Lake Helena could get its first official boat launch site under a proposal being floated by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Currently, people wanting to put boats larger than a kayak or canoe in the water must do so from a narrow area with a dirt ramp near the Causeway, which forces them to back across Lake Helena Drive, noted Craig Marr, FWP parks manager. Both the state and Lewis and Clark County officials have received complaints about the dangerous practice.

Marr said FWP also has heard for a long time from anglers who want a better, more permanent access to the popular trout, walleye, perch and kokanee salmon fishery. The problem is that most of the land around Lake Helena is privately owned.

"This is kind of a unique opportunity, because the (Bureau of Reclamation) owns the land we'd use here, so we don't have to purchase it," Marr said. "We'll just enter into an agreement to develop it."

FWP does own a large Wildlife Management Area on the northwest portion of the 2,100-acre Lake Helena, but that section is too shallow to launch fishing boats.

The plan calls for installing an access road, boat ramp, parking for 15 trucks and trailers and a vault toilet, to be reached by driving south off of Lincoln Road. An irrigation canal currently runs through the five-acre site.

The $243,000 project's cost would be split among with FWP contributing $80,000; PPL Montana contributing $81,500 as part of its recreational funding requirement; and the Madison-Missouri River Trust Fund contributing $81,500.

No overnight camping would be allowed at the site.

Lake Helena receives about 6,290 angler days, according to an Environmental Assessment put together for the proposal, ranking it 18th in fishing pressure in this region. It's particularly popular in the spring, when the lake waters, which are connected to the Missouri River, warm up earlier than the river water. That prompts the game fish to migrate into Lake Helena for spawning -- a movement anglers love to key into.

The EA notes that this is an attractive site because it can offer suitable amenities like the ramp and latrine, plus this is close to the deeper portions of the lake where the fishing is best.

Marr said he's received support from the general public, but that at a public meeting Monday night some adjacent landowners voiced concerns about increase traffic in their neighborhood due to the ramp.

He acknowledges that the ramp probably would draw additional boaters to this area, but added that he doesn't see that amount as a large increase.

The EA predicts the peak season to be from early spring to mid-July, and adds that the actual boat ramp would be several hundred yards from the nearest residence.

If it's approved, construction of the ramp and other facilities would take place next summer.

Click here to see a copy of the Lake Helena Fishing Access Site EA. Copies also are available at the FWP Helena Area Resource Office, 930 Custer Ave., or by calling 495-3260. Comments can be sent until July 14 to cmarr@mt.gov or to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, HARO-Parks Division, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620- 0701.

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