Changes are planned for the popular pond at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds.

The Lewis and Clark County Commission on Tuesday approved a plan for the management and future improvements at the pond and agreed with a state Fish, Wildlife and Parks official who suggested the creation of a citizens advisory council to ensure those upgrades move forward.

The plan, drafted by an advisory committee created by the commission, calls for improvements to the pond's water intake system; limiting domesticated ducks and geese to three breeding pairs apiece plus their offspring; installing new signage and garbage cans; removing of asphalt near the water's edge; and the possible construction of a fishing dock, among other improvements.

It allows the continued use of the pond for youth fishing, although young anglers would be limited to the north end of the 1.6-acre water hole. FWP Resource Program Manager Mike Korn said rainbow trout will continue to be stocked yearly. Only anglers ages 14 and younger are allowed to fish at the Fairgrounds Pond.

The plan also suggests building a fishing dock, which would cost between $5,000 and $10,000.

Waterfowl feeding will continue but be limited to the peninsula on the west side of the pond. The committee suggested placing a feed dispenser there and stocking it year-round, at a cost of about $2,000. It also said the public should be prohibited or discouraged from feeding bread to waterfowl.

Advisory committee member Ruth Swenson said she will seek permanent members for the committee. Topping her list of improvements are fixing the water-supply system and finding new adoptive homes for domesticated waterfowl that will be removed from the pond.

Some of those birds cannot fly, she said, and some are the mixed-breed offspring of Canada geese and ducks. The public will be discouraged from leaving unwanted pet waterfowl at the pond, she said.

An estimate -- several years old -- for improvements to the pond's intake set the cost at between $2,500 and $5,000. Korn said his department would contribute to the improvements.

"We want to be a partner in the whole thing," he said.

The committee's report said improvements to the pond's intake, limiting the number of waterfowl, removal of asphalt near the shore -- already called for the in the county's plans for the fair-grounds -- and continued regular cleaning of the drainage ditch could improve water quality there.

Improving the intake would increase the flow through the pond and possibly improve water quality, FWP Helena area fisheries biologist Steve Dalbey said.

A FWP study of the pond's water quality last year found nitrate levels 1,000 times higher than nearby Spring Meadow Lake and higher than federal Environmental Protection Agency stan-dards, the plan said, noting that the most obvious sources of nitrates are waterfowl.

Those nitrate levels do not pose a risk to humans or animals, the plan said.

It also includes a proposal to install a Web or security camera, at a cost between $1,200 and $1,800, to limit vandalism, animal cruelty and littering.

The plan suggests coordination with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office and the Helena Police Department for rule enforcement.

County commission chair Anita Varone said she would look to the county fair board and the advisory council to prioritize the improvements and bring proposals to the commission when funding is needed.

The pond was excavated in the 1950s at the prodding of the late Bill Carson, then a chair of the Lewis and Clark County fair board. It received intermittent attention until the early 1980s, when conditions there deteriorated.

Individual volunteers and groups have since donated time and money to upgrade and maintain the pond.

Swenson said the development of the management plan was challenging at times because of conflicting opinions of the advisory council's members.

"I think that's a reflection of what the duck pond means to the citizens of Helena," she said, adding that the council had been able to reach consensus.

Korn agreed and said he and Swenson had initially been on opposite sides of the fence.

"We're both splashing in the water together now," he said.

Contact Larry Kline at 447-4075 or larry.kline@helenair.com.