Since the designation of the 756,000-acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area in 1972, one of the greatest threats has revolved around private land, which is sprinkled across 20,000 acres within the area's boundaries.
This October, for the first time in 15 years, the SNRA held a private lands workshop to discuss current issues and explore solutions for the future.
In the past 33 years, the U.S. Forest Service has been tasked with managing the area in a way that discourages and limits development while respecting private property rights.
It's made for a challenging job.
Since 1972, the Forest Service has spent $65 million to purchase 91 conservation easements—an agreement between a landowner and the Forest Service that permanently restricts additional development—on 85 percent of the private lands.
It's a portion of that remaining 15 percent that presents a threat. According to Ruth Wooding, a private lands administrator with the SNRA, about 300 small parcels constitute that 15 percent, and about 5 percent have "some type of non-compliance issue."
Bob Hayes, president and executive director of the Sawtooth Society, an independent, nonprofit organization designed to protect the SNRA, attended the workshop and expressed concern over a few larger parcels that could be eyeballing subdivision development.
"There are a handful of areas that don't have conservation easements that should," Hayes said, adding that he commends the Forest Service for its work over the past 30 years but that they can "improve on their successes."
The SNRA's easement program hit a snag in the mid-1980s, when federal money dried up. The Sawtooth Society and Hayes, who has owned a house in the SNRA since 1976, came to the rescue, lobbying Idaho's congressional delegation for financial assistance. Between 1997 and 2005, Congress appropriated about $18 million to the SNRA, which led to the purchase of 13 conservation easements on 3,000 acres.
"The delegation responded admirably. Without them, it couldn't have been done," Hayes said, adding that in some easement cases the Sawtooth Society acted as the mediator between private landowners and the SNRA.
Hayes noted that while several private property owners have evaded the conservation easement program, that doesn't necessarily mean they're pursuing development aspirations. But they may sell their land to someone who does.
"And the new owners may not have the same conservation ethic the current owners have, which is the reason we need to acquire more easements," he said.
The Sawtooth Society recently committed $58,541 in financial aid to the SNRA. The money will benefit everything from trail maintenance and avalanche reports to medical equipment and interpretive programs. Since 1997, the Sawtooth Society has invested more than $300,000 to improve the SNRA's infrastructure.
Yet another problem is private landowners who have ignored the SNRA's regulations, which is the case with the Casino Creek Subdivision near Lower Stanley. That property, which contains several unapproved homes, including one that's highly visible from state Highway 75 across the Salmon River, is a major hotspot of non-compliance.
What's making these actions even harder for Wooding to swallow is the impact of the mountain pine beetle, which is rapidly killing trees and thinning forests in much of the Sawtooth Valley.
"As the beetle-kill trees come down, the non-compliance issues become more visible, and as they become more visible, they become more of a concern," Wooding said.
But the SNRA's only option when dealing with non-compliant private landowners is condemnation, which is costly, controversial and typically used as a last resort.
For that reason Hayes expressed frustration that the Forest Service "may not have the legal authorities to do what needs to be done."
Wooding agreed and said new options that are less severe than condemnation are currently being examined.
"Condemnation is the only tool in the box," she said. "Right now, we're looking for some other tools that aren't so punitive and that can help us."
While private property threats still exist, both Hayes and Wooding believe conservation in the SNRA is about as strong as it's ever been.
"This area has the potential to turn into another Vail or some other hot spot because it's so beautiful and the land value is so high," Wooding said. "It is very static, considering what it could be."
But another, potentially more serious problem continues to increase in risk every year: wildfire.
The SNRA got a good scare this summer when the Valley Road Fire, fueled by dry beetle-killed trees, charred close to 40,000 acres in the SNRA's Boulder and White Cloud mountains. What was most frightening about the blaze is that it burned east of Highway 75, an area that was not pegged as the greatest wildfire risk in the Sawtooth Valley.
"It was not where everyone expected it to happen," Hayes said. "Everyone was looking west of the highway along the Sawtooth (front)."
