http://www.savehollandlake.com/

Save Holland Lake, Condon, MT (2026)

09/18/2026

The Forest Service has a multi-billion dollar backlog of unmet deferred maintenance needs for trails, roads, bridges, buildings, and other government-owned assets.

Instead of devoting appropriated funds to address these needs, the Flathead National Forest is planning to divert a large amount of deferred maintenance funding to primarily benefit a privately-owned commercial business, Holland Lake Lodge.

This is a potential misuse of government funds that are meant for maintenance and restoration of government-owned facilities to benefit the public.

09/17/2026

Forest Supervisor Botello’s August 4, 2026, decision is to build a wastewater treatment plant large enough to treat nearly one million gallons (961,298) of wastewater annually. According to the FNF, 80% of that wastewater is planned to come from Holland Lake Lodge, a privately-owned business. The remaining 20% is from the government-owned campground and Rv dump station. Nevertheless, the FNF has not asked Holland Lake Lodge, Inc. to pay its proportionate share of the construction costs. Rather, the FNF plans to use Congressionally appropriated funds to pay the entire construction costs, which may exceed $3 million.

Why?

The Forest Service has no obligation to provide wastewater treatment services for Holland Lake Lodge. The term special use permit that Supervisor Botello and Holland Lake Lodge, Inc. signed last July explicitly states:

“This permit authorizes the use and occupancy of NFS lands by the holder for the purposes identified in this permit. The Forest Service does not make any express or implied warranty of access to the permit area, of the suitability of the permit area for the authorized uses, or for the furnishing of road or trail maintenance, water, fire protection services, search and rescue services, or any other services by a government agency, utility, association, or individual.”
[Authorization ID:SWA645; Clause IV.D.]

Official Forest Service policy, updated just last month, regarding “Privately Provided Recreation Opportunities” such as Holland Lake Lodge, states:

“Use of Appropriated Funds. Do not use appropriated funds to construct recreation facilities for operation by others under special use authorization, as a general rule. Use appropriated funds, when necessary, to restore existing Government-owned recreation improvements that have been operated under special use authorization.”
[Forest Service Manual Chapter 2340.03(b)(4)]

Thus, official FS policy prohibits - “as a general rule” - use of appropriated funds for the benefit of the privately-owned Holland Lake Lodge, but allows the FNF to use appropriated funds to provide wastewater treatment for the benefit of the Government-owned Holland Campground and Rv dump station.

Holland Lake Lodge Inc. is responsible for the treatment of the wastewater they generate, not the federal government. Holland Lake Lodge, Inc. could propose to pay its share of the costs of constructing the wastewater treatment system described in Supervisor Botello’s August decision. The FS could enter into a “collection agreement” with Holland Lake Lodge, Inc. to share construction costs proportionately. Alternatively, Holland Lake Lodge, Inc. could pay for the construction of their own wastewater collection and treatment system, just as Tamaracks Resort, The Lodges on Seeley Lake, Blacktail Mountain Ski Area, and Whitefish Mountain Ski Area have done.

The Forest Service has a multi-billion dollar backlog of unmet deferred maintenance needs for trails, roads, bridges, buildings, and other government-owned assets. Instead of devoting appropriated funds to address these needs, the FNF is planning to divert a large amount of deferred maintenance funding to primarily benefit a privately-owned commercial business. This is a potential misuse of government funds that are meant for maintenance and restoration of government-owned facilities to benefit the public.

📷 Micall GS

08/20/2026

The new owners of Holland Lake Lodge have possibly misled the public and details are coming to light due to the dedication of our volunteers. We now know there are 4 business entities filed with the Montana Secretary of State office.

1. Holland Lake Lodge Inc.
This is the original business established in 1997. It is what Eric Jacobsen says they bought on July 3, 2025.

2. Holland Lake Lodge Restaurant LLC was established in 2021 by POWDR. Its name was changed to HLLR LLC on October 10, 2025, and Justin Sibley, POWDR's CEO is still shown as the member with POWDR's address. After this was established, POWDR took over restaurant operations and at some point the liquor license was put into Justin Sibley's name. Christian became their employee manager. (The Lodge hasn't been open since 2023, because there's no approved wastewater system.)

