Replica Of Arch Promised Blm Chooses Fort Benton, Not Original Site, For Re-Creation Of Vandalized Eye Of The Needle

A replica of the Eye of the Needle, the natural arch of sandstone that awed Missouri River rafters and was vandalized last spring, will be built in Fort Benton.

The Bureau of Land Management announced the decision Friday after rejecting a proposal to rebuild the arch at its original site 56 miles downstream from the community.

The decision from the BLM’s area manager in Lewistown came nearly four months after vandals destroyed the top of the of arch that graced the scenic White Cliffs area of the Missouri River.

There was considerable public interest in rebuilding the arch there. Reconstruction might be appropriate at some point, but not now, said Chuck Otto, area manager for the BLM.

“A replica will complement the river, be more visible and move toward healing from this tragic event,” Otto said. “Once the replica is complete and the public has a chance to look at it, the replica will be assessed.”

If it is maintenance-free and is the same as the original, the BLM may again consider reconstructing the Eye of the Needle, Otto said. The arch was one of Montana’s best-known landmarks and was pictured on the cover of the state’s official highway map.

The president of the Committee to Restore the Eye of the Needle, a citizens’ group, said the BLM’s decision was disappointing. Bob Lund, of Great Falls, said the group wanted the arch to be rebuilt at its original location.

“This might be a monkey wrench in the gears, but if we have to go along with it, we can do that,” Lund said. “Sometimes, you have to take the roundabout way to accomplish something.”

River guide Bonnie Cook, who was taking some Texans on a trip down the Missouri when the party discovered the vandalism in late May, opposed rebuilding at the original site. She said she is satisfied with plans for a replica.

“The job Mother Nature did is so fantastic,” Cook said. “A newcomer coming down the river would see it (a reconstructed arch) and say, ‘What a marvelous formation.”’ But she said the Eye of the Needle “just cannot be replaced, even though we have the technology and the skills.”

Having the arch in Fort Benton will be good for tourism, said Dave Parchen, a teacher and river guide active in the town’s tourism promotion and historic preservation efforts. Fort Benton already has a variety of tourist attractions, including the Museum of the Upper Missouri, an agricultural museum and an old-fashioned riverboat.

There have been no arrests in connection with the vandalism that occurred sometime between May 25 and May 27, when someone knocked the top off the sandstone arch, leaving two pillars. A reward fund of about $11,000 has been established.

Damage to the Eye of the Needle drew national attention to the issue of vandalism of public resources. Otto said he has never worked on a public-land issue that brought such a quick public reaction.

The decision to build a replica and leave the original site alone was made by Otto, with the concurrence of the BLM director in Washington, D.C.

Otto said he hopes most of the money for the replica will come from private sources. The cost is uncertain, and a starting date for construction has not been set.

The estimated cost of building with artificial materials was $44,000, but the BLM wants the replica to be made of native sandstone, which would increase the expense. Sandstone can be obtained from a quarry about 15 miles south of Fort Benton.

The bureau’s preferred site for the replica in town is along the levee of the Missouri River. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who viewed damage from the vandalism, said he hopes the new arch will remind people of a treasure that was lost, and of the need for vigilance in protecting natural resources.

Otto said his office received hundreds of telephone calls and etters about possible action following the vandalism.

The BLM held a series of public meetings to gather additional comment, and then prepared an environmental assessment that evaluated three alternatives. One called for reconstruction at the original site, another for construction of a replica in Fort Benton and the third for no construction at any location.