SAVE HOLLAND LAKE

https://www.facebook.com/savehollandlake

Save Holland Lake Group Says Forest Service Plan Inaccuracies Misinform Public on Holland Lake Expansion Plan, Need to be Fixed

Developer Seeks Almost Twice the Acreage of Current Permit Issued

Public’s Been Locked Out of Process, Development Will Harm Wildlife, Ecosystem

October 6, 2022

(Contact: Bill Lombardi / 406-459-8860 / bebomontana@gmail.com)

(Seeley Lake, MT) – An ad-hoc coalition of citizens called Save Holland Lake says the U.S. Forest Service has misinformed Americans about the amount of public acreage a developer would use to triple the size of Holland Lake Lodge on the pristine lake in Montana’s Seeley-Swan Valley and is asking them to fix their mistake.

The group today is asking the Forest Service to highlight, clarify and fix this mistake, admitted by the agency’s Flathead National Forest supervisor, Kurt Steele, at a public meeting in Condon on October 4. The mistake was pointed out by a Save Holland Lake member to numerous Forest Service officials in attendance. The group also will ask Montana’s congressional delegation to extend the comment period given this big mistake.

“This is the gang that couldn’t shoot straight,” said Bill Lombardi, a member of Save Holland Lake who lives in Seeley Lake. “The Forest Service has wrongly stated the size of the public land the developer needs for this massive project. They should start over and be honest and factually correct with the public, because so far the process has been confusing, hidden from public view and murky, at best.”

Here’s the key excerpt from the Missoulian report on the Forest Service October 4 meetings:

“But Steele also admitted mistakes in handling the project. The current proposal covers about 15 acres under a Special Use Permit. Steele said he originally thought that was the same size as the lodge’s existing permit and wouldn’t be an expansion. He later realized that the lodge’s current permit is for 10.53 acres, not 15. And with the inclusion of wastewater facility POWDR [the Utah-based developer] would take over, the proposal balloons to about 19 acres – nearly twice the current permit acreage.”

Steele told the more than 100 people opposed to the project in Condon that he had made a mistake and that, as the Missoulian quotes him as saying, “Come to find out it’s only 10.53 acres.”

It was only after being asked multiple times by the public did the Forest Service admit that Utah ski giant POWDR is asking for more public land than allowed under the lodge’s current special use permit.

Save Holland Lake is asking the Forest Service to not only correct this mistake publicly but to advise the thousands of people who have commented on the proposal and used the incorrect acreage of the public land under development consideration to decide if they want to amend their comments given this FS “mistake.”

“This proposal will greatly expand the stretch of impact to this pristine lake, and the Forest Service either wasn’t aware of that impact or didn’t tell the public,” said David Roberts, a member of Save Holland Lake who pointed out the acreage discrepancy to Forest Service officials at the public meeting in Condon. “Either way, this shows how flawed this project and process have been. It’s a huge disservice to the public who own and treasure this lake and public land.”

Not one member of the public spoke in favor of POWDR’s project in two public meetings in the Seeley-Swan Valley on October 4. And hundreds of public land owners expressed outrage at the Forest Service’s confusing explanations of the project, timeline, extensive detrimental effects to the natural ecosystem and rural nature of the valley, and inattention to detail.

Even POWDR representatives apologized for not engaging the public when they began exploring the project years earlier.

“This proposal has been doomed from the start – the Forest Service simply can’t get the facts right for the use of our public land,” Lombardi said. “The bottom line is they have misinformed the public, and the Forest Service should either start over or deny this permit outright. We don’t trust them.”

BACKGROUND

Save Holland Lake, meanwhile, has pressed the Forest Service to extend the project’s comment period, to do a more rigorous environmental impact statement rather than a less stringent analysis (categorical exclusion), and deny the Special Use Permit for this giant project because it’s not in the public interest.

