With Trident’s McCall land swap stalled, Idaho conservation group floats recreation plan
One day after the Idaho Board of Land Commissioners cut off one of the final avenues for a Boise investment firm’s proposed land swap near McCall, a newly formed conservation group submitted its own proposal, which it says will protect habitat and recreation on the property.
United Payette, which is a coalition of conservation groups, Valley County residents and other stakeholders, submitted its proposal to the Idaho Department of Lands on Wednesday. The proposal includes a plan for state-owned parcels that are part of the Payette Endowment Land Strategy.
The roughly 5,500 acres of endowment land fall within McCall’s area of impact. The properties have been at the center of discussion as the Idaho Department of Lands tries to maximize its endowment land revenue and stakeholders’ conflicting demands for public land access, recreation opportunities, affordable housing and more. The department identified 13 parcels that are part of the strategy, and officials approved a tiered multiyear plan that would include selling several of the parcels.
In its proposal, United Payette said it would work within the strategy that the department already approved for the tracts, which surround much of Payette Lake. Much of the group’s proposal relies on its plan to stack multiple leases on the endowment land to help maximize each parcel’s revenue, per the Department of Lands’ constitutional mandate.
United Payette said it would purchase conservation and recreation easements on several of the parcels using grant or donor funding. It would allow existing leases — mainly timber and grazing — to coexist, bringing in multiple streams of revenue for the Department of Lands.
In the long term, the group said, it hopes to purchase some of the parcels or create perpetual conservation easements that would allow outdoor recreation to continue around the lake. It proposed purchasing some of the parcels — including Shellworth and Cougar islands — for donation to Ponderosa State Park, which sits between the two arms of Payette Lake.
“In the end, the plan aligns with the Payette Endowment Lands Strategy that the state land board approved in March,” said Jeff Mousseau, a McCall resident and United Payette steering committee member, in a news release. “We look forward to working with the state, county, city and other partners to implement this plan.”
United Payette said it already has support from Valley County and McCall officials, as well as the Shoshone-Bannock tribe. The endowment lands were part of the tribe’s ancestral lands. In a statement, the tribe said it supports United Payette’s plan to protect the environment and public land access.
The desire to preserve open space and recreation led to a backlash against a previous proposal by Boise-based Trident Holdings. The investment firm had proposed swapping timberland in North Idaho for roughly 28,000 acres of state endowment land around Payette Lake. Trident said it would develop some of the land, leave public access available and contribute a swath of it to Ponderosa State Park.
The Department of Lands rejected Trident’s proposal in August, saying the values of the land did not match up. Trident filed suit against the department in September, alleging bias and incorrect land assessment. The company also requested a contested case hearing from the land board, which rejected the request Tuesday.
