Marshall Mountain officially under public ownership (2024)

Children on bicycles yelled with joy as they bombed down Marshall Mountain behind a crowd of local government officials, forest managers, nonprofit leaders and outdoors enthusiasts ready to declare the mountain permanently public.

The next generation of Missoulians willretain access to the mountain after the city and county recently purchased the 480-acre park, a years-long process that started after part of the former ski hill went up for sale in 2021.

"This place is an amazing example of what we can do in partnership and what we can do when we work together and when we work together on a common vision," City Council President Amber Sherrill said during a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday. "I think we all saw that and we all knew that this was something that was going to be amazing for this community."

For a moment, the hill appeared headed toward public closure.

Since 2021, the city and county have been leasing the land fromIzzy Dog LLCfor $10 while it gathered the money to take the property over. This spring, the city and county used $2 million of open space bonds and several grants to finalize the deal.

Speakers at the ribbon-cutting highlighted their personal connection with the mountain. County Commissioner Josh Slotnick recalled teaching his son to ski on the hill and also remembered a party back during his time as a student at the University of Montana.

"I have pictures from my college graduation party, where I teamed up with three buddies, and I think we cobbled together 200 bucks and we rented this place," Slotnick said. "I have pictures of my friends laughing on this very lawn, holding keg cups and big smiles."

Mayor Andrea Davis could not make the event because she was at a climate change conference,but Sherrill read a statement from the mayor recalling her own experiences at Marshall through an environmental lens.

"More than 20 years ago, I recall gleefully downhill skiing at Marshall Mountain, warmer winters are one reason this mountain no longer operates that way," Davis said in the statement. "Decreasing snowpack due to a changing climate has serious economic and health impacts for our community, yet we are resilient, adaptable and creative."

Marshall Mountain ski area closed in 2003.

Both Slotnick and Sherrill credited Missoulians for passing a 2018 open space bond that helped pay for the pieces of land. The leaders also credited Five Valleys Land Trust and Izzy Dog LLC for holding the land during the transition.

Whitney Schwab, the executive director of Five Valleys Land Trust, said part of the reason for so many memories made on the mountain comes from the long-standing access that the Doerings gave to the public.

Schwab said her organization has been trying to preserve Marshall for years, first acquiring the middle portion of the mountain in 2014.

Martin Charlo, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council, said the mountain has historically been a hunting and gathering location for the Salish.

He said as the mountain gets more access, the tribe would like to contribute to Indigenous history and other educational programming at Marshall Mountain.

"Making sure we always do what our elders taught us, leave this place better than we found it," Charlo said. "That's something that I think the partners here have taken to heart."

Now that the county and city own the land, the county's newly formed Lands, Culture and Recreation Department will run programming and other management at the mountain.

Randy Arnold, the director of Lands, Culture and Recreation, told the Missoulian the next steps will likely include tearing down the old ski lodge, which is in poor condition, and updating some of the trails.