Babbitt Plans Visit To Inspect Eye Of The Needle Vandalism

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt wants to take a personal look at vandalism to the Eye of the Needle rock formation on the Missouri River, the Bureau of Land Management said Wednesday.

The BLM said Babbitt tentatively planned to fly into Great Falls tonight and visit the Eye on Friday morning, though his itinerary was still being worked out late Wednesday.

The Eye, a natural arch on the wild and scenic section of the Missouri River downstream from Fort Benton, has been photographed by thousands of river rafters and is featured on the cover of the current official state highway map. It was destroyed over the Memorial Day weekend.

Craig Flentie, spokesman for the BLM in Lewistown, said state BLM officials notified Washington headquarters of the occurrence, and the exchange caught the secretary’s attention. The BLM is part of the Interior Department.

“He saw these notices, and he has a personal interest in these types of resources,” Flentie said. “He has always been very concerned with vandalism of these types of features.”

He said the secretary wants to “lend support and emphasis” to the effort to catch the vandals.

Flentie said pledges have pushed the reward fund for capture of the vandals above $10,000. It is being coordinated by the Crimestoppers program in Chouteau County.

However, Flenie said: “As far as I know, we do not have a suspect yet.”

The Eye was last seen intact on Saturday, May 24. Larry Cook, a trail coordinator for the Lewis and Clark Foundation, and his wife, Bonnie, discovered the damage when they led a group of 10 floaters to it during a trip on May 27.

The arch, once 10 to 11 feet tall, lost about its top 4 feet, leaving two 6-foot pillars that once formed the arch’s sides. Six or seven other pinnacles also were broken off or shoved over.