McFarland

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

McFarland owns a 2.75 acre plot of land (the Property) located within the boundaries of Glacier National Park, in an area commonly known as “Big Prairie.” The Property was conveyed to McFarland’s predecessor in interest, Charles Schoenberger, in 1916 by a federal patent under the Home- stead Act of 1862. The patent read: “TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said tract of Land, with the appurtenances thereof, unto the said claimant and to the heirs and assigns of the said claimant, forever.”

Glacier Route 7 passes through what is now Glacier National Park. It is, and always has been, the only road over which McFarland and his predecessors have had motorized access to the Property. Although the Park Service has prohib- ited snowmobiling in Glacier National Park since 1975 and has generally closed Glacier Route 7 to automobiles during the winter season, the Park Service continued to allow inholders some degree of motorized access over Glacier Route 7 in winter months until 1999.1 In December, 1999, the Park Service notified McFarland that it would no longer allow inholders motorized access to Glacier Route 7 once it was closed to the general public. The Park…