Montana's Loss Could Hold Lesson for NH

By Trish Anderton on Tuesday, June 10, 2003.

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A beloved stone formation tumbles to the ground. immediately, a cry goes up to rebuild it. That's been a familiar story here since the Old Man of the Mountain fell from his mountaintop perch last month. But it's also a familiar story in Montana. NHPR's Trish Anderton reports.

A BELOVED STONE FORMATION TUMBLES TO THE GROUND.
AN OUTCRY GOES UP TO REBUILD IT.
THAT?S BEEN A FAMILIAR STORY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE SINCE THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN FELL LAST MONTH.
BUT IT?S ALSO FAMILIAR IN MONTANA.
THERE CITIZENS WENT THROUGH SIMILAR TRAUMA SIX YEARS AGO.
NHPR?S TRISH ANDERTON REPORTS.

WHEN THE OLD MAN FELL, NEWSPAPERS AND TV STATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY TOOK NOTICE.
FOR MANY PEOPLE THE STORY WAS JUST A CURIOSITY.
BUT FOR CHUCK OTTO OF MONTANA?S BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, IT WAS A FLASHBACK TO AN EARLIER LOSS.
006 40 as soon as I heard about it, I thought about the eye of the needle.
THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE WAS A GRACEFUL natural SANDSTONE ARCH, HIGH ON A bluff OVERLOOKING THE MISSOURI RIVER.
IT STOOD JUST ELEVEN FEET TALL ? two irregular stone oillars that bent towards each other until they touched.
IF YOU LOOKED THROUGH IT, YOU SAW THE RIVER?S FAMOUS WHITE CLIFFS FRAMED IN SANDSTONE.
AGAIN, CHUCK OTTO.
008130 it wasn?t an easy hike, you had to scramble up ledges and work to get there, but it was one of these hidden little areas that once you got there just the beauty of the cliff face and the arch looking down the river was just overpowering for a lot of people.
THE EYE GRACED THE FRONT OF POSTCARDS AND MONTANA TOURIST MAPS.
THEN ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND, 1997, THE WHOLE TOP OF THE ARCH VANISHED, LEAVING JUST TWO STUMPS.
THE BLM CONCLUDED VANDALS HAD TOPPLED IT, ALTHOUGH SOME PEOPLE FEEL IT MAY HAVE COLLAPSED ON ITS OWN.
EITHER WAY, THE PUBLIC REACTION WAS IMMEDIATE AND INTENSE.
there was a lot of angry people
LARRY DODGE IS A POSTCARD PUBLISHER.
HE SAYS HE WAS HEARTBROKEN TO SEE A BEAUTIFUL NATURAL MONUMENT REDUCED TO RUBBLE.
HE KNEW IMMEDIATELY THAT HE WANTED TO REBUILD IT.
DODGE HELPED ORGANIZE THE ?COMMITTEE TO RESTORE THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE.?
RETIRED SIGNPAINTED BOB LUND WAS ANOTHER MEMBER.
001 106 I just figured hey, we can redo that. // 02 14 we only have so many natural treasures; why give up and let it go? I don?t feel we should give up any if we can help it.
BUT, JUST AS IS HAPPENING NOW IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, NOT EVERYONE AGREED RECONSTRUCTION WAS THE RIGHT COURSE.
JACK LEPLEY RUNS THE MONTANA AGRICULTURAL CENTER AND MUSEUM.
HE FELT JUST AS STRONGLY THAT THE REMAINS OF THE ARCH OUGHT TO BE LEFT ALONE.
33 120 theres enough man made things going on along that river that we just don?t need something else like that. the beauty of that whole area is its wildness, and I just don?t want more man made things there.
WHILE ORGANIZERS RAISED MONEY FOR THE RESTORATION, CHUCK OTTO AND THE B-L-M DREW UP PROPOSALS FOR DIFFERENT PROJECTS.

PEOPLE SENT IN IDEAS; EVERYTHING FROM SIMPLE REPLICAS TO A FANCIFUL SCULPTURE OF PEOPLE SHAKING HANDS OVER A BRONZE AND GOLD ARCH.

CHUCK OTTO AGONIZED.

he wasn?t crazy about the idea of rebuilding.

he also worried about the impact on the environment.

BUT HE COULDN?T JUST DISCOUNT THE FEELINGS OF THOSE WHO favored reconstruction.

FINALLY THE BLM AGREED TO HELP ORGANIZERS BUILD A REPLICA IN NEARBY FORT BENTON.

IF THE REPLICA LOOKED GOOD AND AGED WELL, THE AGENCY WOULD CONSIDER REBUILDING THE ORIGINAL ARCH.

BUT THEN, OTTO SAYS, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED: PEOPLE LOST INTEREST.

I think after a while people realized it wd be fairly expensive and got used to the idea of the loss of the eye of the needle and it fizzled out over about a year and a half
BUT DIEHARD SUPPORTERS OF THE REBUILDING EFFORT BLAME THE BLM FOR KILLING THEIR MOVEMENT.
THEY CLAIM RECONSTRUCTING ON SITE WOULDN?T HAVE BEEN EXPENSIVE, BECAUSE THE LABOR WOULD HAVE BEEN DONATED.
BUT THEY ARGUE THEY COULDN?T POSSIBLY RAISE ENOUGH MONEY AND SUPPORT TO BUILD A TOTALLY NEW ARCH MILES AWAY.
LARRY DODGE STILL SOUNDS WISTFUL WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT IT.
15 50 I?m sad about it. I don?t stay bitter for very long. at some point you have to decide whether to beat yr head against a brick wall or move on, and I moved on.
DODGE AND OTHERS EVEN WONDER IF THERE WAS SOME SORT OF CONSPIRACY TO FOIL THE REBUILDING.
MAYBE A POLITICIAN?S SON OR THE BLM ITSELF WAS INVOLVED IN THE DESTRUCTION, THEY SAY.
MAYBE THE AGENCY JUST WANTED THE WHOLE ISSUE TO GO AWAY.
THE BLM DENIES ANY FUNNY BUSINESS.
BUT CLEARLY THERE?S A LINGERING DISSATISFACTION among some members of the public.
BOB LUND SAYS HE RECENTLY HEARD FROM A FRIEND WHO WANTS TO TAKE UP THE CAUSE.
he said we?ll just do it. the heck with ?em. that?s his attitude. I don?t know if he ever will.
BUT JACK LEPLEY OF THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM SAYS IT?S APPROPRIATE TO LEAVE THE BROKEN ARCH AS A MONUMENT.
I think the memory now, I think everyone is pretty much in agreement, is to leave it and point it out
CHUCK OTTO OF THE BLM STILL GETS SOME CALLS AND LETTERS ABOUT THE ARCH.
HE SAYS IF HE HAS ANY ADVICE FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE, IT?S: TAKE YOUR TIME DECIDING WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE OLD MAN.
13 03 engaging the public is essential, trying to find out overall sentiment. and I think you don?t want to rush to a decision. deliberate the options and see how things go after a couple of months.
THE BLM HAS HAS PUT PICTURES OF THE RUINED ARCH ON POSTERS AIMED AT DISCOURAGING ENVIRO-VANDALISM.
THERE?S ALSO A SMALL DISPLAY AT THE VISITORS CENTER IN FORT BENTON, TO KEEP THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE?S MEMORY, AND ITS MESSAGE, ALIVE.
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