Stacks reflect on 20 years of work with lakeshore committee

Jim and Lisa Stack have an intimate relationship with Whitefish Lake.

The back deck of their home / office affords views toward Carver Bay and City Beach to the south, and Mackinaw and Beaver Bay to the west. From their perch they’ve seen the lake freeze and thaw dozens of times. They’ve seen the ebb and flow of spring runoff, and the surge of waves when a summer storm moves across the water.

“Just close your eyes and think about Whitefish without the lake,” Jim said in a recent interview with the Pilot. “What Whitefish has is so unique geographically — a friendly town on the lake at the base of a ski hill. It’s unmatched.”

For more than 20 years, the Stacks worked to preserve Whitefish Lake and other bodies of water in the area as members of the Whitefish Lakeshore Protection Committee. Jim was appointed to the committee in 1992, serving 13 of those years as chairman. Lisa served 16 years as administrator.

The committee keeps an eye on water quality and lakeshore development for Whitefish, Lost Coon and Blanchard lakes.

Jim applied this winter to serve another term on the committee but was not reappointed by county commissioners.

Earlier this month the City of Whitefish honored the Stacks for their decades of service with a plaque that was presented at the Feb. 6 council meeting.

“Jim served as chairman and provided guidance to the committee through a time of unprecedented growth in Whitefish,” Mayor John Muhlfeld said at the meeting. “Throughout his tenure, Jim applied the regulations consistently and equitably, with no personal agenda.”

He thanked the Stacks for their “steadfast commitment to protecting Whitefish Lake.”

The Stacks first learned about Whitefish’s lakeshore regulations when they were building their home on the east shore of Whitefish Lake. They had cleared some vegetation to put in a water line and were notified by letter that they had committed a violation.

Intent on changing the lakeshore regulations, Jim applied for and was appointed to the lakeshore committee.

That was 20 years ago. Since then, he and Lisa say they have become some of the strongest advocates of the lake.

“I originally applied because I wanted to change the regulations,” Jim said. “Instead, the committee changed me.”

“One quickly realizes lakeshore regulations are a delicate balance between protecting property owner rights and protecting Whitefish Lake.”

Lakeshore regulations, he says, have helped retain the lake as one of Whitefish’s premiere assets.

“It would be hard to imagine the shoreline development and impact on the lake today if not for the lakeshore regulations and 20-foot buffer lakeshore zone,” he said.

In all of their years of service, the Stacks are most proud of the committee remaining apolitical in an often controversial arena.

“The proudest achievement by the committee over the years has been the equitable and consistent application of regulations to both permits and those property owners who accidentally or intentionally end up in violation,” Jim said. “The fact that not a single committee recommendation for permit approval or denial has been overridden by the county commissioners or city council in 20 years is testament to the hard work and due diligence of the committee over the years.”

The Stacks time on the lakeshore committee hasn’t been without challenges and controversy.

Jim says committee members can end up with a target on their back as regulations are viewed by some as anti-property rights. He says there is a small group of residents in Whitefish who are “anti-lakeshore regulation and anti-lakeshore committee.”

The Stacks themselves say they have been victims of various pranks over the years, specifically when regulation updates were being considered in 2008.

A truck load of gravel they didn’t order was dropped in their driveway. Contractors showed up to perform work they didn’t request. A case of ammunition they didn’t order was delivered to their doorstep.

“We actually discussed the possible need for security protection after that one,” Jim said.

In June 2008, Jim gave an advance notice of resignation as chairman, saying he had become emotionally drained from working on the committee. He said then he would formally resign as chairman when the lakeshore regulation updates were adopted.

Concerns were raised among current and past lakeshore committee members this winter when Jim wasn’t reappointed to the committee by county commissioners.

In a Dec. 26 opinion column published in the Pilot, current committee member Herb Peschel wrote that the committee was “shocked” to learn Jim wasn’t chosen to serve another term.

“It makes us wonder if misinformation or misleading information had been provided [to the commissioners,] he wrote.

“[Jim’s] institutional knowledge of the lake, in addition to Jim’s engineering and surveying skills, his thorough knowledge of the regulations from their inception and his impartial study of all applications, make us question his removal.”

Jim also wonders if commissioners were misled.

The Pilot reached out to commissioner Cal Scott’s office for comment, but received no reply as of presstime.

Despite his non-appointment, Jim says he firmly believes the commissioners are 100 percent behind the lakeshore regulations and that the committee is in good hands. Current members include Marcia Sheffels, Herb Peschel, Scott Ringer, Dennis Konopatzke, Greg Gunderson, Sharon Morrison and Ron Hauf.

The Stacks say current regulations have helped protect the lake to date, but more work still remains. They have seen a noticeable increase in shoreline algae in recent years and note that the Whitefish Lake Institute has confirmed hot spots of phosphate levels around the lake.

The two primary identifiable sources, Jim says, are leaching septic fields, and new lawns created in the lakeshore zone — some of which are under water in the spring.

“It’s worrisome that water quality degradation is not slowing down,” Jim said.

Yet the lake’s health can improve if the problems are identified and addressed, he said.

“Lakeshore regulations are a result of a recognition that we need balance,” he said. “We give up something in exchange for protection of what we have.”