LETTER: Stopping bridge on Flathead Lake is priority

Recently, the media has reported as “completed” the bridge to Dockstader Island on the north shore of Flathead Lake, near Bigfork. On or before Aug. 15, Flathead District Court will rule on the validity of the permit that allowed the bridge to be built in the first place. This ruling will determine fundamentally whether Montana’s Lakeshore Protection Act provides meaningful protection for any lake anywhere in Montana.

The Community Association for North Shore Conservation brought the lawsuit. Suing the county isn’t a trivial matter. It’s expensive, time consuming, and risky. The association did so because the county flatly failed to follow its own rules, and it cut the public out of an important decision affecting spectacular Flathead Lake.

Many hundreds of people from across Flathead County enjoy the north shore at all times of the year. This past Fourth of July weekend, scores of boats anchored offshore with people enjoying the shallow waters for swimming and recreating. Flathead Lake and its north shore are a priceless public resource to the people of Flathead County and beyond.

The Montana Legislature passed the Montana Lakeshore Protection Act in 1975. Republican legislator Bob Brown of Whitefish sponsored the legislation. The act intends to protect the scenic and natural values of Montana’s beautiful lakes. Without this act, no protections would necessarily exist for any Montana lake. It’s the public’s one tool to check unwise development that would harm our scenic and extremely valuable lakes.

We can’t emphasize enough how important the Montana Lakeshore Protection Act is for protecting the shorelines of Montana’a beautiful lakes that you value. Much is at stake.

—Dave Hadden, Bigfork, and 17 others