Public dock proposed on Wild Horse Island
Montana State Parks is asking for comments on what would be the first and only public dock on Flathead Lake’s Wild Horse Island.
Wild Horse Island State Park, a 2,163-acre preserve covering the majority of the lake’s largest island, is currently accessible only by boat at the six public landing sites scattered around its coast.
Comments on the draft environmental assessment, released Thursday, are due May 30.
The proposed project would place a floating 8-foot-by-60-foot dock at Wild Horse Island in Skeeko Bay on the northeast part of the island. The bay offers the most protected boat landing site and the most direct access to the park’s primary trailhead and only restroom.
The dock would provide public access for loading and unloading passengers as well as administrative access for natural resource management staffers and park maintenance crews. During the shoulder season, the dock would be available for visitor boat mooring.
Construction on the $250,000 dock would begin in the fall with an expected completion date in spring 2017.
The agency is recommending a segmented dock design that would allow the dock to either rest on the lake bed when the surface is lowered each fall or be disassembled and placed on the shore.
The environmental assessment also notes the possible controversy over changes to the “rustic and natural” character of the site, but states the dock would not be out of place since there are 33 existing private docks on the island.
The Wild Horse Island dock was authorized last year by legislation sponsored by state Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson.
An environmental assessment had begun after the 2013 Legislature appropriated $40,000 to go toward the project, but it stalled after agency officials realized it would require explicit legislative approval.
The state park agency requested the dock to allow safe access for visitors and staff.
The draft document notes that visitors typically beach their boats and disembark by leaping to shore, and park staffers conduct work at the park that entails offloading equipment and supplies, which is hazardous without a dock.
Last year, an estimated 16,700 people visited the island, which is home to bighorn sheep, mule deer, wild horses and numerous waterfowl and other birds.
The park contains historic homesteader sites, including a primitive home, a barn and horse-drawn farming implements.
Comments must be received by May 30 at 5 p.m.
They can be emailed to agrout@mt.gov or mailed to: Flathead Lake State Park Ranger Station; 8600 Montana 35, Bigfork, MT 59911.
To comment online or view the draft environmental assessment, visit stateparks.mt.gov and click “Public Notices.”
For more information, contact Amy Grout at (406) 837-3041, extension 3, or by email at agrout@mt.gov.
Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.