That area contains vast stretches of dead, dry trees. While Forest Service crews have removed dead trees from some of the more potentially explosive areas, a catastrophic wildfire still poses a great risk.
"A 60,000-acre wildfire from Smiley Creek to Redfish Lake, that would be a devastation," Hayes said. "It represents a significant risk."
Will more wilderness be approved?
For most of those wondering about the future of the SNRA, they must also give consideration to Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson's Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act. After seven years of crafting and negotiating, the proposal was finally heard by the House Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health on Oct. 27.
The first wilderness bill in Idaho in 25 years, CIEDRA would designate over 300,000 acres in the Boulder and White Cloud mountains as wilderness in exchange for a series of federal land giveaways, mostly in Custer County.
The bill seeks to offer something for everybody, which is probably why seemingly everybody can find something they don't like about it.
Off-highway-vehicle users complain there's too much wilderness. Environmentalists say there isn't enough. Custer County claims it should receive more federal land—it's slated for anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 acres—while environmentalists are up in arms over the land transfers. And that's one of the few aspects of the bill environmentalists actually agree on, as CIEDRA has turned old friends into adversaries.
The gist of the environmental civil war is whether CIEDRA represents the best opportunity for wilderness designation in the Boulder-White Clouds. The fight to corral wilderness in the rugged and gorgeous area has been going on for 30 years. Despite the harsh compromises, supporters claim it won't get any easier in the future and this is as good as it's going to get.
Opponents counter that the bill's concessions to Custer County and the motorized community—designated motorized corridors will slip between wilderness boundaries in several areas—pose a great risk.
But everyone also seems able to find something agreeable in the bill, which has led Simpson to believe he has created the ultimate compromise. And in the end, that may be the bill's top selling point.
The date for a full congressional hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Federal land giveaways
One key provision of Simpson's bill is the giveaway of federal lands in Custer and Blaine counties, including 162 acres in the SNRA.
Custer would be given the largest chunk, between 2,000 and 6,000 acres—details have yet to be hammered down—with the majority poised for development. Custer County Commissioner Lin Hintze has complained that his county, which is predominantly comprised of federal land—97 percent—should be given more land for development to help revive its struggling economy. But the prospect of such a deal has also led to vast opposition to the bill.
Blaine County, which is home to 312,000 acres of private land, or 18.5 percent of its 1.7 million total acreage, is slated to receive 425 acres of federal land for public infrastructure projects if CIEDRA passes.
About 3.5 acres of the Sawtooth National Forest will be given up for a new fire station in Smiley Creek, a new city well in Sawtooth City, and an expanded school bus turnaround on Eagle Creek Road.
The main chunk of federal land will come from the Bureau of Land Management, which will give Blaine County 422 acres. That includes 102 acres for a new transfer station and recycling center at Ohio Gulch; 120 acres for the Glendale Road gravel sites; 160 acres near Magic Reservoir off Cottonwood Road for the possible future site of the Blaine County Airport and for services relating to potential growth and infrastructure needs; and 40 acres at Croy Creek Road for a future fire station.
Blaine County Commissioner Sarah Michael said the federal land giveaway will fulfill "a specific public purpose."
"I'm more concerned about wholesale giveaways to the private sector," she said.
The SNRA will lose 162 acres for three separate housing developments. The first is an 86-acre parcel just north of the Stanley city boundary that has been slated for 10 single-family homes. The second is an 8-acre parcel on the western side of Stanley, which would allow for up to four single-family homes. The final piece is a 60-acre lot on the northeastern edge of Stanley near Lower Stanley, where an affordable housing development is planned.
Hayes helped create the strict deeds for the developments.
"The transfer of those federal lands has been controversial," he said. "Very few people are keen on them and that includes the Sawtooth Society."
But since they're attached to the bill and will become a reality if CIEDRA passes, Hayes said he would rather "be in the position to have a say than leave it to someone else."
He added that "if the county fails to enforce the terms of the deal, then the secretary of agriculture can order that those lands be returned to the federal government."
The Casino Creek Subdivision near Lower Stanley contains several unapproved homes that do not comply with SNRA regulations.
