Lawsuit filed against Flathead County over marina construction
Somers Beach State Park on Flathead Lake. (Provided by Montana FWP for the Daily Montanan)
A new lawsuit says Flathead County violated public participation and state environmental laws when it approved a new commercial marina and dock near Lakeside.
Citizens for a Better Flathead, an advocacy group, filed the lawsuit in Flathead County District Court this week.
The suit asks the court to intervene in the approval process and halt construction, which they said has already brought heavy equipment into the lake that’s churning up sediment along a sensitive shoreline south of Kalispell on the west side of Flathead Lake.
“This lawsuit is about more than just one dock; it is about a county government that has abandoned the rule of law and the public’s right to have a say in the future of our valued lakes and resources,” Mayre Flowers, executive director of Citizens for a Better Flathead, said in a press release. “By cutting corners and ignoring statutory requirements, the county has authorized a project that puts the health of Flathead Lake at risk and continues to follow a dangerous pattern of flawed decision-making that not only violates the law, but is also harming our communities, water resources and lakeshores.”
Two residents say in the lawsuit they were not properly notified that a 36-slip marina, concrete boat launch and a 159-foot dock were going to be built next door to their property. The project dates back to at least 2024, when a permit was originally approved, but work was not started, the suit says. Lake and lakeshore work permits in Flathead County expire after a year, according to the lawsuit.
In April 2025 Flathead County approved renewing the 2024 permit, the suit says.
However, earlier this month a variance — a change — to the plans added a 159-foot dock.
Flathead County did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit.
The suit says that Flathead County did not allow the public the proper opportunity to provide comment on the project. Furthermore, the suit says, both the dock variance and marina itself should have had an environmental impact statement and review by the Flathead County Planning Board.
The project raises concerns about the impact of construction on Bull head trout and local fisheries, the suit says.
It also questions regarding the permits themselves — a permit for the project was initially filed in 2024, and work, the suit says, had not begun when it was renewed in April 2025 at a Flathead County Board of Commissioners meeting.
“The 2025 permit issued by the county specifically notes that ‘[t]he boat launch will be gated and for use by the future adjoining condominium complex as well as a limited group of people beyond the extent of the condominium complex,’” the suit reads. “The number of boat slips was increased from the 2024 Permit of 30 to 36 in April 24, 2025.”
A hearing in the case is scheduled for March 12.
“The legal challenge was accelerated by reports of active construction occurring during unseasonably high lake levels,” a press release from Citizens for a Better Flathead reads. “Affidavits from adjacent landowners and Citizens’ leadership describe heavy machinery operating within the lake, creating sediment plumes that threaten the sensitive shoreline near Stoner Creek—a critical habitat for federally protected Bull Trout.”
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