Lodge being investigated for fishing trip

By JIM MANN

The Daily Inter Lake

The owner of a lodge that was featured on the Inter Lake's Outdoors page on June 1 is being investigated for illegal outfitting and use of aircraft on national forest lands.

Jorge Simental, the owner of Summit Station Lodge at Marias Pass, maintains that his operation is entirely lawful.

But Rocky Mountain District Ranger Mike Munoz confirmed that Simental is being investigated by Forest Service law enforcement. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks also is investigating activities related to the helicopter trip that was featured in the Inter Lake. And the Montana Board of Outfitters and Guides is looking into Simental's business.

"The board has actually been looking at this for a while," said Wayne Johnston, the board's executive director.

Simental and the pilot featured in the story, Jim Krueger, do not have permits to land on the Lewis and Clark National Forest, Munoz said.

"To conduct any type of commercial activities on national forest land you have to have special use authorization," Munoz said.

Simental maintains that the trip featured in the Inter Lake, as well as other trips, involved landing on Blackfeet Reservation lands.

But a warden with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks told the Inter Lake that it's believed the helicopter actually landed on the Lewis and Clark National Forest.

A Kalispell man who knows the area well, Ryan Busse, said he has twice seen a helicopter in the same drainage that was clearly on national forest lands, nearly a mile from the reservation boundary.

Simental said his business is "just a lodge" that refers guests to three outfitters who are licensed to operate on reservation lands and parts of the Lewis and Clark and Flathead national forests. The lodge also refers guests to other businesses that provide recreation services such as whitewater rafting or horseback riding

"I am not an outfitter," he said. "We have several outfitters that work for us."

Johnston said Simental is indeed neither a licensed guide or outfitter. And outfitters are responsible for booking and accepting payment for trips, but the Summit Station Lodge's Web site advertises trips on the Flathead and Lewis and Clark forests with a link for making reservations.

"He certainly advertises for business on national forests," Johnston said.

But Johnston noted that Montana law on outfitters and guides "gets a little fuzzy" with a provision that allows outfitters to make use of "booking agents."

"It's pretty clear that the outfitter has to designate their booking agent," he said. "We're not aware of [Simental] being a booking agent for anyone … In most cases we know who the booking agents are."

Simental maintains that his business is no different from other hotels in Glacier National Park and elsewhere that commonly refer their guests to local recreation outfitters.

Free-lance outdoor writer Dave Reese, who wrote the article for the Inter Lake, maintains that he had no reason to believe there was anything improper about Simental's business.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com