GLACIER NATIONAL PARK — A federal appeals court ruled Montana's stream protection law doesn't apply to private land inside Glacier National Park.
John and Stacy Ambler can move forward with plans to build a home along McDonald Creek inside Glacier National Park after a federal appeals court ruled that Montana's stream protection law has no authority over private land within the park's boundaries.
In a decision filed April 17, 2026, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Amblers, owners of a private inholding along the creek, affirming a lower court ruling that the Flathead Conservation District cannot enforce the Montana Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act of 1975 on their property.
The ruling dealt losses to both the Flathead Conservation District and Friends of Montana Streams and Rivers.
The court's reasoning hinged on a pair of historic statutes: a 1911 Montana law in which the state ceded jurisdiction over land inside Glacier National Park to the federal government, and a 1914 federal act in which the United States accepted that cession.
(FEBRUARY 2025) A court has ruled in favor of a California couple building a controversial home along a creek bank in Glacier National Park.
Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto ruled last week that the private home can remain on the banks of McDonald Creek in the park.
The home was under scrutiny by the Flathead Conservation District which had found the homeowners, John and Stacy Ambler, did not have the permit required for work that could potentially impact stream beds and banks.
However, DeSoto's ruling found that the conservation district lacks the jurisdiction to enforce the Streambed Act on the Ambler's private land within Glacier National Park.
The ruling means the home can remain.
