History of the USFS Condon Work Center

Throughout the years, the Forest Service has had a lasting impact on the landscape and culture of the upper Swan Valley. Many residents were employed by the Forest Service from the local teenagers on the YACC (Young Adult Conservation Corps) crews, to the seasonal trail crews, fire crews, planting crews, spraying crews, building crews, fire lookouts, to the full-time employees. The Condon Work Center has remained an important part of the fabric of the community.

When the Forest Service decided to build a new ranger station near the airstrip and partially completed highway in the upper Swan Valley in 1957, Bob Van Gieson played a key role in planning the new administrative site. As the ranger at the Condon Ranger District from 1955-1959, Van Gieson came on duty at a time of increased logging and road-building. He witnessed the spruce bark beetle salvage logging operation in the mid to late 1950s.

"The logging came on real big.... They [USFS] could see the need for some pretty good roads there in the Swan Valley. They got the Bureau of Public Roads to build the Kraft Creek and the Cold Creek Roads ... .They were built to primarily access these beetle-infested areas," Van Gieson recalled in an interview with historian Suzanne Vernon.

Back then, the Condon Ranger Station was located near Condon Creek on present-day Condon Loop Road. It served as a year-round base of operations for the trail crews, packers, lookouts and fire guards. Today, the historic site is known as the Old Condon Ranger Station.

In a letter to the Forest Service archeologist Gary McClean, Van Gieson wrote, "I received a radio message one day .... that I was to develop a site plan for a new station and submit a properly drawn plat for this station, all to be done within the next three days."

The construction began in 1957.

"Buildings were situated within and around a U-shaped station driveway. It contained two permanent residence sites, a several-stall garage, a combination office-warehouse and a centrally located well site," Van Gieson wrote.

The third residence, which became known as the Condon House, was moved to the site from the Hungry Horse dam project. Later in 1962, the Forest Service built a kitchen and bunkhouses were added to the site.

Landscaping was a concern at the new ranger station. "We tried not to do anything that would detract from the "natural forest" appearance .... I made certain the grove of ponderosa pines in front of the office were preserved," Van Gieson wrote.

In those days the Forest Service often employed local residents of Swan Valley. "They wanted people who knew the country," Herb Styler explained in an interview with Vernon.

Styler witnessed many changes during his tenure working for the Forest Service from 1953-1977. He headed up the trail crews, cruised timber and fought fires. He was promoted to alternate ranger, later known as the fire control officer. Early on, he and his family lived at the Old Condon Ranger Station and later moved to the Condon House at the new administrative site.

In 1973, the Condon Ranger District was combined with the Swan Lake District and many of the full-time employees were moved to the administrative site located in Bigfork. The facility at Condon became known as the Condon Work Center.

"It was sad .... That ranger station anchored the whole community. The amount of employment it provided was incredible," Vernon commented in a Michael Jamison Missoulian article.

When Cal Tassinari first worked at the Condon Ranger District in 1960, most of the trailheads were located in the valley bottom. "One in particular that I can remember, Piper Lake, was about 16 miles from the trailhead. And now it's about five and a half," he explained in an interview with Vernon.

Tassinari came from the Clearwater District in Idaho after Condon District Ranger Fred Matzner (1960-1962) encouraged him to transfer. "At that time we were getting fifteen or twenty thousand dollars a year to build trails to an 'all-purpose standard,'" Tassinari said.

Later on, Tassinari became the first wilderness ranger in Region One, overseeing the management of the Mission Mountains Wilderness. He worked with District Ranger Jack Dolan (1969-1973) to develop a wilderness management plan that emphasized education.

"Few wilderness areas have had the quality care that this one has," Tassinari said. "Local people know the area intimately and can provide managers with good information," he said.

Perhaps the longest-serving Forest Service employee in the upper Swan Valley was Leita Anderson, who worked 43 seasons. She started working as a cook's assistant in the fall of 1959 and was promoted to head cook at the Condon Work Center in 1975.

In 1988, the year of the Scapegoat Wilderness Fire and dozens of other local fires, Leita and her crew of local women prepared over 20,000 meals in the kitchen at the Condon Work Center. A Seeley Swan Pathfinder article in 1988 reported, "Firefighters in the hundreds have been bedded down at the Work Center buildings, tents and the Community Hall .... This facility is one of the few Forest Service facilities left that is capable of handling situations of this magnitude."

In the early 1990s, the local timber economy was sagging, and tensions between conservationists and loggers were running high. Under the leadership of Rod Ash, residents formed the Swan citizens' ad hoc committee in 1990 to maintain and enhance both the economic livelihood and the quality of life in Swan Valley. The common thread of love of the Swan Valley brought together an unlikely alliance of loggers, conservationists, developers, outfitters, old-timers and newcomers. The ad hoc committee members were determined to define themselves by the things they agreed on, not the things that divided them.