3. Holland Peak LLC was established in October 2024, and this is the entity that filed for the special use permit. Supervisor Botello awarded the permit to them in May 2025. Eric and company closed on their purchase of Holland Lake Lodge Inc on July 3, 2025. (Dates matter here.)

4. Holland Peak Beverage LLC was established in March 2025 and has two Associated Business Names. (See first slide.)

➡️1. Holland Lake Lodge Restaurant (with no LLC at the end) was established on Oct 10, 2025– the same day the name change was filed with the Secretary of State office. The filings were 2 hours apart.

➡️2. The Holland Lake Bar and Restaurant ABN was filed in May, 2025.

The October 2025 name change from “Holland Lake Lodge Restaurant LLC” to “HLLR LLC” appears to be a deliberate post‑acquisition restructuring move, since it happened after Jacobsen and company closed on their "stock purchase" of Holland Lake Lodge Inc. (July 3, 2025)
It suggests the new owners are reorganizing operations, isolating liabilities, and possibly preparing for expanded or modernized services — all while keeping the permit‑holding corporation, Holland Lake Lodge Inc, intact. Time will tell.

Now there are multiple business entities covering the Holland Lake Lodge we remember. These separate businesses include Lodging, Restaurant, Bar, and anything else you can imagine in the future.

The two that seem to complement each other are HLLR LLC (formerly Holland Lake Lodge Restaurant LLC) which owned the restaurant and bar business AND Holland Peak Beverage LLC.

POWDR's Justin Sibley and Holland Peak Beverage LLC (owned by Jacobsen and his investors) share ownership of the restaurant and bar businesses, without a liquor license and without an approved wastewater system.

Eric Jacobson and his investors bought this place when it was shut down, had no approved wastewater treatment system, and no active liquor license. Risky?

Jacobsen said publicly that Holland Lake Lodge is really just a bar and restaurant business. That's where the bigger $$$ return is. It appears that POWDR still controls the Restaurant but there's no liquor license right now, because Justin Sibley let the one he had lapse. When the Lodge reopens, a new liquor license will be needed if they want to serve liquor. Holland Peak Beverage LLC seems most likely to file for that, but who knows. This is all pretty strategic and complicated — but not illegal.

Does anyone think this sets the Lodge up for future expansion? (We do, but that's not illegal either.) It's their right to set up business however they want. The Forest Service only seems to care about who owns the majority shares of Holland Lake Lodge Inc. (the entity the Forest Service says owns the improvements) and who controls a business that's not open.

Jacobson, by purchasing Holland Lake Lodge Inc had to convince the Forest Service that he and his investors meet those requirements. The rest will play out before us. The large wastewater treatment system just approved by Supervisor Botello (with no financial contributions from the new Lodge owners) benefits them greatly. It paves the way for big expansion.

Botello says they'll have to go through the Forest Service to get expansion approved and there'll be a public process if that happens. To be continued. Jacobson and company have 4 more years to let us know their Master Development Plan.

Meanwhile, Save Holland Lake will continue to shed light on the situation, coordinate the next steps, and ask for your voice to help protect Montana. This is too special of a place to lose. We were told to trust the new owners. Keeping this info in the dark doesn't seem very trustworthy to us. They're likely setting the stage to turn Holland Lake into what we all fought so hard against.

We wonder:
What exactly did Jacobsen/Knowles purchase?
Did Jacobsen/Knowles acquire 100% of outstanding shares of Holland Lake Lodge Inc. or some lesser amount?
Does POWDR retain an ownership interest (% of shares) in Holland Lake Lodge Inc.?
Who actually "controls" Holland Lake Lodge Inc.?

Buckle up Montana, we're at it again. Thank you for all of your support the last round. We still need it please.