The group says the public has been locked out of the process and that the massive development, on public land, will harm the pristine nature of Holland Lake, the fragile ecosystem, endangered and threatened species, and the unique rural and historic nature of the wildlife-rich Seeley-Swan Valley.

“Thousands of Montanans know this giant project is plain wrong for Holland Lake and our public land,” said Jacole Johnson, a Missoula mother of two and businesswoman who, with her family, recreates at Holland Lake south of Condon. “We’ve lost trust in the Forest Service because they’ve locked us out of the process to determine the future of our public land. This massive project will have extensive effects on the valley and harm its air, water, ecosystem and wildlife. It’s wrong and not in the interest of the public.”

The group is asking the Flathead National Forest Service supervisor to:

Extend the public comment period beyond October 7, 2022
Complete a more detailed environmental impact statement (EIS)
Ultimately deny the extensive project’s special use permit for development on public land because it is not in the public interest

The Save Holland Lake group started just last month after the Flathead National Forest announced that it was considering a special use permit for one of North America’s largest ski developers, POWDR in Utah, to triple the size of the rustic Holland Lake Lodge and substantially increase human visitation to the quiet Holland Lake area 20 miles north of Seeley Lake.

The massive project would be built on public land. POWDR hatched the plan behind closed doors with the Forest Service, who received development plans in April 2022 (discussions were begun well before then) but didn’t announce the proposal until September 1 this year. Then the Forest Service said the public had to comment on the proposal by September 21. But thousands of cries of public protest forced the forest supervisor to extend the comment period until October 7.

Flathead Forest Supervisor Kurt Steele said officials would consider the project under a categorical exclusion, the least stringent analysis, rather than using a more rigorous environmental analysis or environmental impact statement.

So far, in just a month, the Forest Service has received about 6,000 comments on the proposal, with the overwhelming majority of the comments opposed to POWDR’s plans for extensive development on public land.

BACKGROUND

Who

Save Holland Lake is an ad-hoc coalition of concerned citizens fighting to protect Montana’s natural treasures – Holland Lake and the Seeley-Swan Valley – from “industrial tourism” and a U.S. Forest Service/Utah ski developer’s proposal to triple the size of Holland Lake Lodge on our public land.

What

The U.S. Forest Service and POWDR Corp., one of the largest ski developers in North America, propose to triple the size of the historic Holland Lake Lodge – on our public land – and turn it into a recreation-hotel complex on a 400-acre lake that harbors threatened and endangered species like bull trout, grizzly bear, and Canada lynx, sits in the ancestral homeland of indigenous peoples, like the Pend d'Oreille (Kalispel), Salish, Kootenai and Blackfeet, and for decades has served as a quiet retreat for friends and families to celebrate important moments in their lives. The Forest Service said they would use the most lenient environmental analysis on the giant proposal instead of employing more rigorous analyses to determine the harmful effects on the ecosystem and surrounding area.

When

In April 2022, the U.S. Forest Service received plans from POWDR to highly develop Holland Lake Lodge – on public land – but didn’t tell the public until September 1, and told Americans they had just three weeks to comment on the proposal. The process simply has been secretive for land that we own.

Where

Holland Lake and Holland Lake Lodge, 20 miles north of Seeley Lake and situated between the spectacular and wildlife-rich Mission and Swan mountain ranges. The Seeley-Swan Valley is largely undeveloped, and presents public recreational opportunities to all and hasn’t (yet) turned into an exclusive playground for the rich and famous, like Yellowstone Club west of Big Sky.

Why

Holland Lake Lodge’s website says: “Experience Spectacular Solitude at Holland Lake Lodge, Montana’s Hidden Gem. Holland Lake Lodge is a rustic lakeside resort with genuine Montana charm, surrounded by stunning views of two mountain ranges, a pristine lake, and a 100-foot waterfall.” Not for long – if you don’t take action!

How You Can Take Action and Make Your Voice Heard

COMMENT HERE: You have until October 7 to comment on this proposal. Please take time to comment and say NO – https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//CommentInput?Project=61746