Professional facilitator and resident, Alan "Pete" Taylor volunteered to help community members communicate effectively about sensitive issues and build consensus. There were no by-laws, no president, or officers. Everyone got a chance to be heard, and everyone listened with respect. Flip charts were used to display each speaker's main points. At the end of each meeting, new co-chairs would volunteer to guide the next.

Through consensus-building collaboration, the ad hoc committee encouraged more local involvement in Forest Service land management decisions. The committee worked with the Forest Service staff to promote small salvage sales by local loggers.

In 1995, the ad hoc committee worked with the Forest Service staff on the 30-acre Ponderosa Pine Restoration Project north of the Condon Work Center to restore the forest to a historic park-like condition. That same year, the Forest Service announced the pending closure of the Condon Work Center. Alarmed at the possible lack of a Forest Service presence in the Swan Valley, the ad hoc committee decided to apply for nonprofit status to facilitate fundraising efforts.

Many of the ad hoc subcommittee members of the Ponderosa Pine Restoration Project became the first board of directors of what became known as the Swan Ecosystem Center (SEC). The first board members included Rod Ash, Bob Cushman, Sue Cushman, Anne Dahl, Neil Meyer, Tom Parker and Mary Phillips.

"We decided, rather than just whine, to see what we might be able to do to keep the Forest Service here, and maybe even become a better manager of the area, and that there would maybe be more involvement with the citizens," Ash explained in an interview with Vernon. "We were looking at ways in which we might be able to cooperate with the Forest Service and keep the place open."

With the support of District Ranger Chuck Harris, the Forest Service agreed to form a partnership with SEC to keep the Condon Work Center operational. This collaboration allowed SEC to act as a liaison between the Forest Service and the public. Tourists and locals alike could continue to stop in at the visitors center to get up-to-date information about trail conditions, fishing regs and camping sites.

In 1996, SEC applied for a grant to pay someone to write the articles of incorporation and apply for nonprofit status. "So we looked at the group and only one person could use a computer, and that was me," Anne Dahl said in an interview with Steve and Sharon Lamar of the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society.

With her newly acquired grant-writing skills, adept problem-solving ability and tactful communication skills, Dahl was soon hired as the executive director of SEC.

That same year, when the Forest Service announced they would no longer fully fund the wilderness ranger contracts in the Mission Mountains and the Swan Front, SEC spearheaded fundraising efforts to match federal funds to keep the rangers working.

SEC's staff focused on forest stewardship, outdoor education, local history and scientific research. To sustain the land and boost the economy, SEC partnered with many public and private entities over the years to complete stewardship projects. In addition to partnering with the USFS to keep the Condon Work Center office open, SEC built a wheelchair-accessible trail within the Ponderosa Pine Project called the Ever-Changing Forest Trail. Dahl secured grant funding from DNRC to help private landowners with fuel reduction projects. Funds were also secured from the Missoula County Weed District to help landowners reduce weeds on their property. SEC partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete wetland restoration projects and to conduct waterfowl counts.

In the late 1990s SEC partnered with another local nonprofit, Northwest Connections, to form Swan Valley Bear Resources to promote coexistence between people and bears.

"It was a really bad berry year. Many bears had been transferred or had to be euthanized and Kathy Koors, who has been a warm-hearted animal lover, couldn't take it. So we started searching for funding....We applied to Disney for an emergency fund to get the bear-resistant dumpsters," Dahl said.

During the Crazy Horse fire in 2003, the Forest Service used the Condon Work Center as their headquarters, while the Incident Command Post was set up at the Gordon Ranch. The fire incident commander kept the SEC staff informed, and in turn, the SEC staff could answer questions from the public.

In 2016, SEC and Northwest Connections merged into a single entity and was renamed Swan Valley Connections (SVC). Today, SVC continues to partner with the Forest Service to engage in projects that support economic activity and natural resource stewardship.

Since 2006, the Great Northern Fire Crew has been stationed at the Condon Work Center when not on fire assignments. A Type 2 Initial Attack Crew, the group rented the bunkhouse, kitchen and other facilities at the site.

"I think it's a good idea to make use of the place," said longtime smokejumper Mike Patten in the Michael Jamison Missoulian article in 2007. "The Forest Service seems to be shifting more to the urban areas. This is more like the old-time Forest Service, being out here in the woods with the barracks and the mess hall. Once you close a place like this, it's forever. It'd be a shame to lose a spot like this," he said.

In June 2024, Swan Lake District Ranger Chris Dowling announced the impending sale of the Condon Work Center. The Great Northern Crew and SVC were given notice to vacate the premises.