Lake park

I would like to commend Richard Hanners and the Whitefish Pilot for their in-depth article regarding the Flathead County access and park on the west side of Whitefish Lake.

The headline gives me pause, as I don’t feel this land has been neglected, since amenities have been provided while attempting to preserve the natural habitat. Jed Fisher and the county parks have also successfully fended off other attempts by Phil Mitchell and area landholders to make this long-time public access and park their own.

These access control and takeover maneuvers have been ongoing for years. Park-users, me included, have been told now a physical barrier has been placed. I am appalled that the city of Whitefish appears to have been complicit in this latest act.

I urge all Whitefish and area residents to read the front-page article in the Oct. 7 issue of the Pilot in its entirety and let it be known to both the city of Whitefish and Flathead County Parks Department that the land needs to stay, as it has been since 1913, open for use by the public. These assets are too few and too valuable to be gobbled up by greedy neighbors.

Mary Yeats

Whitefish