08/20/2026

The new owners of Holland Lake Lodge have possibly misled the public and details are coming to light due to the dedication of our volunteers. We now know there are 4 business entities filed with the Montana Secretary of State office.

1. Holland Lake Lodge Inc.
This is the original business established in 1997. It is what Eric Jacobsen says they bought on July 3, 2025.

2. Holland Lake Lodge Restaurant LLC was established in 2021 by POWDR. Its name was changed to HLLR LLC on October 10, 2025, and Justin Sibley, POWDR's CEO is still shown as the member with POWDR's address. After this was established, POWDR took over restaurant operations and at some point the liquor license was put into Justin Sibley's name. Christian became their employee manager. (The Lodge hasn't been open since 2023, because there's no approved wastewater system.)

3. Holland Peak LLC was established in October 2024, and this is the entity that filed for the special use permit. Supervisor Botello awarded the permit to them in May 2025. Eric and company closed on their purchase of Holland Lake Lodge Inc on July 3, 2025. (Dates matter here.)

4. Holland Peak Beverage LLC was established in March 2025 and has two Associated Business Names. (See documentation in comments.)

1. Holland Lake Lodge Restaurant (with no LLC at the end) was established on Oct 10, 2025– the same day the name change was filed with the Secretary of State office. The filings were 2 hours apart.

2. The Holland Lake Bar and Restaurant ABN was filed in May, 2025.

The October 2025 name change from “Holland Lake Lodge Restaurant LLC” to “HLLR LLC” appears to be a deliberate post‑acquisition restructuring move, since it happened after Jacobsen and company closed on their "stock purchase" of Holland Lake Lodge Inc. (July 3, 2025)
It suggests the new owners are reorganizing operations, isolating liabilities, and possibly preparing for expanded or modernized services — all while keeping the permit‑holding corporation, Holland Lake Lodge Inc, intact. Time will tell.

Now there are multiple business entities covering the Holland Lake Lodge we remember. These separate businesses include Lodging, Restaurant, Bar, and anything else you can imagine in the future.

The two that seem to complement each other are HLLR LLC (formerly Holland Lake Lodge Restaurant LLC) which owned the restaurant and bar business AND Holland Peak Beverage LLC.

POWDR's Justin Sibley and Holland Peak Beverage LLC (owned by Jacobsen and his investors) share ownership of the restaurant and bar businesses, without a liquor license and without an approved wastewater system.

Eric Jacobson and his investors bought this place when it was shut down, had no approved wastewater treatment system, and no active liquor license. Risky?

Jacobsen said publicly that Holland Lake Lodge is really just a bar and restaurant business. That's where the bigger $$$ return is. It appears that POWDR still controls the Restaurant but there's no liquor license right now, because Justin Sibley let the one he had lapse. When the Lodge reopens, a new liquor license will be needed if they want to serve liquor. Holland Peak Beverage LLC seems most likely to file for that, but who knows. This is all pretty strategic and complicated — but not illegal.

Does anyone think this sets the Lodge up for future expansion? (We do, but that's not illegal either.) It's their right to set up business however they want. The Forest Service only seems to care about who owns the majority shares of Holland Lake Lodge Inc. (the entity the Forest Service says owns the improvements) and who controls a business that's not open.

Jacobson, by purchasing Holland Lake Lodge Inc had to convince the Forest Service that he and his investors meet those requirements. The rest will play out before us. The large wastewater treatment system just approved by Supervisor Botello (with no financial contributions from the new Lodge owners) benefits them greatly. It paves the way for big expansion.

Botello says they'll have to go through the Forest Service to get expansion approved and there'll be a public process if that happens. To be continued. Jacobson and company have 4 more years to let us know their Master Development Plan.

Meanwhile, Save Holland Lake will continue to shed light on the situation, coordinate the next steps, and ask for your voice to help protect Montana. This is too special of a place to lose.

08/19/2026

We are so grateful for our tireless volunteers who continue to research what’s really happening at Holland Lake.

