Tom Bowman is the chairman of the Board of Blaine County Commissioners.
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By TOM BOWMAN
I would like to set the record straight in response to the opinion piece recently submitted by Mr. Bill Ward. Mr. Ward made some salient points in the hearing the Blaine County Commission had on Nov. 7 and definitely influenced my own opinion. But some corrections are in order.
- Separation of users: Although the county is proposing that the Bureau of Land Management lands in the valley be managed for multiple use, we know from the results of 16 focus groups our residents feel they benefit more from their experience if they can go to areas specifically managed for their favored pursuit. For instance, much of the land west of Hailey will be managed for motorized recreation. You can also hike, ride your bike or horse in the same area, but you know ahead of time to expect the motorized users. If you prefer not to have that experience, we are proposing designated areas that are primarily managed for hiking and others for equestrian. It is true that in these areas dirt bikes will be excluded, but as a percentage they are very small. For example, almost the entire east side of the valley will continue to be managed for summer multiple use.
- Winter closure: The initial plan also proposed a winter closure to almost all areas east of Highway 75 other than several snowmobile access corridors because managers from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game identified the area as critical big game winter habitat. However, as a result of public input that pointed out Fish and Game contradictions, I now believe that the plan needs modification and will have a new proposal by our Dec. 3 meeting to review.
- Private land: Bill also brings up the point that the management maps included private land. Ed Urhig made some good points on this in the meeting, so I have asked our GIS department to screen out those lands on another map product so we have a better visual understanding of the area and to distinguish lands on which we recreate that are private but we assume are public.
- Deadline: Bill is incorrect about a Jan. 1, 2008, deadline. Although the county commissioners will hopefully be able to come up with a recommendation to the BLM by the end of this year (it's been in process for two years), there is no hard deadline. After we conclude our process and make a recommendation to the BLM, provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) require that the proposal be once again scrutinized by the public which, if we are lucky, will only take two years and input will be solicited once again.
The rest of Bill's comments are his own opinion and it is helpful to have him involved so those views are represented. However, a large majority of the public comments from people who understand the plan are generally in favor. The focus groups we organized that are the foundation of this proposal were well advertised but I understand people are busy and may have missed them.
We do want everyone interested to understand and comment on the proposal, so please plan to attend our next meeting, which is Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Old Blaine County Courthouse in Hailey. New maps will be available for review at the courthouse by Nov. 28. Please call me at 788-5500 if you have any questions regarding the next hearing.
