Glacier River Plan Debate, Whitefish Lawsuit & Tumbleweed Crisis

This week on News Now, Daily Inter Lake reporter Taylor Inman breaks down the biggest headlines across northwest Montana - from public land debates and legal developments to environmental challenges and major event announcements.

The Flathead National Forest is weighing more than 1,000 public comments on its draft river management plan for the Flathead River system, as outfitters, conservation groups and recreation advocates debate how to balance access with protecting critical fish habitat.

In the Mission Valley, a fourth-generation ranch is battling an explosion of invasive tumble mustard weeds, raising concerns about wildfire risk, public safety and the challenges of enforcement after land annexation.

A federal lawsuit against the city of Whitefish alleging racial profiling during a traffic stop appears headed toward a settlement, following a judge’s decision to dismiss several key claims while leaving others unresolved.

Plus, the first signs of summer are arriving as roads begin opening in Glacier National Park, a new osprey monitoring effort highlights wildlife conservation in the Flathead Valley, and the Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo announces a major headliner for 2026.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Hello and welcome to NewsNow. I'm your host, Taylor Enman. We're going over the week's biggest headlines for Northwest Montana. The Flathead National Forest received 1,088 comments on the draft comprehensive river management plan for the three forks of the Flathead River in the National Wild and Scenic River System. A little over 500 were considered form letters, but plenty of other people and organizations weighed in on the plan, which seeks to balance commercial and private use of the 219-mile-long river system while maintaining the river standing as some of the finest on Earth. Flathead Trout Unlimited, for example, was pleased to see the use being curtailed on the South Fork of the Flathead River in light of declining bull trout numbers in one of the nation's last bastions for the big fish. It also supported curtailing motorized use on gravel bars and the free unlimited permit system for users. In their letter, the organization said it still lacks confidence that the plan will adequately protect the fishery outstanding resource values. They said that the environmental analysis strongly hints that the plan as written is harmful to the fishery ORV, but never quite determines if it's significant or not. It points out that there is no plan to monitor cutthroat trout populations, which are seeing threats from hybridization with rainbow trout, and suggests that outfitters could be helpful in collecting data. Others raised concerns about the permit system. The American Pack Grafting Association said it supported the permit system but offered critiques. It asks that the final plan include an explicit commitment to collecting disaggregated data on the South Fork wild sections during the initial permit period, and that capacity adjustments be triggered by that data rather than current estimates. The system has yet to be fully fleshed out, but the wilderness sections of the Middle and South Forks would likely be the first areas to see permits. The pack rafters also asked that they be allowed to get a permit at takeout rather than put in, as they don't always access at traditional trailheads. But Wilderness Watch, a national advocacy organization, said it already solved problems with the plan as it pertains to the wilderness. It noted that in most instances the most restrictive legislation is the Wilderness Act, not the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. It also brought up long-standing concerns about pack rafters putting more pressure on bull trout fisheries and creating more plane traffic at the Schaefer Airstrip in the Great Bear Wilderness, as people fly in with their pack rafts and then float down the Middle Fork. Others gave practical comments on day-to-day operations. Glacier Guides and Montana RAF offered a few suggestions. They recommended the Forest Service establish a designated portable toilet cleanout location and garbage receptacle at an appropriate river access site to support proper sanitation and protect water quality. They also recommended maintaining outfitter use from Paula to Cascadilla within the lower river priority pool system, rather than including it within the more regulated Bear Creek to Paula reach. After taking public comments into account, the hope is to have a final plan completed by this summer with implementation in the 2027 season. Ranchers Steve and Susie Spectert, who own a 400-acre ranch off Montana 35, approached the Poulson City Commission earlier this month to highlight the tumble mustard causing havoc on their ranch. The weeds are blowing across the highway and into their fields, sprinkler lines, equipment, and fences. The daunting task of removing the tangled weeds from just one windstorm late last year took 300 hours over four to five weeks. The non-native invasive weed, which can be toxic to cattle, is crossing the highway from a neighboring property owned by Mission Ridge LLC, based in Idaho. The property owners who plan to develop the parcel asked that it be annexed into the city limits during a commission meeting on February 3, 2025. Despite neighbors' opposition to the development on the farmland, the commission passed a resolution approving the request. Before annexation, the land was in the county's jurisdiction and leased out to a crop farmer. With crops on the field in years prior, the weeds were under control, but no one farmed the land last season, according to the Spectres. Normally this type of issue would have been addressed by the Lake County Weed District Office. A citation would have been issued, quote, a lot faster, Steve Spectre said on April 6th, than the time that it had taken for the city to address the problem. Steve said he's seen enforcement agencies take immediate action in the past. He says it's a public nuisance, fire hazard, and it's costing them a fortune. He said they don't have the manpower or finances to go through another 300 or 400 hours of cleaning because they have to get ready for ranching. The Spectre Ranch is a fourth generation farming operation that is self-sustaining and their sole source of income. The Spectre's originally reached out to the County Weed Control Office. After learning the county no longer had