Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 9.21.16

NEWS
White sh Lake Watershed Project Receives $2 Million in Funding Montana congressional delegation announces funds to preserve open land near White sh
BY TRISTAN SCOTT OF THE BEACON
Montana’s congressional delegation has secured $2 million in funding for the sprawling, multi-phase White sh Lake Watershed Project, which furnishes permanent protections on 15,334 acres of prime multi- ple-use land anking the lake’s northern shore.
The conservation and recreation community praised the easement because it protects critical sh and wild- life habitat and provides continued public access for out- door recreation, while also securing the city of White- sh’s water supply, 20 percent of which is drawn from White sh Lake.
Coupled with the nearby Haskill Basin project on land owned by F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. — the source of the city’s remaining water supply — the White sh Lake Conservation Project a ords the nal safeguard from threats of development on land owned by the Weyerhaeuser Company.
The most recent round of funding was made avail- able through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and administered by the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is nanced by federal revenues from energy companies drilling for oil and gas in public waters o shore.
Alan Wood, regional wildlife mitigation coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the agency applied for the federal funding last year and was relieved by the news that it had been awarded.
“We submitted the application and then held our breath and crossed our ngers until it was awarded,” Wood said. “It was certainly good news, and we are grateful that the Fish and Wildlife Service o ered us the full $2 million that we requested.”
Haskill Basin. BEACON FILE PHOTO
FWP also applied for additional funding under the Forest Legacy Program, which caps at $7 million, and received among the highest priority rating in the nation.
The watershed-scale project, including the Haskill Basin and Trumbull Creek easements, comes with a total cost of nearly $40 million, and is the culmination of years of work by land managers and environmental groups who recognized the development pressure that could bear down on the prized landscape surround- ing White sh Lake, which is bordered by the Stillwa- ter State Forest and laced with creeks and tributaries that provide critical habitat to grizzly bear, lynx, bull trout, cutthroat trout, elk, wolves, and white-tail deer in the state.
The deal marks one of the most complex land swaps in state history, according to public land managers, and protects a block of land that sees among the heavi- est concentrations of multiple-use in Montana — it is a working forest, a recreational haven, and the source of
the lion’s share of White sh’s municipal water supply. Turn on the tap in White sh and the trickle of water that springs forth likely originated from the cold, clean
headwaters of Haskill Creek.
A mile-and-a-half north of White sh Lake lies a rar-
e ed mix of forested parcels, creeks, tributaries, and low wetlands, o ering key wildlife habitat connectivity and migration paths between the Stillwater State Forest, the White sh Range and the Cabinet Purcell Mountain cor- ridor, as well as prime bull trout habitat.
Last year, the Trust for Public Land and Plum Creek (now Weyerhaeuser) struck an agreement to conserve the timber giant’s forested property north of White sh Lake, an area with high real estate potential.
Under the agreement, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) will purchase 1,920 acres and establish a conser- vation easement on the remaining 13,414 acres, which Weyerhaeuser will continue to own and manage as a working forest. The purchased lands will eventually be transferred into public ownership or to a conserva- tion buyer. The agreement is subject to nal conditions including appraisal and secured funding.
U.S. Sens. Steve Daines, a Republican, and Democrat Jon Tester, alongside U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican from White sh, all championed the project and lauded its bipartisan support in a letter to Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“This investment will conserve the outdoor way of life in the White sh area, protect critical investments in water quality for the City of White sh, secure working forests and protect habitat important to many of Mon- tana’s rare and iconic wildlife species,” the delegation stated in the letter.
NEWS
CITY BEAT
KALISPELL
FVCC Board Approves $9 Million Financing for Student Housing
The Flathead Valley Community Col- lege Board of Trustees approved $9 mil- lion in nancing for the rst on-campus student housing facility.
The board voted Sept. 12 to seek a $9 million loan to build the new facil- ity, which is under construction and expected to be completed next summer. The college is getting the 30-year loan at a 4 percent interest rate, and president Jane Karas says the school may not need to borrow the entire amount as the proj- ect is estimated to cost $7.7 million.
Earlier this summer, Swank Enter- prises broke ground on the facility on the northwest corner of the college’s property along U.S. 93 in Kalispell. CTA Architects Engineers designed the preliminary ren- derings of the housing complex.
FVCC’s rst on-campus housing com- plex will feature 124 beds, including 50 double units and 24 singles, along with kitchen units. There will also be a com- mon areas and laundry facilities.
The college plans to rent the rooms to students for the fall 2017 semester.
KALISPELL
Beer Bar, Restaurant In the Works on North Side of Kalispell
The Brass Tap Craft Beer Bar, a nation- wide restaurant chain, is opening on the north end of Kalispell.
White sh Community Foundation, said this year’s fundraising drive was much more successful than last year’s inaugu- ral event, likely because local residents are now more familiar with the process.
During the challenge, nonpro ts selected by the foundation raise money through various fundraisers and web-
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
match percentage. And we will probably increase the size of the challenge,” she said. “(Interested donoros) can give to the match fund, and that’s promoted all year long. There has to be a really strong backbone match for this to work.”
CORAM
Coram-West Glacier Fire Department Hosting 42nd Annual Fundraiser
The 42nd annual Fire ghter’s Ball, the major fundraising event for the Coram- West Glacier Volunteer Fire Department, is Saturday, Sept. 24.
The popular event is at the Dew Drop Inn in Coram and will feature the live big band sounds of the Don Lawrence Orchestra. Several events will be auc- tioned and ra ed o , including a helicop- ter tour and a vintage 1969 Correct Craft Mustage waterski boat.
Funds gathered from the event will help the re department build a new re hall in Coram at the corner of U.S. High- way 2 and Seville Lane.
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The new restaurant is opening inside a
3,340-square-foot space next to Cabela’s
at 85 Treeline Road. A commercial build-
ing permit application was submitted to sites, and then the White sh Community
the city, valued at $300,000, to ll an unoccupied space inside a building called The Shops. The timeline for development is unknown at this time. The restaurant will feature outdoor seating.
Founded in 2008 in Florida, the Brass Tap is a bar and restaurant franchise o ering up to 80 craft beers and imports, as well as wines and cigars. Today there are 37 locations across the U.S. The restaurants also have a full dinner menu.
WHITEFISH
Great Fish Challenge Raises More Than $1.1 Million
The Great Fish Challenge ended last week, and 40 nonpro t organizations raised more than $1.1 million in dona- tions over about two months.
Linda Engh-Grady, president of the
Foundation matches a certain percentage of that money, up to $15,000. The match- ing fund has nearly $249,000; it started at $200,000 but increased due to 103 dona- tions this year.
The matching percentage hasn’t been announced, but it will be on Oct. 10 at the foundation’s award ceremony, Engh- Grady said.
Organizations were also prodded to perform through incentive grants from the foundation, which topped out at $9,000 this year.
Next year’s event will be shorter, Engh-Grady said, running from Aug. 1 into September instead of beginning in July. There were 32 nonpro ts involved last year, and 40 this year, Engh-Grady said.
“Each year we’re trying to increase our
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM