Whitefish, state blaze new deal for trails
A precedent-setting land-use license will allow the city of Whitefish to move forward with its Trail Runs Through It project without having to buy easements on state school trust land.
The City Council on Monday approved a resolution outlining the details of the agreement, a 10-year land-use license from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation that could be renewed for an additional 10 years.
The license enables Whitefish to move forward with an expansive trail system on state land around Whitefish that will loop from Spencer Lake west of Whitefish to Beaver Lake, east to Swift Creek, up Taylor Creek to Big Mountain, down Big Mountain Road and connect with the "Fish Trails" trail system being built in Whitefish.
The project is a public-private partnership between the city of Whitefish and the nonprofit Flathead Gateway Partners.
Since the state can't sell its land for less than fair market value and the city can't afford to buy easements at this point, an innovative approach was sought, City Attorney John Phelps said.
The land-use license will require the city to initially pay $200 per mile annually for the portion of trail that is improved and actively operated by the city.
The city, in turn, will sell permits for public use of the trail, and 30 percent of the revenue from permit sales would be paid to the state. A tiered fee system was negotiated, using a $2,000 annual charge as a base fee. Assuming the city would operate 10 miles of trails for the first five years, the state's charges would be $2,000 for the first year and roughly $11,000 annually by the fifth year.
"Even $11,000 is a small figure compared to what this could open up for public use," Phelps said.
The license agreement calls for a fee of $3,000 in the second year or 30 percent of gross income from trail permit sales, whichever is greater. It steps up to $6,000 or 30 percent by the third year, and $9,000 or 30 percent for years four through 10.
Whitefish could sell as many as 3,000 licenses per year to offset the cost, city and state officials projected.
"A best-case scenario would be a permanent disposition of (easement) rights, but this is a pretty good first step," said Bob Sandman, area manager of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. "It [the land-use license] is the appropriate vehicle at this time."
Whitefish eventually will get financial help in building and maintaining the trail from philanthropist Michael Goguen, who has proposed an exchange of 560 acres of his land near Boyle Lake for 440 acres of state land near Beaver Lake.
If the state approves the land exchange, Goguen will chip in $3 million that would pay for trail systems on both land-exchange parcels and an endowment donation to the city for funding trail construction and maintenance.
The city intends to gradually buy easements for trail access. Its first permitted easement will be from Goguen's property, Phelps said.
Whitefish Mayor Andy Feury met with the state Land Board on Monday and said the Goguen land exchange got preliminary unanimous approval.
"There was a good spirit of cooperation," he said.
A crucial piece of the trail project is creating an adequate revenue stream for the school trust lands.
"This is a great example of how things can work positively," Feury said.
When the state was considering ways to increase revenue from school trust lands around Whitefish four years ago, residents were worried they'd lose valuable recreational lands to residential and commercial development. They banded together to draft a neighborhood plan and the trail project emerged as a viable use for the state land.
"It's a unique thing that will set a precedent in the West and not just in Montana," Feury said about the trail. "It has the kind of magnitude" and legacy that places such as New York City's Central Park have left for future generations."
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com