BUTTE — "That used to be a dump years ago.”
New trees beautify the once unattractive park.
"It just felt like it was lacking something."
Copper Mountain Sports Park was built in 1999 on the site of a former copper ore smelter and landfill. It took years of remediation efforts to clean up and turn the site into the park it is today
Thanks to a program development grant given to Butte-Silver Bow by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, 40 trees have replaced the old, dying ones that used to dot the landscape.
"We learned a lot from that experience and ended up planting forty new trees. Some were planted to block the really strong winds that always seem to happen at that park and others were just for beatification and to bring some new light onto the park," said Trevor Peterson, the Butte-Silver Bow Arborist.
Peterson hopes visitors to the park will enjoy their time under the trees once they fully mature, maybe to have a picnic under or fly kites
"It’s gonna make the park just so much more beautiful. . . you know watching a baseball game sitting under a tree sounds pretty damn good," said Peterson.
More projects are on the way in Butte like an edible food forest up at Basin creek park where cherry trees, apple trees, pear trees, will be available for the public to pick for free.
