Stop work order issued in Flathead dock case

A Flathead county judge has temporarily stopped a luxury real-estate company from construction on a 159-foot dock on Flathead Lake. 

The bench ruling came in a lawsuit filed earlier this year by Citizens For A Better Flathead, which said Flathead County violated violated public participation and state environmental laws when it approved a variance for a lengthy dock at a new commercial marina. The bench ruling came from Flathead County District Court Judge Dan Wilson. 

State law requires any variance to areas within what the law protects to, “first prepare an environmental impact statement” at their own expense. The suit contends Flathead County did not do this and that process should have gone through the county’s planning board.

Flathead Lake Land Partners, LLC was the applicant to the county, which is part of Discovery Land Company and operates the Yellowstone Club and Crazy Mountain Ranch. 

The suit argues the county did not properly notify citizens of what was coming and deprived them of a chance to be heard. Environmental impact statements include public input and the suit says the project rose to a level where this process should have been required.

Additionally, the suit said the project raises concerns about the impact of construction on bull head trout and local fisheries.

Bench rulings, as opposed to written orders, are relatively rare, usually coming in circumstances where there is an immediate harm or issue. Flathead County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Monday, a “stop work order” was issued by the Flathead County Planning & Zoning Office at the site. 

“Flathead County hereby orders that all work authorized solely under the approved variance FLV-25-08 must immediately cease,” the order obtained by the Daily Montanan reads. That was the 2026 variance — the change to add a dock around 100 feet longer than initially proposed..

The order additionally goes on to say it applies “only” to work authorized under the variance permit. It also reads that work authorized under “Lakeshore Permit FLP-25-28 that does not rely upon or require variance approval is not prohibited by this order.” The second permit was issued in 2025 and is an update to an earlier 2024 permit.

This has already led to some confusion among advocates, including Mayre Flowers, the Executive Director of Citizens For a Better Flathead. Flowers said work began on Feb. 4, the day after the 2026 permit at the heart of the lawsuit was issued by Flathead County. Plans initially called for a much shorter dock  — less than 40 feet.

“We don’t understand how they could possibly move forward with the 2025 permit, because it’s a totally different design,” Flowers said on Monday. “Would they need a variance or another permit to pull out pilings they’ve already put in?”

Violation of the order is a misdemeanor and violation of it has penalties of a $500 fine, 30 days in Flathead County jail, or both.

“We are pleased that Judge Wilson granted the preliminary injunction based on the plain language of the Montana Lake and Lakeshore Protection Act,” Flowers said in a March 12 press release. “The injunction will temporarily halt very real harm to this area and known bull trout critical habitat, and recognizes the near-certainty that Flathead County’s decision-making violated the public’s fundamental rights to meaningful public participation, pending the judge’s consideration of the lawsuit’s merits.”