Public access rights upheld

Last week’s jury ruling in favor of Flathead County and its boat launch on Church Slough was an important victory for the public and access to public waters.

Although it was costly for the county to defend itself, the win saved the county taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have gone to developer Dennis Carver in the form of monetary damages that he claimed were caused by the boat ramp.

Most importantly, the ruling affirmed the supremacy of the public’s interests over the self-interests of Carver, who agreed to provide an unrestricted deed for a public access in exchange for the abandonment of the old Wagner Lane.

That 3,600-foot stretch of road that hugged the slough used to provide the public with viewing opportunities and access to the water. Removing that road allowed Carver to create waterfront lots that are far more valuable now.

A state law intended to protect and maintain public access required Carver and the county to provide “substantially the same” access if the existing access was to be abandoned.

Carver maintained that the county boat ramp amounted to far more than the access that existed before. That, however, was a moot point for the county’s attorneys, who argued that Carver had no say in the type of access that the county parks board chose to develop after a public process.

Although he didn’t want a ramp that could accommodate larger boats, Carver failed to secure any restrictions before he donated the park land. He also reached an agreement with Flathead Wildlife Inc. that it would be up to the parks board to decide what type of access would be built.

Flathead Wildlife Inc., a rod and gun club that has been a staunch defender of public access, played an important role in ensuring that Carver did not achieve deed restrictions. The group threatened to sue the county if a boat ramp was prohibited as part of the land deal.

Considering that it took the jury less than two hours to decide a case that involved reams of documents and more than five days at trial, it seems pretty clear that the jury relied heavily on the simple contract law aspects of the dispute.

To the benefit of the public, restrictions weren’t part of the deal so the boat ramp will remain in place.