A federal judge in Missoula on Wednesday heard arguments in a case that will determine whether a California couple who built a home on the banks of McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park did so illegally, and if a local conservation district has the authority to order the home’s removal and the streambed’s restoration.
The plaintiffs in the case are John and Stacy Ambler, who sued the Flathead Conservation District (FCD) more than a year ago, seeking relief in U.S. District Court in Missoula, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto concluded the Jan. 8 hearing pledging to “endeavor to get an order as soon as possible.”
The Amblers have asked DeSoto to weigh in on whether the FCD “has jurisdiction and authority to order the Amblers to dismantle a house they are constructing on real property they own in Glacier National Park” and restore portions of the stream bank they excavated. On Wednesday, attorneys for the plaintiffs and the defendants delivered oral arguments on cross motions for summary judgment…