Flathead National Forest Supervisor Chip Weber has approved a special use permit allowing a statue of Jesus to remain on federal land on Big Mountain, but the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation intends to file a lawsuit challenging the Forest Service decision.

Weber announced Tuesday his reauthorization of the 10-year permit for the Kalispell Knights of Columbus to keep the statue on the 25-by-25 foot parcel of land where it has been since 1954.

The decision reversed a determination Weber made last August to deny the permit renewal, which touched off an enormous public response, mostly from statue supporters.

In a statement, Weber explained that “the statue is important to the community for its historical heritage based on its association with the early development of the ski area on Big Mountain.”

The statement also cited the statue’s eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a factor in the decision.

U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., praised the Forest Service for having “the courage to do the right thing” and he said the strong public response likely played a part.

In reconsidering the permit request, the Forest Service solicited public input and got 95,000 comments, most of them generated from Rehberg’s congressional website and an online letter posted by the American Center for Law and Justice, a national organization that counters groups such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said Wednesday that a lawsuit already was prepared and would be filed by today in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

“We were going to sue before this happened so we’ve got our complaint together and we’ll be seeing them in court,” Gaylor said, explaining that regardless of the Forest Service decision, the statue’s continued presence on federal land was unacceptable to the group. 

The foundation maintains that the statue violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“We are dedicated to the constitutional principle of separation between church and state,” she said, adding that the group is currently engaged in eight lawsuits “related to keeping religion out of government.”

Statue supporters do not regard it as being illegal.

“We’re delighted that federal officials understood what we have argued all along — that this statue of Jesus does not convey any government endorsement of religion,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice.

“Instead, this historically important memorial is designed to commemorate the sacrifice made by those killed in World War II. We believe the more than 70,000 concerned individuals we represented in this issue played a vital role in convincing the federal government to make the correct decision to reauthorize a special use permit, which will keep the statue in place.”

The Knights of Columbus, veterans and other statue supporters maintain that it is a monument to World War II veterans, particularly members of the 10th Mountain Division who were active in the establishment of the ski area.

But that claim has been challenged by the recently formed Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association.

A spokesman for that group, Ian Cameron, cites a 1954 Whitefish Pilot article that repeatedly refers to the statue as a shrine and not as a veterans memorial.

Rehberg was prepared to cancel a hearing on Friday for legislation that would clear the way for the Flathead Forest and Whitefish Mountain Resort to swap similar parcels of land, a move that would make the statue parcel part of the resort property and allow the statue to stay where it is.

Because of the pending litigation, the hearing still will be held before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on Friday and Rehberg said he will continue to push for an official listing of the statue as a historical site.

He said the hearing will allow for the legislation to advance in Congress if the court rules against the Forest Service.

Scheduled to testify at the hearing in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Kalispell Knights of Columbus is Charlie Harball, Kalispell’s city attorney and interim city manager.

Harball said members of the Catholic fraternal organization were “thrilled” with the decision to grant the special use permit.

He speculated that an opinion from the Montana Historical Preservation Office was influential in the decision.

“They determined that the war memorial is a legitimate historical site,” Harball said, adding that there will be an effort to get it officially recognized as such.

Keeping the statue in its current location “isn’t the biggest thing in the world, but it is something people certainly care about,” Harball said.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.