Conservation District names hearing officer for inholder case as creek inches closer to home

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

The Flathead Conservation District Board last week appointed Laurie Zeller, the former Bureau Chief of the Montana State Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, to be the hearing officer in the case of an inholder in Glacier National Park who built a home along the banks of McDonald Creek.

Zeller retired in 2020 and has now agreed to take on the task of examining the case.

It will likely be a couple of months before an actual hearing takes place, as both sides gather respective evidence in the matter.

In late 2022, John and Stacy Ambler, who own a small private lot in Glacier National Park, built a home along the banks of McDonald Creek in Apgar, not far from the foot of Lake McDonald.

Apgar has numerous private parcels that pre-date the creation of the park in 1910.

The conservation district board earlier this year found that the Amblers, of San Diego, California, built the home in violation of Montana Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act, also known as the 310 law.

The district, in turn, told the couple they had until November to tear the home down and restore the bank.

The Amblers claimed they didn’t know they needed a permit.

As the water has risen in the past few days, the home sits just a few feet from the surface of the creek.

The home sits on 2,300-square foot lot. It is hooked into Park Service sewer and water, which serves all of Apgar, a small village in the park’s boundaries.

The Conservation District’s ruling, however, is not the final say in the matter.

The Amblers have asked for a declaratory ruling in the case — the first step in a legal appeals process in the matter under the 310 law.

Under a declaratory ruling, the Amblers are allowed to present their case and the district, in turn, appoints a hearing officer — in this case, Zeller.

The ruling itself —consisting of findings of fact and conclusions of law — must be made by a concurrence of a majority of the board. Only those supervisors present during the hearing can participate in the decision.

If the Amblers are unsatisfied with the ruling, they can then petition Flathead County District Court for a review of the matter within 30 days.

If they disagree with the ruling of the district court judge, they can appeal to the Montana Supreme Court within 60 days.

The legal wrangling could mean the home, which is largely built but has no siding, could remain along the banks of the pristine stream for months more, if not years.

The conservation board also found the case was “of significant public interest.” As such, the board not only can present evidence in the case, the public can as well. The public can also offer comments in the case, too.

It was public complaints that brought the home to light in the first place — 17 private residents, some of them former Glacier Park employees — formally filed complaints to the conservation district concerning the home.

In a twist of 310 law, if the home is eventually removed, the Amblers will have to secure a 310 permit to tear the house down, as demolition will also disturb the creek banks.

The Amblers poured a significant concrete retaining wall into the creek bed before they built the house.