SAM Magazine—Missoula, Mont., June 5, 2013—Would-be resort developer Tom Maclay has submitted a third proposal for a resort on Lolo Peak in the Bitterroot Mountains west of Missoula. This current proposal omits Maclay’s former 3,000-acre ranch, which he lost to Met Life Agricultural Investments via foreclosure earlier this year.

The proposal was delivered May 24 from a company called Special Use Permit for Public Resort Benefits (SUPPRB), a limited liability corporation Maclay has established. The proposed resort would be on the Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests, with a base area in the Bitterroot forest. Forest Service officials will meet to determine if the proposal meets the requirements for a first level screening. Maclay’s two previous proposals foundered at this juncture, as the Lolo forest plan doesn’t allow for downhill development on Lolo Peak and vicinity. (For more, see the previous Breaking News article, "Met Life Gains Bitterroot Resort Property From Maclay," and the several comments on it, including two from Maclay.)

Maclay has asked the Forest Service to withhold his application from the public until the proposal is complete, so few details are available.