Close the Loop

The Whitefish Trail

History – John Muhlfeld, Mayor, City of WF

Project Update

Partnerships

Close the Loop Overview – Heidi Van Everen, ED, WLP

• Phase I Haskill

• Phase II Beaver to Swift

• Phase III Swift to Haskill

• Phase IV Lupfer Connection & Phase V Spencer Mtn.

Budget & Funding – Alan Myers-Davis, DD, WLP

WT Long-term Operations & Maintenance

WT Economic Impact

Wrap-Up and Q & A

The Whitefish Trail

• CREATE A FRAMEWORK for orderly and predictable conservation and development land uses on trust lands for the lands in this Neighborhood Plan over the next 20 years.

• ENHANCE RECREATIONAL USE of trust lands for multiple users in a manner that provides compensation and supports the local economy and provides responsible stewardship of the natural resources.

• PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN CRITICAL WILDLIFE HABITAT for sensitive, threatened, and/or locally significant species.

• MAINTAIN THE HIGH WATER QUALITY in the Whitefish Lake watershed, the primary source of drinking water for Whitefish.

Whitefish School Trust Lands Neighborhood Plan - 2004

The cooperation of multiple partners has afforded an opportunity to create an interconnected trail that stretches from a trailhead on Swift

Creek at the north end of Whitefish Lake to the southern end of Spencer Mountain, via Boyle Lake, Beaver Lakes, and Skyles Lake.

This multi-use trail could be connected in a continuous loop to Whitefish and would be the spine of a recreational system that interconnects to neighborhoods and trailheads along the way.

NP Implementation Strategy 2.1 – Create a Regional Loop Trail

2006 WT Master Plan

“To ensure this privilege will be available for future generations, DNRC and the Whitefish community formed an unprecedented partnership to plan for these lands. Onerecommendation was to establish a recreational trail system that will connect the various State Trust Land parcels and create a main trail corridor encircling the greater Whitefish area.”

2004

• Whitefish Neighborhood Plan adopted by MT State Land Board, Flathead County, and City of Whitefish

2006• Whitefish Trail Master Plan completed

2008

• WLP and City formalize partnership and 1st conservation transaction completed supporting MT Schools and Universities

2009 - 10

• Lion Mountain and Lupfer Grand Opening

• WT awarded $500,000 RTP grant for regionally significant project

2012-13

• WT O&M Endowment established

• Swift Creek and Woods Lake Open

2014

• 1,520 acres in Beaver Lakes protected forever

• $7.3M to MT Schools and Universities

2015

• Spencer Mountain (with FAMB) and Dollar Lake Open

• WT Learning Pavilion Opens

2016-17

• 3,022 acres in Haskill Basin protected forever (with FWP & TPL)

• WT Haskill completed - Phase I of Close the Loop

Whitefish Trail MILESTONES

2017…✓ 42 miles of trail accessed by 12

trailheads✓ Whitefish Trail project has

partnered to protect 6,000+ acres of local lands in permanent conservation

✓ ~1,600/year attendance to free and affordable education programs

✓ Annual trail visitation ~100,000✓ 100% WT maintained by volunteers

Phase I:

Haskill

✓ 3,022 acres protected ✓ 84% voters approved resort

tax increase ✓ 5.5 miles new WT✓ New Reservoir TH✓ New Big Mountain TH✓ Trail connection from

downtown to Big Mtn w/ groomed XC access

✓ 5 Landowners✓ Partnerships w/ Flathead Land

Trust, Glacier Nordic Club & Iron Horse

Haskill Match ChallengeNovember 2016 – March 2017

• Project includes:• $25k O&M set-aside• $35k WT Survey set-aside

• Partners:City of WhitefishIron Horse HOAFlathead Land TrustF H Stoltze Land & LumberWinter Sports, Inc./WMRGlacier Nordic ClubMT Fish, Wildlife, & Parks

Grants

$251,333

Donations

$232,877

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4

Trailhead Site Plan – Lower Haskill

Photo Credit Marc O’Brien

#whitefishtrail

Phase II:

DNRC

2006 Beaver to Swift Map

Phase II:

✓ Permanent 16’ trail easement

✓ 480 acres protected at Smith

Lake

✓ 8.2 miles, 1 TH & 4 bridges

✓ 100% on School Trust Lands

Key Partners:

✓ BNSF Railroad

✓ Whitefish Lake Institute

✓ Adjacent Private Landowners

Complex Project:

✓ Environmentally Sensitive Areas

✓ Critical Wildlife Habitat

✓ Challenging Terrain

✓ Large Landscape - connectivity

*Rendering ONLY, Location & designpending completeriver analysis

Thanks

for rendering concept

Aerial video and Swift Bridge Rendering

*Rendering ONLY, location & design pending complete river analysis

TIMELINE

WT Planning – 2015-2017

Proposal Development – March – June 2017

DNRC completes MT Environmental Policy Analysis (MEPA) - June – ongoing

MEPA – analysis & public disclosure; 6-8 month process

MEPA outcome = Environmental Analysis report (EA)

Public comment on Draft EA – Jan 2018; 30 day period

DNRC Final Decision on proposal – Feb/March 2018

ACTION

Funding needed

Land Board approval required – phases and/or options

GOAL = shovel-ready by 2020

Phase III:

USFS, DNRC &

private

2006 Swift to Haskill Map

Phase III:

✓ ~3 mi. trail construction – USFS

✓ 4+ miles Trail on private

✓ ~8 miles total & 1 TH on USFS

✓ Long-term O&M plan w/ USFS

Key Partners:

✓ USFS Flathead Nat. Forest

✓Whitefish Mtn. Resort

✓ 8-10 Private Landowners

✓ DNRC

Complex Project:

✓ Steep & Challenging terrain

✓ Numerous landowners

✓ Large Landscape –

connectivity important

Draft Budget for Grant Purposes Only

Bridges$1,312,500

Trail $748,670

Trailheads$136,500

Paved Bike Path$236,250

Long Term O&M$89,045

Conservation Easements$4,149,000

DRAFT Close the Loop Budget*Bridges

Trail

Trailheads

Paved Bike Path

Long Term O&M

Conservation Easements

2010-2017 -$9,170,000

Close the Loop* -

$6,671,965

Total Whitefish Trail Project Expenses

2010-2017

Close the Loop*

*Draft Budgets for Grant Purposes! Actuals pending appraisals,

approval, and design.

Close the Loop Potential Funding Sources Under Consideration

➢ Community Forest & Open Space Conservation Program (CFP)

➢ Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP)

➢ Federal Infrastructure Bill

➢ Open Space Bond

➢ City Resort Tax

➢ Partnerships

➢ WLP Fundraising/Capital Campaign

➢ Community Bake Sales ☺

Operations & Maintenance

O&M Expenses:• Leases (currently $15k/year)• Trailhead Maintenance• Trail Maintenance• Administrative Support

O&M Resources:• Non-Cash Volunteer Programs• Cash: “Adopt-A-Trail” Sponsors,

Grants, and Partners • Cash: Existing O&M Endowment

($900k)• Cash: NEW Dedicated O&M Fund

Long-term O & M Plan

O&M Coverage:

H.R.4665 - Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act

of 2016“The Secretary of Commerce shall enter into a joint

memorandum with the Secretary of Agriculture and the

Secretary of the Interior to conduct, acting through the

Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, an assessment

and analysis of the outdoor recreation economy of the

United States and the effects attributable to such economy

on the overall economy of the United States.”

Passed both the US House and the US Senate UNANIMOUSLY and signed into law by President Obama on December 8, 2016.

MT Office of Outdoor Recreation Director, Rachel Vandevoort

• Outdoor Recreation now largest sector of MT economy• $7.1 billion/year generated in consumer spending • 70,000 jobs that pay $2 billion in wages

44305Lion Mtn

58%

8349Beaver

11%

13684Swift 18%

9543Spencer

13%

Preliminary WT Usage October ‘16 - October ’17*

Lion Mtn Beaver

Swift Spencer

4 trail counters – TOTAL 75,881 non-unique visits

*Preliminary data only

Lion Mountain Trails Only

73%

To Skyles or Beaver

27%

Lion Mountain Trail Usage*

Lion Mountain TrailsOnly

To Skyles or Beaver

*Preliminary data only

Top graph shows hourly usage at Lion Mountain on a Saturday and the bottom graph shows hourly usage at Lion Mountain during a week day

Economic Impact – Whitefish Outdoor Recreation

65%

35%

Is recreation the primary purpose of your visit? (687 responses)

Yes No

*Preliminary data only

On Foot70%

Bikes30%

How are you traveling on the trail today?

On Foot Bikes

Headwaters Economics Final Report PresentationDecember 11, 5:00 PM

The Firebrand Hotel

*Preliminary data only*

Thank you

Photo Credit Lindsey Jane Photography