Whitefish Trail easement OK'd by land board

The Montana Land Board unanimously approved Monday two transactions that permanently conserve and protect public access to the Whitefish Trail and state lands west of Whitefish Lake. The deal will provide school trust beneficiaries with more than $10 million.

Whitefish Mayor John Muhlfeld attended the meeting in Helena and called the board’s vote, “a landmark decision for the city.”

“It means that we continue to control the destiny of the public lands around Whitefish,” he said. “We’ve protected the values this community cares deeply about. It’s a legacy project we should be proud of.”

Michael Goguen echoed those thoughts.

“It is a historic moment,” Goguen told the Pilot. “We just conserved more than a thousand acres of land forever, secured public access to those lands, gave millions of dollars to the schools, and did it all without using taxpayer money.”

Goguen is a local philanthropist and owner of the Two Bear property west of Whitefish Lake. A portion of the Whitefish Trail passes through his estate.

THE APPROVED recreation easement allows expansion of the Whitefish Trail to connect Murray, Beaver, Woods, Dollar and Little Beaver Lakes. It also retires development rights and allows public access to 1,520 acres of school trust state land.

The easement was approved at a full market value of $7.3 million. The public recreation use easement deed is to be held by the city of Whitefish to secure the trail corridor and trail improvements. There are no financial requirements by city as Whitefish Legacy Partners will provide funding from community donations.

A separate land bank transaction proposed by Goguen was also approved by the land board.

The deal totals 580 acres with a two home-site development restriction and a dedicated two-mile public trail. It was approved at a market value cost of $2.9 million.

GOGUEN COMMENDED the collaborative efforts in the near decade-long process to reach Monday’s vote, including those from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the City of Whitefish, the Whitefish Legacy Partners, and private land owners.

The two transactions are a continuation of the Whitefish School Trust Lands Neighborhood Plan approved by the Montana Land Board in 2004, right about the time Goguen first became involved in the project.

“We started on a little shaky ground in 2004,” Goguen said. “We got started when it was a little heated. I happened to get inserted in the middle, but it was in the best interest that solutions were found.”

“There were some creative solutions. A lot of folks came up with some really great ideas.”

Goguen played a key role in Monday’s transaction, and in 2008 donated $3 million to the project.

He said as an outdoorsman, “Contributing to these projects is really rewarding.”

Muhlfeld said the project sets a model for other cities to follow.

“We’re charting new waters,” he added. “The DNRC has never engaged in these types of transactions.”

He said the decision will benefit Whitefish’s economy with visitors coming here to use the trail and recreate on the state lands.

“We’re facing a recreation-based economy in Whitefish,” he said. “As these projects are completed, recreation dollars go into the local economy. It’s very significant and will pay dividends for decades to come.”

Legacy Partners board member Lin Akey traveled to the meeting with his eight grandchildren. He said he wanted them to witness the historic vote so they’ll be able to tell their kids one day about how the state land and trail around Whitefish Lake came to be.

The Whitefish Legacy Partners will next work on a Community Recreation License in Swift-Lazy Creek, Lupfer, and Spencer Mountain areas. Long-term goals of the Whitefish Trail include a 55-mile trail system around Whitefish Lake. About 22 miles of the trail are complete.