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A site plan of the proposed expansion project at Holland Lake Lodge in the Swan Valley, just off Highway 83 an hour and a half drive northeast of Missoula.

An aerial view of the Holland Lake Lodge on Wednesday afternoon. The Flathead National Forest is holding a public meeting on Thursday night about a proposal to remove 10 aging structures at the lodge and add a new 28-room lodge, restaurant and 26 new cabins near the lake.

A boat floats through the middle of Holland Lake on Wednesday afternoon. At least one advocacy group, the Swan View Coalition, is urging people to tell the Forest Service to conduct a more rigorous environmental review.

An aerial view of the Holland Lake Lodge on Wednesday afternoon. The Flathead National Forest is holding a public meeting on Thursday night about a proposal to remove 10 aging structures at the lodge and add a new 28-room lodge, restaurant and 26 new cabins near the lake.

A boat floats through the middle of Holland Lake on Wednesday afternoon. At least one advocacy group, the Swan View Coalition, is urging people to tell the Forest Service to conduct a more rigorous environmental review.

A significant construction project is planned for an historic lodge in the Swan Valley, but the public gets to have its say first.

The Flathead National Forest is holding a public meeting on Thursday night, Sept. 8, to take comments and answer questions about a proposal to remove 10 aging structures at Holland Lake Lodge and add 32 new buildings, including a new 28-room lodge, a new restaurant and 26 new cabins near the lake.

At least one advocacy group, the Swan View Coalition, is urging people to tell the Forest Service to conduct a more rigorous environmental review.

Originally built in 1924 and last updated in 1947, Holland Lake Lodge Inc. owns the buildings but leases about 15 acres of land from the U.S. Forest Service to operate under a special permit.

Christian Wohlfeil, the owner of the lodge, has partnered on a joint business venture for the project with POWDR, one of the largest ski resort operators in North America.

“I have managed Holland Lake Lodge for 20 years and it is a truly special place where people have come to recreate for nearly 100 years,” Wohlfeil said in a statement. “However, for Holland Lake to thrive, the resort needs some TLC. This Master Development Plan is intended to preserve the spirit and integrity of what is here, while upgrading facilities so we can share this place with guests for years to come.”

POWDR bills itself as an "adventure lifestyle company" and owns ski resorts in Lake Tahoe, Nevada; Mt. Bachelor, Oregon; and Copper Mountain, Colorado; among others.

“POWDR has built its brand on the premise of delivering soulful experiences that matter to guests and reflect the local community,” said Justin Sibley, CEO of POWDR. “Holland Lake Lodge is a soulful place, where families spend time in the outdoors with the people they love. We look forward to continuing this legacy.”

Wohlfeil did not respond to a request for comment, instead forwarding a request from the Missoulian to Tami MacKenzie, a public affairs specialist with the Flathead National Forest.

MacKenzie noted that the project would repair the existing historic lodge and upgrade the utility infrastructure.

A site plan of the proposed expansion project at Holland Lake Lodge in the Swan Valley, just off Highway 83 an hour and a half drive northeast…

“Improvements would provide a family-friendly destination with the modern comfort and conveniences that visitors today expect, while retaining the integrity of the location,” MacKenzie said in a press release. “Architecture elements would reflect the Adirondack design commonly used in dude ranches, lodges and resorts across Montana.”

MacKenzie said environmental best practices would be implemented, including water and energy conservation measures, increased fire safety, shoreline protection and natural vegetation cover. There would also be measures implemented for protection of the night sky, birds, waterfowl and other wildlife.

The project would see the construction of a new 13,000-square-foot, 28-room Bob Marshall Lodge, along with 10 two-bedroom lakeside cabins, 16 one-bedroom “bunkie” cabins, an employee housing building for 12 workers, a maintenance building, a welcome center, a watersports building and a new 3,000-square foot Mission Mountain Restaurant.

“A patio will wrap around the (restaurant) building to the south to allow for outdoor dining and entertainment opportunities during warmer months,” the developers wrote in their Master Development Plan. “Approximately 1,500 square feet will be dedicated to a new commercial kitchen. Combined, the Mission Mountain Restaurant and adjacent Old Lodge will have seating capacity for 120 guests.”

The structures that would be removed include five existing cabins, the gift shop/check-in building, a storage shed, a watersports shed and a private sauna. The old lodge, the owner’s cabin and a barn would be protected.

The two existing wells that serve the property would either be abandoned or used for irrigation and fire suppression, and two new independent public water systems would be developed. New parking spaces would be developed to pull cars away from the lake.

Holland Lake Lodge will operate as usual for the rest of the 2022 season. If the Master Development Plan is issued and construction permits are issued, construction could start as early as 2023 and would take one to two years to complete.

MacKenzie told the Missoulian on Wednesday that the Forest Service uses three different levels of environmental review for projects under the National Environmental Policy Act: Categorical Exclusion (the least rigorous), an Environmental Assessment and an Environmental Impact Statement (the most comprehensive document).

Based on a preliminary assessment conducted by the Flathead National Forest, the intention of the Forest Service is to categorically exclude the proposed project from documentation in an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment, MacKenzie said.

“But until we conduct further environmental analysis, we don’t know for sure,” she said. “So we’ll go through the public scoping period, take public comments and a specialist will do an environmental review on the effects of the project. If the effects are significant, that would bump us to a higher level of analysis. The final determination would be made in the next few months.”

She said the lodge’s current lease of Forest Service land expires in 2036, at which point another review would be conducted to see if another long-term lease is warranted. Many private cabins on Holland Lake operate under long-term leases.

Keith Hammer, the chair of a Kalispell-based advocacy group Swan View Coalition, sent out an email to his mailing list calling the project a "mega-expansion." Hammer also added a list of talking points that he believes people should consider making in comments to the Forest Service.

"The scoping document is dead wrong to presume this mega-development can be 'categorically excluded' from the prior preparation of an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement," Hammer's email reads. "Such short-cuts are intended for constructing an outhouse or a tool shed, not a destination resort!"

Hammer did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

The full public scoping package can be found on the Holland Lake Lodge Expansion project webpage at bit.ly/3D1YCHm.

Originally published on missoulian.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.