Board OKs purchase of Flathead Lake access sites

The Montana Land Board on Monday approved the purchase of two private land parcels on Flathead Lake that will be used as new fishing and public access sites.

The subject properties are the 15-acre Montebello Fishing Access Site just north of Dayton and the 106-acre Somers Beach State Park at the north end of the lake near Somers. The board voted 5-0 in favor of both projects.

Groups including the Montana Outdoor Legacy Foundation and Flathead Land Trust have spent several years working with the private landowners to purchase the properties in order to protect valuable wildlife and public access on the Flathead Lake.

With the board’s approval, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks can move forward with the acquisitions, though the Montana Legislature gives a final thumbs up for the projects.

The Montebello site, which the Mattson family sold to the Montana Outdoor Legacy Program for about $400,000 shy of its appraisal value, will cost the agency approximately $1.5 million to purchase. According to FWP’s Bill Schenk, the money would be supplied through federal funds that are collected via taxes on fishing gear.

Schenk also said the agency will be asking for authority to spend $665,000 in General License Fund dollars that will go toward developments at the site, including a boat ramp and picnic area. Per the request of nearby landowners, the area will also include a site host, though there will be no public camping.

The Somers Beach acquisition is more pricey at nearly $3 million, but would provide much-needed access on the north shore of Flathead Lake where existing sites in Bigfork and Somers have become increasingly crowded. Park officials have said the price, while not finalized, will not exceed $2.9 million.

The Sliter family has owned the parcel for nearly a century, and has allowed the public to access the beach despite it being private property.

Conservation agencies and organizations have kept a pulse on the property for years as a potential outlet for protecting the area’s valuable wildlife habitat and to ensure public access in perpetuity. The site is home to extensive wetlands and riparian areas and is bordered by the Flathead Lake Waterfowl Production Area.

“Our family has always had a vision for access for people,” said Andrea Sliter-Goudge, one of several Sliter family members who attended the Land Board meeting.

Funding for the purchase would be primarily provided through the Land, Water and Conservation Fund, a longstanding federal program that became permanently funded this summer after the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act. Other monies would come from required matches from Parks Earned Revenue or the General License Fund.

Land Board members spoke in favor of the acquisitions, including Gov. Steve Bullock, who thanked the Mattson and Sliter families for their willingness to work with state agencies and other organizations to preserve public access on Flathead Lake, where large parcels are becoming increasingly rare.

“When you look at Flathead Lake and access to it, for generations to come there will be that opportunity because of the good work you all put in,” Bullock said.

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com