Protecting lakeshore loses to politics
In 1974, a heinous act in Whitefish Lake’s Lazy Bay caused a group of Whitefish Lake homeowners to take action. The result was Montana State Statute: 75-7-201 thru 217, and in July of 1975, Montana’s first community adopted lakeshore regulations went into effect on Whitefish Lake.
Along with these new regulations came a volunteer committee whose sole purpose was to offer advice to the Flathead County Commissioners and the Whitefish City Council on lakeshore proposals.
Though the Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Protection Regulations as well as the Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Protection Committee have evolved through the years, they have always worked to balance property owner rights with the preservations of the lake and lakeshore.
One unique aspect of the committee was its membership requirements. With the exception of a City-County Planning Board representative and one member from Blanchard Lake (used to be from Lost Coon Lake), all members had to own property on Whitefish Lake.
In fact, the Blanchard Lake member was the result of the Blanchard Lake homeowners request to the county to be regulated by the WLLPR and not the county’s.
After 39 years, the continuance of the joint city-county lakeshore committee, which was in existence well before the inter-local agreement, was unanimously rejected by the Flathead County Commissioners.
The City of Whitefish had asked the Commissioners to revert back to the system prior to the inter-local agreement, but the commissioners rejected that proposal as well.
A joint city-county system that had worked, and worked well for nearly four decades was finally silenced by the county.
What does this mean and what will it effect?
Lost Coon and Whitefish Lakes will be regulated by two different sets of regulations with roughly 3/4 of both lakes and all of Blanchard Lake now under the Flathead County regulations.
The Flathead County Planning Board will be the only advisory committee for work being done on the majority of Whitefish Lake.
The “baby was thrown out with the bathwater” because all the intimate and detailed knowledge of the WLLPC is now gone.
How many County Planning Board members know these lakes as well as those members did? NONE! How many of them care as much about one of our community’s greatest assets as those committee members?
Residents living in the county portion of the lakes can now apply for crib docks, pilings, private boat ramps and decks (just to name a few) in the lakeshore zone.
Because the bottom of Whitefish Lake was annexed by the city, any county resident applying for a new dock, buoy or anything that would touch the lake bottom, must also submit an application to the City of Whitefish. Yes, that’s two applications for something as simple as a buoy, which also must adhere to two different regulations.
Make no mistake, the protection of the Whitefish Lake shoreline and the lake’s water quality lost out to politics last week.
If anyone is as concerned as I am about the protection of one of our greatest assets, please write to the Commissioners and let them know.
— Koel Abell served on the Whitefish Lakeshore Protection Committee