The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling in the case of a private home that was built on the bank of lower McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park, ruling the Flathead Conservation District has no jurisdiction in the matter.

The Conservation District previously found the house, owned by John and Stacy Ambler of California, was built in violation of the Montana Streambed Protection Act, and at one point ordered the Amblers to remove the house.

The home is held into the steep bank of the stream by a concrete wall and sits on a small lot of just over 2,300 square feet.

The Amblers appealed the Conservation District ruling to remove the house and ultimately sued in federal court. In February 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen DeSoto found the Conservation District lacked authority to enforce state law inside of Glacier National Park, as the state had ceded most of its jurisdiction to the federal government over all land within the boundaries of Glacier National Park — including private inholdings — back in 1911. The federal government, in turn, accepted that cessation in 1914, save for the right of the state to tax and pursue criminal cases.

The Conservation District and intervenors Friends of Montana Streams and Rivers appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit.

“The Streambed Act is not assimilated into federal law as part of the same basic scheme in effect at the time of cession,” the higher court found in its April 15 ruling.

The Conservation District and the Friends group also argued the Streambed Act had a criminal enforcement element and should be considered as such.

But the higher court rejected that argument as well, noting the act is largely regulatory and allows for permits for people and property owners working and building near Montana’s streams and rivers. The Amblers did not get a permit from the Conservation District to build the house, known as a 310 permit, which set off the entire case.

“The Streambed Act is not a criminal law and therefore was not assimilated into federal law when (the Act) was enacted in 1975,” the Appeals Court found, later adding, “Because Montana lacks concurrent legislative jurisdiction, there is no basis to apply the Streambed Act to the Amblers’ property.”

The Park Service allowed the Ambler home to be built and allowed it to be hooked into Park Service sewer and water, which serves Apgar Village.

Apgar Village is a small village of private property inside the park boundaries just south of Lake McDonald. It’s a subdivision that pre-dates the park and is largely commercial property, with small shops and rental cabins, save for the Village Inn, which is owned by the Park Service.

While Glacier has bought out or acquired most of the private property inside its boundaries since 1910, there are still several privately held lots along the shores of Lake McDonald and a few up the North Fork in and around Big Prairie.

The Ninth Circuit ruling could have broader implications in the future, as Pursuit owns several rental cabins along the creek, just upstream of the Ambler Home.

Pursuit had previously applied for a permit to the Conservation District to presumably rebuild or replace the aging structures. But it pulled the application as the Ambler case progressed.

The federal government does have regulatory means to examine developments in its boundaries. It has its own set of septic regulations, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.