Judge rules Jesus statue can stay on Forest Service land

U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen, in Missoula, ruled June 24 in favor of allowing a statue of Jesus to remain where it is on government land on the side of Big Mountain. Christensen, a former Kalispell attorney, ruled against the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which had challenged the legality of the statue’s location. The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, placed the statue on Forest Service land inside the Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort about 60 years ago and has maintained it since then. They have renewed their Forest Service lease every 10 years. Christensen granted the Forest Service’s request for summary judgment and allowed the agency to reissue the permit for the statue, which sits on a 25-by-25-foot plot of land leased by the Knights of Columbus. Flathead National Forest Supervisor Chip Weber supported Christensen’s ruling. “I am pleased that the court validated the re-issuance of this special-use permit,” Weber said. “It is my position that the statue has been a long-standing object in the community since 1955. It is important to the community for its historical heritage in association with the early development of the ski area on Big Mountain.”...more