Groups celebrates new access to Jefferson River

Members of the Jefferson River Canoe Trail enjoyed a fall picnic Saturday to celebrate after raising $270,000 in 2017 to fully pay for a new 30-acre walk-in fishing access site and paddlers' campsite on the Jefferson River segment of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

"We're turning a private property into something that the public has access to... it's our backyard, not just one person's backyard," said JRCT board member Judy Aaker of Butte.

Temporarily named Waterloo Grove, the property features a diverse mix of cottonwood, juniper, water birch, willow, rich forage, and whitetai...