After some debate, the Flathead Basin Commission last Thursday voted to support an effort to conserve open space and riparian habitat along the North Shore of Flathead Lake.

Most of the North Shore is currently open farmland and with a scattering of houses. It is home to a host of migratory and resident waterfowl as well as three bald eagle nests.

Marilyn Wood, executive director of the Flathead Land Trust is currently undergoing an effort to conserve the open space of the north shore through public and private partnerships. The open space concept allows for conservation easements and other protections of the farmland. The idea is to keep the farmers in business, keep the land on the tax rolls and protect the habitat through a host of cooperative agencies and landowners.

It's already worked in the Flathead River proper. To date, more than 3,000 acres of land have been conserved through public-private partnerships.

The North Shore faces some significant and landscape-altering challenges, however.

A 290-home subdivision has been proposed by Sean and Dan Averill on about 440 of the 1,200 acres the Land Trust is eyeing for conservation.

Wood said she has been in contact with the Averills on the conservation measures and they lent her an ear.

"They've been willing to listen to us," she said.

Other landowners in the area have also been interested in the proposal. A field trip to discuss the project was packed to the gills this spring, she noted.

The Commission resolution states, in part, that it "indicates support for pursuing a conservation strategy for the North Shore of Flathead Lake to protect its waters and wildlife and to sustain the economic and recreational benefits it provides to Flathead Valley residents and visitors."

The resolution did not come without some debate. Commission member Mick Holm said that other resolutions had more of a scientific basis. This one, at least in part, seemed more emotionally based.

But other members disagreed.

Chairman Rich Moy noted that he hunted Lee Creek in the Bitterroot Valley as a kid. That creek, and surrounding wildlands, later became the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge -- ostensibly one of the most coveted places in that valley.

"I know this (resolution) is a sensitive issue," Moy said. "But sometimes you need to say, 'we need to do the right thing.'"

Tribal member and Charlo resident Thompson Smith noted the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have already protected about 90 to 95 percent of the lower Flathead River and the Jocko River over the years.

The resolution was also seen as a message of conservation to Canadian officials as well, who have criticized the U.S. for not doing enough to protect the Flathead.

Some Canadian officials, in response to U.S. criticism of proposed energy exploration in the North Fork, claim the U.S. is being hypocritical. On one hand, the U.S. is telling Canadians what it can and can't do in the North Fork, while Montana paves over and subdivides its own lands on the lower Flathead.

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