Commissioners delay action on Church Slough

By JIM MANN

The Daily Inter Lake

With an alternative access to Church Slough on the table, the Flathead County commissioners delayed action on a road abandonment that would give up current access.

Commissioners want another week to work through the details and get legal guarantees that the new access will be adequate and available.

"This is a very critical issue that we want to make sure we do right," said Commissioner Gary Hall.

Developer Dennis Carver, along with others who live near the slough, want the county to abandon a half-mile stretch of Wagner Lane that hugs the slough. For years, an informal boat ramp on that stretch has provide public access to the slough.

Carver proposes building a wider road with underground utilities and farther back from the slough, setting the stage for waterfront homesites. Neighbors want the road section abandoned to put an end to beer parties, litter and traffic problems.

But Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and a local rod and gun club, Flathead Wildlife Inc., want the county to obey a state law that prevents counties from abandoning roads that provide access to public land and water, unless "substantially the same" access is provided.

To meet that obligation, Carver proposed an alternative, 40-foot-wide right-of-way from the new road to the slough, not far from the current access.

But the agency's regional supervisor, Jim Satterfield, and Warren Illi, treasurer of Flathead Wildlife Inc., question what the county is giving up.

Based on two surveys he commissioned, Carver maintains that there is a sliver of private land that runs between the Wagner Lane right-of-way and the slough's high-water mark, particularly at the current access.

Satterfield and Illi aren't so certain about that.

"There's potential here," Satterfield said, referring to Carver's alternative proposal. "But we still need to ascertain where the high-water mark is and what the public may or may not be giving up in the way of access."

The public lawfully has access to places at which the public rights-of-way cross the high-water mark.

Illi suggested an "independent, third-party" evaluation to determine where the high-water mark is along the slough and Wagner Lane.

Commissioner Bob Watne said the county probably is not interested in building or maintaining a new access. He asked whether Fish, Wildlife and Parks would take on those responsibilities.

"That's something I'm not prepared to commit to," Satterfield said. He plans to look into the work needed to establish access on the right-of-way.

The commissioners intend to discuss the matter again Sept. 21.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.