share the area, frequenting the undeveloped riverine habitat. With increased commercial and residential development in the Flathead Valley, this public space will become even more valuable.
Robin Street was delighted with the outcome. “I never thought it would develop into something like this,” Street said, who lived long enough to see the project come to fruition.
Photos: Robin Street points out landmarks at the Pine Grove Fishing Pond in 2011. Street excavated the pond and donated land for the popular fishing site north of Kalispell, courtesy of Daily Inter Lake; Michael Downs at Pine Grove Pond Hooked on Fishing program in 2014. Steve Street, Robin’s son, built the handicapped-accessible fishing dock in the background; Kids participating in Hooked on Fishing at Pine Grove Fishing Pond in 2014.