jurisdiction, they filed a formal complaint with city attorney Dave Minchee on January 22nd, just five days after the major storm. Steve Spectre said they cleaned up the weeds in the meantime, arranged for their attorney to send a letter to the property owner, and filed a formal complaint in Lake County District Court, asking the property owner to mitigate the weeds under threat of legal action. He also said Mitchie informed them that he was writing a notice to the owners. Since that January cleanup, Steve Spectrit reported multiple strong wind events that have sent more tumbleweeds onto their ranch. He noted that this poses an extreme fire hazard due to the flammable weeds becoming entangled in electric fences. They do not have the time to make significant alterations to their 150 cow calf operation. The weeds also drop over a million seeds per plant, which can last up to 10 years in the soil and can't be sprayed without killing the alfalfa, Spectert said. The weeds also pose a public safety threat as they blow across nearby roads and the highway and gather in ditches bordering the Spectre Ranch, creating more fire danger. City manager Ed Meese explained that the city sent letters last week to the property owner and another individual who purchased a portion of the original tract. Meese said the city was in communication with the County Weed Office's director and coordinator, Tyler Lentz, who had spoken to the owner of the property where the tumbleweeds originate. He said that based on his conversation with Lentz, the owner is interested in mitigating weeds and leasing the land again. He added that both landowners and the original tract of land have 30 days to mitigate the weeds. Commissioner Carolyn Pardini questioned why the city waited until last week to send the letter and noted that a cover crop should have already been seeded to address the problem this season. Me said that they moved forward on the issue as soon as Brad Ekstrom was hired temporarily to assist with code enforcement. He said the code enforcement position was eliminated many years ago, and he or Michie handles enforcement as quickly as they can. A lawsuit in federal court accusing the city of whitefish of racial profiling appears poised to end in a settlement after a judge dismissed several of the original claims. The lawsuit stems from a traffic stop conducted by former Whitefish police officer Michael Hingis in April of 2025. After pulling Bacar Ringifo del Castillo over for a broken taillight, Hingis called federal immigration officials and informed them that he was, quote, out with a mail that only speaks Spanish. Ringifo del Castillo was subsequently detained by Whitefish-based U.S. Border Patrol agents and transferred to the Northwest Immigration and Custom Enforcement's Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, where he was held for about a week before being released without charge. While the Whitefish Police Department did not directly detain Ringifo del Castillo, the lawsuit filed by him argued that the call catalyzed a quote horrific and traumatic experience. He accused Hindius of unconstitutional seizure, false arrest, and equal protection violations. Five separate counts were lodged against the city of Whitefish, including one count of unconstitutional seizure, one count of false arrest, one count of negligence, and two counts of failure to train. Whitefish Police Chief Bridger Kelch is named in one count of failure to train. Federal judge William Mercer filed an order on April 9th to vacate planned trial dates in the case after receiving a notice of settlement. The parties are required to file a request to dismiss by May 9th. Neither the City of Whitefish nor attorneys for Ringifo del Castillo responded to inquiries about the potential settlement. The order to vacate the trial came only two days after Mercer dismissed three of the five claims leveled at the city. In a summary judgment signed April 7, Mercer highlighted similarities between the unconstitutional seizure, false arrest and negligent claims made in the lawsuit, and a complaint about the traffic stop that Ringifo del Castillo filed with the Montana Human Rights Bureau in September 2025. The judge found that until he received adjudication from the State Bureau, Ringifo del Castillo could not pursue his claims in federal court. Mercer dismissed the claims without prejudice, meaning that they could be introduced again at a later date. The summary judgment applied only to claims made against the city of Whitefish under Montana state law. The city still faced two claims of failure to train under federal law, and none of the claims against Hingis were affected by the summary judgment. The Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo is excited to announce that country music star Walker Hayes will headline the 2026 Fair concert. The performance will take place Wednesday, August 12th at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalisbell, opening the 2026 Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo, which runs August 12th through the 16th. Known for his hit songs, including Fancy Like, Double AA, and You Broke Up With Me, Hayes has become one of country music's most recognizable voices, blending infectious melodies with authentic storytelling. His high-energy live performances and fan favorite hits have made him a standout performer across the country. Hayes has released five studio albums and charted multiple singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. Tickets for the Walker Hayes concert will be available through the Northwest Montana Fair website at nwmtfair.com. The Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo welcomes more than 80,000 guests annually and is one of the largest summer events in the region. Featuring concerts, PRCA Pro Rodeo Action, Carnival Rides, exhibits, food vendors, and family entertainment. For ticket information and fair updates, visit NWMTfair.com. Thanks for joining us. NewsNow is a podcast from the Daily Interlake. We're proud to be the largest independent newsroom in Montana and the longest continuously published newspaper in the region. Today's stories were written by Hungry Horse News editor Chris Peterson, Lake County Leader Reporter Emily Messer, and Daily Interlake reporter Hailey Smalley. You can read the full versions of these stories at dailyinterlake.com. And if you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel to never miss an episode of The Pod. Everybody stay safe and have a great week.