Scenes from on and around Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Big Arm State Park has served as a critical point of access to the island and Flathead Lake since 1966. Over the past five decades, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has leased the Big Arm Unit of Flathead Lake State Park from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation at a rate of 5 percent of its appraised value, renegotiating the deal every five or 10 years. The challenge at Big Arm, state officials say, has been meeting the projected appraised value of such a large swath of lakeshore property on Flathead Lake, particularly as those costs rise exponentially.
Hunter D'Antuono
Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A Montana State Parks boat speeds off toward Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Flathead State Park Manager Amy Grout takes a boat out to Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Wild Horse Island as seen from Big Arm State Park on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Morning sunshine strikes a hillside on the shores of Flathead Lake as seen from near Big Arm on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
An osprey peers down from its nest at Skeeko Bay on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Horses graze on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Coby Gehrke, Executive Director of the Flathead State Parks Foundation talks about recent park projects at Big Arm State Park before a tour of Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A bighorn sheep ram on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A mule deer buck rests near a tree on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Members of the Montana Conversation Corps perform trail work on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Rosalie Ramirez of the Montana Conservation Corps on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A member of the Montana Conservation Corps holds a pick axe on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Drew Mayberry of the Montana Conservation Corps on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A Montana State Park’s boat is moored at Wild Horse Island’s Skeeko Bay on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Flathead State Park Manager Amy Grout talks about recent State Park’s projects on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A mule deer buck rests near a tree on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Mule deer graze on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Horses graze on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Mule deer graze on Wild Horse Island on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Wild Horse Island as seen from Big Arm State Park on Sept. 19, 2019. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