08/19/2026

There’s been a longtime takeover effort of the historic Holland Lake Lodge by a group of Venture Capitalists from Utah, and their efforts have been fully rewarded by the supervisor of Flathead National Forest when he approved the massive expansion of a failed wastewater lagoon system to support a private business with taxpayer funds (without any direct appropriation). Here’s one of our member’s quick analysis of the failures in this decision:

⭐ What’s Wrong With the Holland Lake Wastewater Decision

The Flathead National Forest just approved the reconstruction and expansion of the Holland Lake wastewater lagoon system — and after digging through the decision documents, engineering reports, and water‑quality data, it’s clear this decision has major problems the public deserves to understand.

Here’s what the Forest Service didn’t tell you.

1️⃣ The new lagoon system is NOT “smaller” — it’s 4–5× larger.

The Forest Service keeps saying the new system is “smaller” or “not an expansion.”

But that’s only true if you compare it to the theoretical 2000 design — not the actual lagoon that existed on the ground, which was less than half the size of what was originally planned.

Actual lagoon volume (as‑built): ~330,000 gallons

New lagoon volume: ~1,548,000 gallons

That’s a 4.6× to 5.5× increase.

A bigger lagoon means:

• More stored wastewater

• More nutrient loading if anything leaks

• More groundwater contamination risk

• More consequences if the system fails

Calling this “not an expansion” is simply not true.

2️⃣ The Forest Service used a loophole to avoid doing an Environmental Assessment.

Instead of doing a full Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the Forest Service used a Categorical Exclusion (CE) — a shortcut meant for small, routine projects.

But Holland Lake has:

• Threatened bull trout

• Critical habitat

• A long history of lagoon failure

• High groundwater directly connected to the lake

• A private lodge relying on public infrastructure

• A massive earthwork footprint (~16,000 cubic yards of fill)

• Heavy truck traffic and dust impacts

• Strong public controversy

These are extraordinary circumstances that normally require a full NEPA review.

Using a CE here is like approving a major development with a rubber stamp.

3️⃣ The water‑quality analysis is based on the wrong data.

The Forest Service relied on one set of samples from late 2023 — taken after the lagoon was shut down and after the leak stopped.

That’s like testing a river for pollution months after the factory closes.

Meanwhile, the Whitefish Lake Institute’s long‑term dataset shows:

• Rising nitrogen

• Rising phosphorus

• A major nutrient spike around 2018

• Increased chlorophyll‑a (algae growth)

• Declining water clarity

These are classic signs of eutrophication — the early stages of lake degradation.

The Forest Service ignored all of it.

4️⃣ The lagoon sits in groundwater — and the decision pretends it doesn’t.

The Forest Service says the new lagoon will have “4 feet of separation” from groundwater.

But the engineering reports show:

• Groundwater is 4–5 feet below the surface

• The lagoon is built inside the groundwater zone

• Groundwater flows downhill directly toward Holland Lake

• Nitrate moves easily through groundwater

This is a direct hydrologic pathway to the lake.

Ignoring this is dangerous.

5️⃣ Bull trout are already in trouble — and the decision ignores cumulative impacts.

Bull trout in Holland Lake:

• Have extremely low redd counts

• Face lake trout and brook trout

• Face nutrient increases

• Face riparian degradation

• May face northern pike

• Are below viability thresholds

The Forest Service’s Biological Assessment says the project is “not likely to adversely affect” bull trout — but it never analyzes how all these stressors interact.

This is not how ESA Section 7 is supposed to work.

6️⃣ Dust, traffic, and construction impacts were brushed aside.

The project requires:

• ~1,500 truckloads

• ~16,000 cubic yards of fill

• A raised lagoon footprint

• Heavy construction near the lake

The Forest Service’s mitigation?

“Dust abatement will be applied as needed.”

“As needed” is not a plan. It’s not enforceable. And it doesn’t protect the lake.

7️⃣ The public is paying for a system that mainly benefits a private resort.

According to the 2025 Preliminary Engineering Report which looked at historical flow data, the campground contributes ~1,300 gallons/day. The lodge contributes ~1,300 gallons/day.

