Whitefish Plan Update

Plans for what to do with more than ten thousand acres of state trust land in the Whitefish area continue to evolve.  In the works are miles of a new public trail system and a pending large land exchange with a private landowner which has received preliminary approval from the Land Board.

Michael Goguen, who owns a large amount of land in the Whitefish Lake area, says "I make my money in California and spend it in Montana."  He calls himself "a part-time resident for 6 years" and a few years back, he and another large, non-resident landowner donated about $60,000 to DNRC to develop a plan for the 13,000 acres of state-owned land in the Whitefish area.  

Residents and neighbors who have lived with the quick pace of development in the area became concerned that the sale or trade of public lands could prevent them from accessing popular recreational areas such as Whitefish Lake and the streams, mountains and forests surrounding it. 

Conflicting emotions ran high as aroused citizens formed groups and hired their own consultants.  But from that conflict was born a diverse, citizen-based advisory and planning effort that is now known as The Whitefish Neighborhood Plan -- and Michael Goguen is back at the table.

One of the continuing products of the Whitefish Neighborhood Plan is the popular "Trail Runs Through It" effort that would develop a miles-long public trail system on the nearby state lands.  Michael Goguen owns 572 acres of land that he wants to trade for 440 acres of state-owned land to consolidate his private landholdings.  Supporters of the project say the consolidation of state lands will facilitate both public access and the trail system, and Goguen's lands already have a conservation easement on them.  To sweeten the pot, Goguen has pledged both money and improvements as part of the proposed exchange.

"I am not a developer," Goguen told the Board in his March testimony.  "I am an outdoorsman. The property I have acquired so far near Whitefish Lake, which aggregates to about 1,000 acres, I have built my house on it and that's it. No development for economic purposes."

Echoing the findings of recent studies that found recreational amenities to be a major driver of the area's economy, both Rep. Mike Jopek (D-Whitefish) and Sen. Dan Weinberg, (D-Whitefish), showed up before the Land Board to offer enthusiastic support.  "The land exchange is one thing, but the trail system that it would enable is another," Weinberg told the Board.  "These are the kind of recreational opportunities we want to foster in Montana.  It makes sense economically, it makes sense for our quality of life, it makes sense as far as our stewardship of the land."  Jopek added that "This particular proposal has the potential to be extremely good for conservation, to be very beneficial for recreation in our community and it also has the potential to be incredibly good for the trust."

According to Whitefish Mayor Andy Feury, Mr. Goguen has already made "a rather generous endowment to the City of Whitefish" for trail operation and the purchase of easements and development rights.  To enhance revenue generation for the state lands trust, which several Land Board members questioned, several options are being explored, such as entering into a land use license issued to the City by DNRC.  Feury says such a license will allow the City to sell licenses to use the trail, which would "provide an on-going and increasing revenue stream" for trail maintenance and operation.  Plus, said Feury, in order not to interfere with other operations on the state lands such as timber harvests, the trail could be moved if necessary.  Initial plans, which could see construction as early as this fall, are for a 10-mile segment of trail that will eventually be extended.

While applauding the recreational trail aspect of the plan, Land Board members cautioned that their responsibility as Trustees was to the beneficiaries of the Trust, to ensure that equal value was obtained in the exchange, and that revenue generation would continue from the state lands.  Mr. Goguen told the Board that "in terms of annual revenue generation capability from the land, we want to make it crystal clear that the final proposal will be very black and white. It will be a net increase in the annual revenue-generating potential for the state from the exchange."

With those assurances, the Board voted unanimously to proceed with the appraisals and investigations on the exchange.

Full details of the land exchange and on-going developments in the Whitefish Neighborhood Plan are available online at http://dnrc.mt.gov/trust/Whitefish_neighborhood_plan/