Fort Missoula Regional Park
Missoula, MT—Honor Award, Parks & Rec/Sports Fields
CONSULTANT:
Greg Baer
Baer Design Group, LLC
Eagle, ID
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
- This new Regional park includes nine high performance sand based grass soccer fields.
- one sand based rugby field.
- one synthetic soccer field.
- five high performance baseball fields.
- Two softball fields.
- Tennis courts.
- Cricket courts, horseshoe pits, dog park, pathways, amphitheater, and outbuildings.
ROLE OF THE IRRIGATION CONSULTANT:
- Evaluate feasibility of multiple irrigation water sources; gravity, municipal, tertiary or ground water.
- Coordinated with City legal counsel and Montana DNRC on irrigation water rights, transfer of water rights, diversion rates and applications.
- Collaborate and coordinate with Agronomist on soil types, soil depths, grass types and target root zones.
- Prepared construction documents, specifications and details for an irrigation system that is web based and centrally controlled.
- Developed detailed color-coded irrigation as-builts.
SPECIAL FACTORS:
- Lack of water rights for the City property and poor soil conditions. Once we identified a responsible and feasible solution for irrigation water, it was critical that we developed a highly efficient and manageable irrigation system to minimize water use.
- The sports fields are in high demand throughout the year. Extreme use of the high-performance fields would not be possible without the collaborative efforts between the Agronomist and Irrigation Consultant. Collaborating with an Agronomist to screen native material and develop a soil amendment solution that provided a nutrient rich soil with high water holding capacity at a percolation rate reflective of the sprinkler precipitation rate.
SIGNIFICANCE:
- Preservation of historic and cultural elements of Fort Missoula was a critical part of the planning process. Historic Fort Missoula was constructed in 1877 and has housed the U.S. Infantry, a military training post, and even a World War II internment camp. It was also the site of the largest Civilian Conservation Corp headquarters in the U.S. from 1933 to 1941.
IMAGES:
To view project images, click HERE