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Public Lands Bring Christmas Joy

Conservation requires a belief from Flathead people that protecting lands for the next generation is worthy

By Mike Jopek

Santa may stop in the Flathead Valley’s newly conserved public lands to graze his tired reindeer.

In a Christmas time tribute, Whitefish Legacy Partners traveled to Helena to present the state Land Board a final $2 million conservation payment and a progress report showing $12.5 million generated for Montana schools and universities.

The Beaver Lakes conservation and recreation easement that WLP has been working on for multiple years generated $7.7 million to Montana schools and universities.

Included in this school money is knowledge that thousands of acres of public lands will be protected forever and remain open for public recreation. People chose permanency and protected the Beaver Lakes public lands for conservation, recreation and education.

This conservation effort took over a decade. In the early days, conservation was but a vision in the minds of people like former Whitefish Mayor Andy Feury and former state Sen. Dan Weinberg. Without the City of Whitefish, none of this conservation would be possible.

In 2003, former Gov. Brian Schweitzer stood with a packed room of locals proclaiming that public lands are held in trust for the people. In Schweitzer’s hand was the Montana Constitution and as governor he proved himself a public lands champion for years to follow.

In 2005, I felt crushed by defeat as some politicians in the Legislature radically opposed conservation. In the years that followed I was overjoyed with tears as my fellow members embraced the benefit to schools.

A decade later, WLP evolved into a powerhouse of community service that builds trails, holds educational events, and has conserved thousands of acres of public lands for future generations. WLP has done right by public schools; yes, it’s for the kids.

I have done my small part on this effort over the decade but am most proud of the community for embracing conservation. It was your hard earned money, your labor of love, and your volunteerism that achieved this impressive milestone. This was the people’s achievement.

In the past years, Kalispell’s Foys to Blacktail has likewise raised millions of dollars to preserve and expand the Herron Park area. Foys to Blacktail has and will continue to build miles of recreational trails and honors an old-fashioned concept of conservation.

Foys to Blacktail added hundreds of acres of public area, spent countless hours of volunteer time building trail, and conserved lands for the next generation. These dedicated people are Flathead heroes. Without Flathead County, none of this conservation was possible.

The U.S. Congress banned mining and drilling of nearly 400,000 acres with the North Fork Watershed Protection Act and added nearly 70,000 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. Congress designated nearly 210,000 acres to conservation in the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act.

This Montana-based national conservation was a monumental effort that took nearly a generation to pass, and would never have happened without Democrat and Republican collaboration.

No conservation efforts occur without the public. It’s people who put the public back into public lands. No conservation proved to be easy work. It took years, even decades of dedication. Many hands were blistered building trails, bucket loads of tears were shed, and generous locals paid the bills.

Conservation requires a belief from Flathead people that protecting lands for the next generation is worthy. And judging by the thousands of community volunteers and donors, the Flathead has become a champion of conservation.

There will be many hard days ahead as a handful of loudmouths still abhor protecting public land, instead favoring privatization. But as Whitefish looks to protect its public water supply, it also seeks to partner with a private landholder to conserve thousands of acres of the Haskill Basin area.

Thank you Flathead, you inspire me. May peace and joy kindly conserve this earth for generations to follow.