Most of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in the Wood River
Valley will likely be labeled by the agency as suitable for exchange into private hands.
The BLM’s Shoshone Field Office is in the process of amending its
land-use master plans in an effort to consolidate the massive management area into a more
tractable resource.
The process could be complete by 2001, field office realty specialist
Debbie Kovar said in an interview last week.
The Shoshone Field Office oversees management of 1.8 million acres of
public land on the Snake River Plain and in the Wood River Valley. It stretches from
Craters of the Moon National Monument on the east to Bliss and Corral on the west.
An isolated portion of BLM land north of Ketchum is the northernmost
section, and the management area stretches south to Twin Falls.
"Enhanced manageability" is one of the top concerns stated in an
overview of the so-called "land tenure adjustment program." Other top concerns
are community expansion needs, unauthorized use conflicts, protection of critical
resources and land acquisition.
A four-zone concept is proposed for management of the area.
· Zone 1 would mark lands where "there’s no way, no how
we’ll let it be disposed of," Kovar said.
Those include wilderness study areas and environmentally sensitive areas.
A small portion of the BLM lands north of Ketchum, in fact, is marked as an area of
critical environmental concern.
· Zone 2 would mark lands that are already well consolidated, which
include the majority of the Snake River plain BLM lands, primarily south of the Timmerman
and Picabo hills.
· Zone 3 would mark lands that are "potentially suitable for
exchange," Kovar said.
That includes all of the Wood River Valley and all land east to Carey,
west to Fairfield and north of the Timmerman and Picabo hills, other than that designated
as areas of critical environmental concern.
BLM officials were not able to immediately quantify the number of acres of
BLM lands in the Wood River Valley.
Kovar said that if this plan is adopted, land trades would certainly occur
in the Wood River Valley. She did not reveal any offers that are on the table at this
time.
Kovar said any land exchanges would have to go through the full gamut of
public hearings required by federal law, and none will go through that process until the
current planning document is finalized.
· Zone 4 would be lands that are "isolated and
scattered," according to Kovar. They are lands suitable for disposal.
Most of the proposed Zone 4 lands surround Twin Falls and Shoshone. Most
of that area is privately owned.
One of the contentious issues about the new land-designation proposal is
the lack of public notice on the issue in the Wood River Valley.
Preliminary comments were taken from early December to late January, and a
public meting was held Jan. 12 in Shoshone.
In a letter to the BLM, dated Jan. 15, Ketchum Mayor Guy Coles wrote that
the city would have been represented at the meeting if adequate notice had been provided.
A packet the BLM sent the city was postmarked Jan. 13, Coles pointed out.
Coles’ letter also states that Ketchum is opposed to the proposed
land designation around the city.
"We strongly disagree with the designation Zone 3 applied to the
lands around Ketchum as shown on the map you sent," he wrote. "It is unclear
from the further description of Zone 3 if the intent is to allow public lands in this area
to be converted to private uses to meet a goal of public lands consolidation. If this is
the intent, we simply cannot support this concept."
Kovar said a draft of the proposal will be ready for public review this
spring and another month of public comment will be taken. She did not have exact dates.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in the Wood
River Valley (light gray) could be designated as lands suitable for trades into private
hands if a current BLM proposal is finalized.