BIGFORK - There used to be a bridge on the north shore of Flathead Lake that led to a private island.
But after nine years of legal battles, the community finally succeeded in getting the bridge removed and restoring the area to its original beauty.
The bridge was built by the owner of the private island to gain vehicle access to the land.
“It's known around the community is the bridge to nowhere which is nowhere to be seen now,” said David Hadden with the Community Association for North Shore Conservation.
The Flathead County Commissioners issued a permit to allow the owner to build the bridge in 2011.
But the Community Association for North Shore Conservation opposed the permit and took it to the courts to decide the issue.
“First and foremost, the permit was just flat-out illegal. The county commissioners never should have given them permission. So the first thing was the law had to be enforced. Secondly, this is a really scenic resource and it would obstruct boat passage and things like that. So there were just a number of reasons why this needed to be opposed,” said Hadden.
The litigation on the permit's validity went to the Montana Supreme Court where the judge ruled that the bridge was constructed without a valid permit, ordering the bridge to be removed.
Video from 2019:
“One of the things that's so important about this area is that Montana has a lake shore protection act. And that act is supposed to protect the scenic values of our lakes in Montana and Flathead Lake is our crown jewel and this particular North Shore is a very important wildlife refuge area as well as incredibly scenic,” said Hadden.
Deconstruction of the bridge was completed in less than a month and all that remains is the tracks of the demolition vehicles that will disappear when the lake fills.
“This area is used by hundreds of people, all year long. Summertime the boats come in here and anchor and people get to have a good time. In the wintertime, the lake's down and we have a beautiful beach here. So it's just an incredible asset for the valley. But for Bigfork in particular,” said Hadden.
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