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P.O. Box 1855 Eureka
You don’t normally find the words “excavating” and “art” together in the same business, but that’s precisely what Buck Schermerhorn and Koocanusa Excavating have been doing for the past couple years.
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“We’ve done more landscaping work lately than we have in the past, and it’s been kind of fun to work in an artistic frame,” Schermerhorn said. “As a straight black-and-white engineer, it’s been neat to see colors and work in artistic form to see a raw piece of land turn into a work of art and make a landscaping theme for their place.”
And landscaping has become an increasing important part of Koocanusa Excavating services.
When asked what new projects Koocanusa Excavating has done recently, Schermerhorn simply says: “We’ve built a great big lake.”
In November of 2008, the team was assigned the task of turning a 3.6 acre field on Badger Ridge (the old Tucker’s Inn site) into a lake. More than that, they had to make it look good.
“My client basically said ‘let your imagination go... this place needs a lake’,” Schermerhorn recalled. “So we threw out all the ideas of waterfalls, creeks, walking paths, and trees – and he said ‘sounds good.’”
Working off and on through the winter, spring, and summer, Koocanusa Excavating has essentially finished the lake. It has its own island in the center with a waterfall on it, a large waterfall coming off of the west ridge, a pavilion and treed walking paths around its shores.
“We moved between 80-90,000 cubic yards to build it,” Schermerhorn said. “But what’s cool about it is that it looks neat and tidy. We’re not just ripping and tearing all the time.”
Koocanusa Excavating, begun in 1995, is one of the largest contracting businesses in the valley. Owner Buck Schermerhorn brings with him 21 years of experience as a practicing engineer, much of it spent with Montana Design Services, and his crew has an immense amount of combined experience among them.
“They bring a lot of wisdom to any project,” Schermerhorn noted with a smile. “I want to see some gray hairs and wrinkles on a job.”
Koocanusa Excavating has experience in many major excavating and infrastructure jobs – landscaping, subdivision roads, installing septic and water systems, and site preparation.
“We’ve focused on creating it to be a multifunctional company, so that we can take on most any construction project,” Schermerhorn explained.
In addition to the lake project and the 10 miles of pipe they installed for the newly completed Indian Springs Ranch, Schermerhorn likes to keep the business involved with the community. “Being a fifth generation Tobacco Valley (resident), you’ve got to keep your ties to the valley.”
Koocanusa Excavating has its own rock pits, to make projects quicker and easier, and with expanded services comes an expanded set of equipment. Five excavators, a dozer, three dump trucks, a belly dump, roller, blade, track skidster, and a backhoe are now part of the business. They have added some new pieces to their “equipment arsenal,” as well, such as a water truck and a new excavator last year.
“It makes us even more so a full service construction company for the valley,” Schermerhorn said.