A wildlife refuge faces threats from proposed subdivision

At the Johnston spread on Columbia Falls Stage Road there’s a 2-foot wide trail that leads down a steep bank to a pristine spring, bubbling with clear cold water in defiance of a parched August.

At first blush, one might think the trail was built by men, the way it deftly drops down the slope in a long switchback.

It was not built by men, but by the feet of elk, perhaps a hundred of them, maybe more, that call this 700-plus acres their summer refuge.

The elk live amongst giant Douglas fir, gnarled birch, spruce, and giant cottonwoods along the Flathead River.

In the evenings when the sun is low against the sky they come out to the neighboring farm fields to feed, along with dozens of deer and wild turkeys.

The Johnston family several years ago saw fit to protect this place through a permanent conservation easement — this place of elk and deer and turkeys and bears and a host of other creatures that call untouched river

bottoms home, explained Dr. Mark Johnston during a tour last week.

But there is worry here, not just from Johnston, but from dozens of neighbors, that this place will be compromised.

Because immediately adjacent to the spread the estate of Betty Trueblood and Unique Realty Developer Inc., has proposed a 77-lot subdivision on the adjacent 114 acres, which would be served by 40 individual wells and 77 septic systems, according to plans submitted to the county. The developers, Johnston maintains, claim the subdivision will have little impact on his lands and adjacent neighbors, that the underground and surface water traveled west, not north to his property.

But Johnston hired an independent consultant who found that all of the effluent from septic symptoms will flow directly into his property and ultimately, into the 720-acre wildlife refuge his family has created.

Even a layperson could see that was the case. The 114 acres frequently floods and the water flows directly onto Johnston’s lands.

Huge washouts along the banks show the effect of previous flooding.

When the lands were farm fields, it didn’t matter. The flooding provided a resting place for migrating waterfowl.

But if it’s a subdivision, that’s an entirely different matter, Johnston notes, with all the pollutants of a high-density development in the water.

In addition, the water table is low here. The first signs of water start at 5 to 8 foot depths, tests have shown.

In addition, the developers have claimed the Trueblood property (Betty has since died), is not prime farmland, even though it’s clearly some of the best soil in the valley, experts say.

Johnston and neighbors have formed the Fairview Neighborhood Association, to oppose the development.

He said the members of the association aren’t against some sort of development here, but the density is simply too high and not appropriate for the neighborhood, which is either large residential lots or working

farms. “Even with fundamental (property) rights, there’s issues of responsibility,” he argues.

But the land is unzoned and the county planning staff report claims the land is suitable for a subdivision, with certain conditions.

But Johnston said there are investors willing to pay to keep the land largely agricultural.

“We’re not opposing development,” he said. “Just not this style and location.” He recalls his great-grandfather LeRoy Johnston, who homesteaded the spread originally in the 1880s. He was a man of conservation, even back then, when it wasn’t fashionable.

“You can understand the emotion,” he said.

The family has deep ties to this land.

“It’s more than just aesthetics,” he said.

Johnston is not alone. More than 300 people have already expressed opposition to the development.

The Flathead County Planning Board takes up the subdivision application at 6 p.m. Sept. 9 at the county fairgrounds. There will be a public hearing at the meeting. The full application is available at: https:// flathead. mt.gov/planning_ zoning/planningboard.