Montana courts suspend water-rights permit, halt marina construction
LAKESIDE, Mont. — The 1,700-acre Territory 1889 development by Arizona-based Discovery Land Company has become the focal point of disputes over growth, water and environmental concerns. Bulldozers have begun grading land for the gated community, which the company markets as a “blend of elegance and adventure…where wilderness and refinement live side by side.”
Discovery, founded by Stanford graduate Mike Meldman, operates more than 40 members-only communities worldwide. In Montana, its Yellowstone Club has counted Justin Timberlake and Bill Gates as members. At its Iron Horse development in nearby Whitefish, a 7,928-square-foot home on 3.4 acres is listed for $10.9 million.
Eric Payne, co-owner of a local design and contracting firm, recalled protests when Discovery pitched Iron Horse but said the tone later shifted. “Iron Horse has put Whitefish on the map,” Payne said. Whitefish’s transformation has made it harder for some residents to stay. Susan Whitworth, 74, a Walgreens cashier who rents an apartment, said she and other tenants recently heard the building was for sale and worried a new owner would raise rents beyond her reach. “It’s a playground for the rich,” Whitworth said. “They want to come in, and they don’t want you on their land anymore.”
In Lakeside, home values more than doubled to about $865,000 since 2018, according to Zillow, while median household income stagnated at $77,435 in the five years ending in 2024, inflation-adjusted census data show. April Risk, 39, a fifth-generation Montanan and single mother who cleans houses, lives in a mobile-home park that investors have yet to buy. She pays $950 a month and said she fears her home could be next. “All of us families, we’re being scooted out,” Risk said.
Supporters of the project point to tax and employment benefits. David Fetveit, 54, a real-estate broker and president of the Lakeside-Somers Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the development. “They are going to contribute significant tax dollars towards our schools, our roads—and they’re behind a gate,” Fetveit said. “Fine, I don’t have to see them.” Ray Thompson, a prominent entrepreneur who owns Sykes diner in Kalispell, said, “I think it can do a lot of good.”
Discovery said in a statement, “We are deeply committed to being a responsible neighbor, a dedicated steward of the natural environment and a positive contributor to the local economy and quality of life.”
One of the sharpest disputes centers on the Lakeside County Water & Sewer District’s plan to expand a waste-treatment plant — a project critics argue is designed to serve Territory 1889 and other developers at residents’ expense. Rodney Olson, the district’s general manager, said pandemic-era growth overwhelmed the aging system, making expansion necessary. He said opponents are antigrowth. “They feel they will kill us with paperwork,” Olson said. His agency hired a PR firm to burnish its image.
Montana courts have sided with critics this year. In rulings sought by Citizens for a Better Flathead, courts suspended state approval for the development’s water-rights permit and halted construction of an extended dock pending review.
Bruce Young, 80, a descendant of homesteaders, sat on his porch overlooking Stoner Creek near the Territory 1889 site and said he fears the project will silt up the creek and Flathead Lake, destroying fish and habitat. “This is a battle for the soul of Montana,” Young said.
At a June 16 Water & Sewer District meeting, tensions flared. Jennifer Tipton, 45, a local activist and mother of two who lives near the treatment plant, and three others traded off paragraphs of a 12-minute statement to bypass the three-minute public-comment limit. “It’s never too late to get it right,” said Maggie Davis, 83, a philanthropist. Tipton said the conflict makes her not want to live there anymore.
Risk, reflecting on her family’s century-old roots in Flathead County, pulled up a black-and-white photo of her Nordic kin in front of a cabin. “There are lots of new people that make me feel really uncomfortable,” she said. “I kind of just miss the waving, and just the consideration that we used to have here.”