Couple allowed to winterize disputed home in Glacier National Park

The Flathead Conservation District last week voted to allow a couple to winterize a home that it believes was built illegally in Glacier National Park.

John and Stacy Ambler are allowed to install the six remaining windows and roof on the house along lower McDonald Creek.

The board told the San Diego couple in March they had until Nov. 1, 2023 to tear the house down and restore the bank. They also need to obtain a permit to remove the home, which is framed in, but has no siding.

The district had also previously issued a cease and desist order on any further construction. But with winter coming and the case likely to go on for months, if not years, the board decided to allow the limited work on the home.

The Amblers were required to submit a baseline report to the Conservation District by Oct. 17. The baseline report is to include a description and photos of the current condition of the existing structure. The photos must be time and date stamped, noted Samantha Tappenbeck, resource conservationist with the district.

After talking to its legal counsel, the board allowed the winterization in the event it doesn’t prevail in court — it didn’t want the Amblers to seek damages incurred by the weather due to the cease and desist order.

The district has long maintained the home, which overlooks McDonald Creek in the park, was built illegally because the Amblers never applied, or received, what’s known as a 310 permit to build on the streambank, in violation of the Montana Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act.

But the Amblers have claimed they didn’t know they needed a permit and they were given the go-ahead to build the home by the county and Glacier Park.

The National Park Service allowed the structure to hook into its sewer and water infrastructure, but park officials have said in the past that they also told the Amblers they need to secure any necessary state and local permits as well.

The Amblers also claim the state Streambed Law doesn’t apply because Montana ceded authority when Glacier became a national park more than 110 years ago.

The Amblers’ property is what’s known as an inholding — a private parcel from a subdivision that was created in Glacier before Glacier became a park in 1910. The home is in Apgar, which has several private properties around the foot of Lake McDonald.

The Amblers have taken to two-prong approach to their case.

They are still following the state Streambed Law procedure, which first called for a declaratory ruling before a hearing officer. If they disagree with the ruling, they can appeal in district court.

The hearing was in August, but the Ambler’s also filed suit against the conservation district back in April. The district was initially unaware of the suit until notified by the Hungry Horse News.

Laurie Zeller, the hearing officer for the conservation district, has to submit her recommended findings of fact and conclusions within 60 days of Sept. 19. While the hearing was held in August, it took about a month to get the final transcript of the hearing, thus the delay, Tappenbeck noted.

If they disagree with the ruling, they can then appeal to district court, though that point seems moot since they have already filed suit.

If they disagree with the district court ruling, they could also appeal to the Montana Supreme Court.

The home is built on a roughly 2,300 square-foot wedge of land along the creek. They Amblers poured concrete retaining wall to hold the home to the bank. It has two decks, both overlooking the creek. The district learned of the home after construction was well underway in 2022 after more than a dozen local residents and private Glacier Park advocates filed formal complaints.