First leg of Whitefish Trail to open

The first phase of the 55-mile Whitefish Trail will be unveiled on Saturday at the Lion Mountain trailhead, with a celebration in downtown Whitefish later that afternoon.

Twelve miles of new trail will open for nonmotorized public use in the Lion Mountain, Skyles Lake and Lupfer Road areas.

The occasion will be marked by a 9:30 a.m. ribbon cutting at the Lion Mountain trailhead, followed by an afternoon party from 4 to 7 p.m. in Depot Park, downtown Whitefish.

The grand opening will feature a hootenanny dance party, a children’s bike rodeo, local food vendors and craft beers from the Great Northern Brewery. Guests will have the opportunity to support the conservation effort by becoming a “Friend of the Trail,” or by sponsoring sections of the trail.

The Whitefish Trail, formerly referred to as “A Trail Runs Through It,” is a regional, multipartner project to develop a recreational trail system looping around Whitefish Lake through state, federal and private lands.

With construction planned over the next five years, the trail will link trail systems in the city of Whitefish and at Whitefish Mountain Resort with the Flathead National Forest, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and multiple private ownerships.

 ”This story is about partnerships and a can-do attitude,” said Steve Thompson, a board member of the Whitefish Legacy Partners (formerly Flathead Gateway Partners), a tax-exempt nonprofit founded in 2003.

“That whole episode in 2003 helped galvanize the community to create a better solution and we have brought people together from all stripes. We’ve gone from acrimony and anger to positive partnerships.”

The history of the Whitefish Trail can be traced to legislation in 1864 that reserved two square miles of lands in every township in the Territory of Montana for the financial support of public schools.

Those set-asides now are called School Trust Lands and are managed by the state, which is obligated to obtain the greatest benefit for school trusts and the greatest monetary return must be weighed against the long-term productivity of the land to ensure continued future returns to the trusts.

With increasing development and commercial pressures in 2003, the state began to review real-estate development proposals for the 13,000-plus acres of trust lands in the Whitefish area, which set off community alarms.

In response to the community concern, the state Land Board chartered the Whitefish Area Trust Land Advisory Committee made up of diverse stakeholders, including the DNRC, to draft the Whitefish Area Trust Lands Neighborhood Plan.

For the next year the committee worked to develop the plan with multiple work sessions and public meetings and the regional loop trail system emerged as a key component to create a permanent public recreation corridor.

“We’ve come from a high degree of concern from the community about the current and future uses of state land around Whitefish,” said Bob Sandman, area manager for the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

“We worked very hard to partner and collaborate in the uses and the revenue sources of the properties that go to the beneficiaries. The Whitefish community has been an active and excellent partner working with us on that vision to make the trail system a reality.”

While state and federal lands were large pieces of the puzzle, private landowners also provide key links in the collaboration.

In 2006, Whitefish philanthropist Mike Goguen proposed a conservation land exchange project, offering assistance with access, construction and funding of the trail.

With unanimous approval by the Land Board of a 440-acre exchange near his Whitefish property, Goguen provided a $3.1 million endowment to the city of Whitefish to support the trail and permanent conservation and donated easements for the trail across his property. He also pledged the first $100,000 of the endowment to kick-start the project.

Easements for the first section of completed trail have also been provided by Dickie Deats and John and Susan O’Donnell.

Since trail work began in late summer 2009, more than 20 contractors and 200 volunteers have participated, led by Greg Gunderson and David Noftsinger of Forestoration Inc. Trail design has closely followed international standards for sustainable grades and water management.

To reach the trailhead, follow U.S. 93 1.2 miles north of town to the State Park turnoff past the golf course, then continue straight on Mountainside Drive, which becomes Lion Mountain Loop Road.

This trailhead has a vault toilet, a trailhead kiosk with signs and information, and a large parking area. The second “minor” trailhead is located off of Skyles Lake Lane, 3.5 miles west of town. This trailhead will include an informational kiosk and parking for six vehicles.

For more information, visit www.WhitefishTrail.org.