Whitefish Legacy Partners has pivoted with its conservation strategy in the Swift Creek and Smith Lake area north of Whitefish Lake. The organization supporting the Whitefish Trail plans to establish a 15-foot corridor easement surrounding about 10 miles of trail, which will amount to about 20 acres.  

Legacy Partners hoped to purchase a 600-acre easement from Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation near Swift Creek last year to secure it from development. The purchase fell through when the land was reappraised with a price increase from $7.2 million to $24.3 million. 

Legacy Partners is now moving forward, with City Council’s unanimous support, plans for a trail-only easement.  

“We're all a little disappointed it's not an area easement, but this project still captures a lot of the value of the presence of the Whitefish Trail out there and the community's interests in having the Whitefish Trail be a part of the greater Smith Lake and Swift Creek area,” said Jedd Sankar-Gorton, Legacy Partners program director.  

The plan is to add 6.5 miles of new trails in the area, in addition to the existing 3.5 miles.  

The Swift Creek and Smith Lake trails will connect to Hellroaring Basin in the future. New trails are slated to be completed this fall connecting the Haskill Basin area trails through Whitefish Mountain Resort into Hellroaring Basin.  

The nonprofit continues to pursue its pinnacle goal of closing the loop of trails circumnavigating Whitefish Lake, but pockets of private property pose a challenge, Sankar-Gorton said.  

Council also supported two additional trail easements with the purpose of connecting a new 0.3-mile trail from the new Legacy Center Trailhead near Beaver Lakes to the existing Whitefish Trail.  

As with other sections of the Whitefish Trail, Legacy Partners will fund the cost and maintenance of the easements, and the city will be the easement holder. Council’s support was needed to formally submit an application to the state’s land board, which will initiate appraisals. 

Residents of the Willow Brook Close neighborhood proposed that the old Cow Creek pedestrian bridge be installed in a new location, also on Cow Creek, as part of the city’s Armory Road renovation project.  

With the bridge slated to be removed from its current position on Cow Creek near Second Street due to erosion as part of the Armory Road project, the neighbors reasoned that transporting the bridge to a new location in their neighborhood rather than disposing of it was feasible.  

Jamie Belt, an Armory Road resident, echoed several neighbors’ comments on the importance of the new site for pedestrian traffic.  

“We graciously ask for your support for the bridge that will now become a part of the major pedestrian corridor that connects the east and west,” she said.  

Councilors unanimously agreed to split the cost for the bridge’s move with the Willow Brook homeowner's association. The city will move the bridge but not place it. City Manager Dana Meeker added that the bridge would have to be removed via crane from its current location anyway. 

The estimated cost was about $30,000. Resort tax funds won't be used because they are earmarked for other uses. After the move, the Willow Brook homeowner's association will be responsible for the full installation and maintenance of the bridge.  

COUNCIL members unanimously approved the annexation of 0.91 acres located at 292 Reservoir Road. The lot is owned by Lech Naumovich and Andrea Beale and is adjacent to the Reservoir Trailhead with one parcel separating it from a city water treatment plant. The annexation aligns with the city’s annexation policy that looks to fill gaps, islands and noncontiguous boundaries. It will be zoned suburban residential. 

The city will pay half of the $2,160 cost with Heart of Whitefish to install artwork on three stainless steel city utility boxes located at the intersections of East Second Street and Spokane Avenue, East Second Street and Central Avenue, and East Second Street and Baker Avenue. Jen Suacier of Fir & Larch Creative Studio will create the designs, which include city maps and natural scenery, and local business Wrap Hive will install them.  

Lakeshore construction permits for a gravel beach for condominiums at 1340 Wisconsin Ave., and stone steps and boulder stabilization at 1396 West Lakeshore Drive were approved. A minor variance and permit for a reconfigured deck and stairway at 1480 Barkley Lane was also approved. Staff initially recommended denial of the latter minor variance, but a revised application reduced the size and addressed the Lakeshore Protection Committee’s concerns about the lake’s impervious zone. 

Editor Kelsey Evans can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.