WEST GLACIER, Mont. — A partially built three-story home on McDonald Creek inside Glacier National Park was spared the wrecking ball by a federal judge last month, and those who believe it was illegally built continue the fight to tear it down.
In a case that’s drawn national attention, few sources involved in the litigation want to speak to the press, leaving more questions than answers about what’s next for a home built without permits right on the banks of an iconic stream.
“It's disappointing that the house can be built and not be subject to state environmental protection laws when it's private property,” said Rob Farris-Olsen, an attorney representing Friends of Montana Streams and Rivers, a non-profit that intervened in a lawsuit brought by homeowners John and Stacy Ambler against the Flathead Conservation District.
In 2023, the conservation district ordered the Amblers to demolish the structure because it violated Montana’s Streambed Act and lacked the permits necessary to construct a home along a sensitive waterway. The Amblers responded by suing the Conservation District, and on Feb. 5, a federal judge ruled in their favor.
“The Court concludes that Flathead Conservation District lacks jurisdiction to enforce the Streambed Act on the Ambler Property because Montana has ceded exclusive jurisdiction over all land within the boundaries of Glacier National Park — including private inholdings — to the federal government,” wrote Judge Kathleen DeSoto.
“Glacier National Park was also aware of the Amblers’ construction plans and did not issue or require a permit but authorized the Amblers to connect their home to the Apgar Village water and sewer system,” wrote the Amblers’ attorney Trent Baker in a Feb. 19 court filing.
“The Park Service has not fulfilled its obligation if it has jurisdiction,” Farris-Olsen told Cowboy State Daily. “Essentially the court ruled that the Park Service has jurisdiction over the property, and yet it has never acted like it has jurisdiction and it's allowed the home to be built where no other new homes are allowed.”
When Glacier National Park was designated by the U.S. Congress, a small amount of land around Apgar Village was left private, creating a collection of private inholding property owners.
The Amblers own a 0.05-acre private lot that was grandfathered into the park at its creation in 1910.
Given the recent ruling in federal court, is now the time for inholding property owners to build if they want to avoid the hassle and requirements that come with building permits?
Farris-Olsen wasn’t sure.
“I think that is one reasonable interpretation, but I think it's also just not clear,” he said.
Gina Icenoggle, public affairs officer with Glacier National Park, told Cowboy State Daily she could not provide any details about how the Amblers managed to hook up to the park’s water and sewer system.
“We aren't really commenting on the Ambler house because the ruling is still being reviewed by the Department of Interior solicitors. So I don't really have any information for you,” said Icenoggle.
The Amblers, their attorney, the Flathead Conservation District and their attorney all did not respond before deadline to requests for an interview with Cowboy State Daily.
Judge Pointed To Precedent
In her ruling in favor of the Amblers, Judge DeSoto essentially said the couple from San Diego was correct in their assertion that the state of Montana and the Flathead Conservation District can’t tell them what to do with their property.
While Montana’s Streambed Act prevents property owners outside a national park from building in ways that detrimentally encroach on the state’s waterways, DeSoto determined the law could not be applied to the Ambler property.
“The state of Montana ceded, and the United States accepted, exclusive jurisdiction over all land within Glacier National Park, including private inholdings like the Ambler Property,” wrote DeSoto in her decision.
“Because the 1976 Streambed Act was not in effect when the United States accepted jurisdiction over Glacier National Park in 1914, the Amblers take the position that the statute has not been assimilated into federal law and its requirements do not apply to their inholding,” added DeSoto, who cited a pair of federal cases as precedent in her ruling — one about liquor sales and another addressing water rights.
“The Amblers rely on United States v. Peterson, which held that the federal government had exclusive jurisdiction over privately owned lands located within the boundaries of Kings Canyon National Park under the terms of a cession and therefore had jurisdiction to enforce a National Park Service regulation prohibiting the sale of liquor on private inholdings without a federal permit,” wrote DeSoto.
The Peterson case, according to DeSoto, established it was the park and not the state government that enforced the law on inholding property.
In the Macomber v. Bose case, DeSoto found the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over private inholdings in Glacier National Park, including, “not only the public lands dedicated to park purposes by the United States but all privately owned lands within the described park boundaries.”
About My Fee
The Flathead Conservation District (FCD) filed a notice to appeal DeSoto’s ruling March 5, while the Amblers are now trying to recover attorney fees from the district.
The Amblers point to emails from FCD staff and an attorney hired by FCD, which they argue are proof there were never any legal grounds to order the demolition of their partially constructed home on McDonald Creek.
In a Feb. 19 motion, the Amblers point to an email from FCD Supervisor Roger Marsonette, who wrote, “I do question our jurisdiction as from what I can tell, it is well within the boundary of Glacier National Park.”
An email from FCD attorney Camisha Sawtelle, argue the Amblers, offered further proof when she wrote, “I did not find any case law on point.”
“These facts show the FCD’s willingness to wield its power as a quasi-judicial governmental body… These facts also show the FCD’s lack of interest in any facts or law that did not support their desire to eliminate the Ambler home,” stated the Amblers’ attorney in his request that FCD compensate his clients for the cost of this ongoing litigation. The attorney’s hourly rate is $262 per hour and the total fee is $80,986.50.
Recent court filings over these attorney fees offer additional details about how the Ambler’s home was built.
In a March 4 filing, FCD attorney Sawtelle argued that the Amblers were in clear violation of Montana’s Streambed Act based on the expert opinion of those who witnessed different phases of the home’s construction.
“The bank had been excavated to create a pad on which to build the house,” wrote Sawtelle. “The pad area had been stabilized with a rock retaining wall on the stream channel side of the property.”
Fisheries biologists from Glacier Park, officials from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the FCD inspected the property, and according to Sawtelle, “Based on the blatant disregard for the impact of the project on the health and stability of the riparian zone and McDonald Creek, the
inspection team unanimously determined the Ambler project was a violation of the Act.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
