Southwest Montana News

In western Montana, outdoor recreation is a large economic diver, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, many outdoor recreation businesses in Butte are suffering. 

Fly-fishing, outdoor outfitters and several other outdoor activity stores and businesses are being hit with cancellations and loss of business, according to the Montana Standard, and Gov. Steve Bullock's order to close non-essential businesses won't help the tourism sector in Butte. 

Gina Evans, owner of Linked Adventures, a shuttle service for bicyclists and hikers, told the Standard she hasn't been hit hard by the economy yet but knows it's coming. 

“Just today I received a cancellation in July for a family of four who were going to spend two days mountain biking in and around Butte,” Evans told the Montana Standard. “I was going to shuttle them and one night was going to be a scheduled gear drop of supplies and food. They cited COVID-19, and the community they live in is one that has many cases.”

But Chris Bradley, co-owner of StoneFly, a fishing retail store, said his business is "essentially nonexistent," according to the paper. 

“We closed off in-store traffic on St. Patrick’s Day and did curbside orders until last Friday,” Bradley told the Montana Standard. “We can still do online retail, though, to stay in business.”

Bradley also has a side business of being a fishing guide, which has had to halt altogether, he told the Standard, as they are closed under the governor's order. 

“Guided fishing trips aren’t running right now because they’re non-essential businesses,” he told the Montana Standard. “You also can’t meet the space requirements for social distancing within the confines of a drift boat.”

Bradley said his busiest times of the year are between mid-May and September, according to the paper. 

But the fishing business isn't the only one hit hard by the pandemic. 

Mike Bias, executive director of the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana, said March is normally the starting season for fishing in the state. 

“Spring is when we start seeing a lot of out-of-state visitors for fishing, particularly in the Missoula area and Big Horn in eastern Montana,” Bias told the Montana Standard. “The restrictions the governor put in place and the mandatory 14-day quarantine for out-of-state travelers almost makes it impossible for people from other states to come for fishing trips...Secondly, the guide and outfitting industry is deemed nonessential, so we can’t operate and do trips at all.”

But Norma Nickerson, director for the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana, told the Montana Standard that it is still too early to say how the pandemic will affect the recreation economy. 

“I think we’re all crossing our fingers and crossing our toes that by July, people can get out and do some things … but that is something nobody knows.”