**Please email info@whitefishlegacy.org with the following statement and we will add your name to our letter to the Land Board.**
“I support the City of Whitefish and Whitefish Legacy Partners’ continued work to secure permanent public access to these important open forest lands, to generate revenue for Montana’s school trust, , and to build and grow the recreation amenities that are the backbone of the local and state tourism economies.”
Thank you for your support!
Governor Brian Schweitzer
Attorney General Steve Bullock
Secretary of State Linda McCulloch
Auditor Monica Lindeen
Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau
Office of the Governor Montana State Capitol Bldg. P.O. Box 200801 Helena MT 59620-0801
November 5, 2012
To the Montana Land Board,
At your November and December meetings, you will consider several state trust land transactions proposed by the City of Whitefish, Whitefish Legacy Partners and Michael Goguen. Together they will create a legacy of permanent public access, add recreational trails and amenities, and conserve key viewsheds and watersheds, while putting more than 10 million much-needed dollars into the coffers of Montana’s schools and universities.
We wholeheartedly support the following components of the Whitefish Legacy Lands Initiative:
Permanent Recreation Use Easement in Beaver, Skyles and Lion Mountain areas. This easement will ensure that the public will be able to enjoy these lands forever; will continue to generate money for schools through active forest management; will provide for more miles of recreational trails connecting Murray, Woods, Dollar, Beaver and Little Beaver Lakes; and will guarantee undeveloped open lands forever.
Beaver Land Bank. With a two home-site development restriction and a dedicated 2 mile public trail as an addition to the Whitefish Trail, this Land Banking project will ensure that Whitefish’s scenic vistas will persist and will allow the state to buy higher income producing lands for trust beneficiaries.
Whitefish Trail Recreation Licenses in Swift-Lazy Creek, Lupfer, and Spencer Mountain areas will ensure that existing recreational trail system opportunities that feed the local economy will grow while generating a steady stream of revenue for the trust beneficiaries.
Countless hours of public meetings, fundraising events, work sessions, trail building, multi-agency support, public and private partnerships, many volunteers, and nine years of Land Board support, have turned an idea into a plan, into an on-the-ground reality with 22 miles of world-class trails known as the “Whitefish Trail”, and millions of dollars in revenue for the school trust with more to come.
Please support the City of Whitefish and Whitefish Legacy Partners’ continued work to secure permanent public access to these important open forest lands, to generate revenue for Montana’s school trust, and to build and grow the recreation amenities that are the backbone of the local and state tourism economies.
We appreciate your consideration and continued support.