Yet the public is funding a multi‑million‑dollar lagoon system sized primarily for the lodge’s needs — even though the lodge has no approved expansion.

This is a public subsidy for private infrastructure, and the decision never addresses it.

⭐ Bottom Line

The Forest Service’s decision:

• Misrepresents the size of the new lagoon

• Uses a loophole to avoid environmental review

• Relies on incomplete water‑quality data

• Ignores long‑term nutrient trends

• Downplays groundwater connectivity

• Minimizes bull trout impacts

• Ignores dust and construction risks

• Sidesteps public subsidy concerns

This decision is not supported by science, not supported by NEPA, and not supported by ESA Section 7.

The public deserves better!

✍️ Mark Carpenter
📷

08/11/2026

Kayla Kingscott took this gorgeous video of the sunrise at Holland Lake a few weeks ago. Thank you for sharing Kayla! Holland Lake has such breathtaking beauty in all seasons.

08/06/2026

UPDATE: BIGFORK BAY MARINA

The developer has submitted a request to withdraw his application. The application remains on the agenda for Monday's meeting, where the Flathead Conservation District will discuss and likely close it.

A withdrawal is not a denial. There is nothing preventing a future application for the same or a similar project at this location.

The developer has also indicated he intends to hold public meetings to address questions and concerns regarding this property. We encourage our community to attend, ask questions, and stay informed.

We will be at Monday's meeting and encourage you to join us. We will continue to monitor this property and any future applications that affect Bigfork. Your engagement matters and we will need it again.

📅 August 10, 2026 | 1:00pm
📍 USDA/Flathead Conservation District Conference Room
133 Interstate Lane, Kalispell, MT 59901
💻 Zoom: flatheadcd.org/fcd-meetings → Join 310 Permit Meeting

08/06/2026

A few snippets from today’s Missoula Current article by Laura Lundquist. Link to read the full piece in the comments below ⬇️ “The Flathead National Forest has approved the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility at Holland Lake. Locals argue that taxpayers are paying for a project that mainly benefits a private company.

On Tuesday, the Flathead National Forest announced it completed its planning for and has approved the Holland Wastewater Treatment System Reconstruction project. Flathead Forest supervisor Anthony Botello used a categorical exclusion to approve the renovation of the wastewater treatment facility that serves mainly Holland Lake Lodge but also the Holland Lake Campground and RV dump station.

On March 2, the proposal was published on the Flathead Forest website, according to Botello’s decision document. At the same time, Holland Lake Lodge owner Eric Jacobsen had applied to the Missoula City-County Board of Health for a variance to use a 50-year-old wastewater storage tank while the wastewater facility was being repaired. The grassroots group Save Holland Lake protested, saying the tank appeared to leak and wasn’t designed to handle the loads of hundreds of summertime guests. Jacobsen ultimately withdrew his request after refusing to pay for a leak test.

Members of Save Holland Lake submitted a Freedom of Information Act request regarding the proposal to rebuild the lagoons. They received an engineer’s estimate that the renovation project would cost a total of $3.6 million. Only $300,000 of that is needed to upgrade the campground vault toilets and add holding tanks for the RV dump station.

Botello’s decision included no financial information, so it’s unknown how the reduction in the system capacity would affect the costs.

Save Holland Lake argues that the renovation is bigger than what is needed and taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for a $3 million wastewater facility that benefits a private business. Some initial research conducted by Save Holland Lake appears to indicate that the Forest Service doesn’t have legal authority to use Congressionally mandated funds to improve facilities for a private business.

It’s rumored that Jacobsen paid $2 million for the lodge, which tax records value at around $1.4 million. So taxpayers are paying more for the wastewater facility than the lodge is worth.

“It’s a ridiculous subsidy using public dollars for a private business,” said Save Holland Lake member David Roberts. “In two years he could say ‘This isn’t turning out how I wanted, I’m burned out on it,’ and turn around and sell the lodge and probably get twice what he paid.”

Save Holland Lake

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