Legacy Work
CONSERVATION PLANNING -
Whitefish Legacy Partners (WLP) is a tax exempt non-profit founded in 2003, whose mission is to ensure conservation, recreation and stewardship on the lands around Whitefish for future generations. Many of these lands are state-managed school trust lands, which recently came under pressure for real estate and commercial development. The Whitefish-area community has been given a unique opportunity by the Land Board to demonstrate that outdoor recreation is a viable, revenue-generating use of state lands. Whitefish Legacy Partners and the Recreation, Revenue and Conservation Core Working Group (RRC Core Group) has an ambitious vision for recreation, conservation and stewardship of area public and private lands.
Current planning efforts are designed to harness the creative energy of community and local representatives to help shape implementation strategies initiated in Whitefish Neighborhood Plan adopted in 2004, impacting the 13,000 acres of School Trust Lands surrounding the Whitefish Community. The Plan seeks to conserve trust lands that provide clean water, recreational opportunities and viewsheds, while generating fair and predictable revenue for the trust beneficiaries.
The undertaking is being led by Marty Zeller of Conservation Partners, Inc. on behalf of the Revenue, Recreation and Conservation Core Croup. The RRC Core Group consists of members from Whitefish Legacy Partners, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Flathead County and the City of Whitefish.
Please support the effort by completing our survey and following our progress.
If you have further questions, please contact Diane Conradi with Whitefish Legacy Partners at 406.863.9681, or by mail at WLP, PO Box 1895, Whitefish, MT 59937, or by contacting any of the associated partners. Thank you.
Below are sections from the Neighborhood Plan that discuss the various potential implementation tools:
a. Conservation Easements.
b. Conservation Buyer.
c. Conservation Development.
d. Cluster Development.
e. Public Purchase of Development Rights or Land.
f. Land Trade.
Implementation Strategy 4.2 Land Trades Involving School Trust Lands should only be made for other lands in the Whitefish Area. Land trades of School Trust lands in the Whitefish area should be made in those instances where DNRC can create a more coherent and logical pattern of ownership in the best interests of the State School Trust beneficiaries. The trading of the Whitefish State Trust Lands should be made for other desirable lands in the greater Whitefish area.
Implementation Strategy 4.3 Leasing Lands for Development Land Uses should take Preference over the Sale of Land. It is a stated preference of this Plan that wherever possible, lands that are proposed for development land uses be leased, unless leasing produces an inferior return.
RRC Core Working Group, April 2010
DNRC members – Mike Collins, Steve Lorch
FWP members – Dave Landstrom, Alan Wood
Whitefish Legacy Partners – Fred Jones, Nancy Woodruff
City of Whitefish – Karl Cozad, Mike Jenson
Flathead County – Jim Watson, Elise Robacker
Whitefish Legacy Partners Board of Directors 2010 (formerly known as Whitefish Legacy Partners)
Lin Akey, Chair, Glacier Bank of Whitefish President
Fred Jones – Vice Chair, Retired ski industry executive
Charlie Abell -Treasurer, Retired Whitefish Credit Union President
Steve Thompson – Secretary, Cinnabar Foundation Executive Director
Diane Conradi – Executive Director, Land Use attorney
Marshall Friedman, Real estate investor
Mike Gwaizdon, President and CEO Sportsman Ski Haus
Mike Jopek, State Representative HD 4 (D)
Liz Marchi, Angel Investor
Marilyn Nelson, Owner Nelson Hardware
Nancy Woodruff, Former Whitefish City Councilor
Ryan Zinke, State Senator SD 2 (R)
The Whitefish Trail is the anchor project of Whitefish Legacy Partners and is the first undertaking to implement long-term strategies of conservation in the Whitefish area. The Whitefish Trail project & Whitefish Legacy Partners has generated great enthusiasm and community involvement.
Please support these conservation and recreation efforts with your VOLUNTEER SUPPORT and a DONATION to Whitefish Legacy Partners.