The boat ramp at the Devil's Elbow Campground on Hauser Reservoir needs an estimated $100,000 extension, only seven years after the Bureau of Land Management spent $2.2 million on new camping, boating and picnicking facilities there.

Materials at the base of the Devil's Elbow ramp are eroding quickly, causing problems for people trying to load and unload boats, according to Brad Rixford, recreation supervisor for the BLM's field office in Butte. He said that's creating safety and erosion concerns.

"We think part of the problem is that people are power loading their boats. … They back their trailers down the ramp and kind of goose it to get the boat up on the trailers," Rixford said. "Plus, the boats are getting bigger.

"All this is causing churning, and blows out all the material that we have at the end of the concrete ramp. It's creating huge cavities and the trailers' wheels are going off the concrete ledge."

To install the extension, the boat ramp will be closed on July 23 and reopen in the spring of 2009.

Rixford cringes at the cost and closure, but said both are necessary.

"That's a lot of money, and most of the work is in the water," Rixford said. "We were kicking around the idea of pouring a slab and pushing it in, but that would be tough to get the concrete lined up evenly.

"We hate to do this at this time of year and know that it's an inconvenience, but it's the best time of year to get something like this done. We like to think of it as a long-term solution."

Devil's Elbow Campground is about 15 miles east of Helena on York Road.

Rixford said that twice a year for the past three years, they've dumped fill material into the area at the end of the ramp, but it continues to erode. So they're going to close the ramp, and Helena Sand and Gravel will install a berm-like "coffer" in the area. They'll pump the water out, then pour a concrete slab extending another 15 feet into the reservoir. The overall water level in the reservoir will be dropped about a foot as part of the work.

The Devil's Lake campground will remain open during the project, and boaters can launch about one mile north of Devil's Elbow at the York Bridge landing. Boats also can be launched on Hauser at White Sandy Campground, Black Sandy State Park, and the Riverside Campground.

He noted that boat ramps on Holter Lake also are experiencing similar problems and will also have to be extended in the near future.

"We consider it a lesson learned, that we're going to need to pour longer ramps in the future," Rixford said.

On Wednesday, a few people were using the Devil's Elbow boat ramp without any problems.

Rick and Sandy Walsh of Butte said they come down to Hauser Lake often and have never had difficulties launching their Crestliner from the Devil's Elbow ramp, and added that they wished it wouldn't be closed in the middle of summer.

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com