Nearly all Valley County residents worry about the privatization of public lands surrounding Payette Lake, according to a recent survey conducted by a public lands advocacy group.
The survey, completed by United Payette, polled public opinion on a land exchange proposal that would make state endowment lands around the lake part of the Payette National Forest.
Advocates say a land exchange could shield thousands of acres of lakefront lands from future private development — an outcome 91% of the survey’s 840 respondents found “very concerning” or “extremely concerning.”
“United Payette generally believes that the land exchange is a very good possibility of something that might work to preserve the endowment lands,” said Chris Vetter, a retired Idaho Department of Lands employee who is a member of the group’s steering committee.
Earlier this year, Valley Lookout reported on the framework of a potential deal, which could also include Forest Service lands near Tamarack Resort and timberlands in Adams County.
Sharla Arledge, an IDL spokesperson, said the agency’s discussions about a possible land exchange remain “conceptual,” but confirmed IDL received a copy of the survey results from United Payette.
Data ripe for lawmakers, state officials
United Payette believes the survey data may help motivate federal lawmakers to pursue the legislative action required for the Forest Service to participate in the exchange.
“We wanted to provide them with data that would say ‘this is what your constituents want,’” Vetter told the McCall City Council during a recent presentation of the survey results.
Brian Harris, a retired Payette forest employee who is on United Payette’s steering committee, echoed Vetter, citing the history of Forest Service land exchanges that failed.
“Those failed land exchanges in the past really had little to no public support,” Harris said.
Countywide support variable
While the survey data shows broad support for public land preservation, support for a land exchange specifically varied across the county.
About 66% of all responses countywide supported the idea, including 77% of response in the McCall area.
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In Cascade and Donnelly, however, 46% and 66% of respondents, respectively, opposed the proposal. At the same time, 81% of Donnelly respondents and 53% of Cascade respondents reported being “extremely concerned” about the privatization of state lands around Payette Lake.
Randy Fox, a United Payette steering committee member who also works for the Idaho Conservation League, speculated that some opposition may be tied to a need for more information cited by 34% of Donnelly respondents and about 20% of respondents in Valley County and McCall.
“We believe that that is an opportunity for additional advocacy and information sharing,” he told Valley County Commissioners during a presentation similar to the one given to McCall officials.
Residents of the McCall area accounted for 588 of the survey responses, or 70% overall. Another 134 responses came from Cascade, with 127 responses from Donnelly and one response from Yellow Pine.
Besides continued advocacy, Fox said United Payette’s next steps are to share the survey results far and wide, including with the State Land Board, congressional staffers, and state officials.
“Once there is a formal proposal — if there is a formal proposal — then we’ll start working to get that information out and share that with the community as well,” Fox said.
Both the county commissioners and the McCall council were appreciative of the data and expressed a desire to remain engaged moving forward.
“We will all need to be on the same page in order for anything to happen with this,” said Sherry Maupin, who chairs the Board of County Commissioners.
Wildfires and water quality
However, commissioners Neal Thompson and Katlin Caldwell questioned whether a land exchange would protect water quality in Payette Lake — a priority for 98% of survey respondents.
Currently, state endowment lands are logged to produce revenue for public schools and hospitals — the two main beneficiaries of endowment lands. Thompson and Caldwell said that could change under the Forest Service.
“The (Forest Service) is not going to be thinning those lands,” Thompson said. “That’s just a fireball waiting to happen around our developed city of people. That’s a concern.”
A large wildfire around Payette Lake, Caldwell added, would harm water quality due to increased erosion and run-off.
“It’s being inferred that if the Forest Service takes it over, water quality will improve or stay at the level it is,” she said. “And that is not accurate.”
United Payette representatives did not dispute Caldwell’s claim, but said that outcome would still be less harmful than increased run-off from residential development around the lake.
McCall: land exchange ‘bigger than Payette Lake’
Meanwhile, McCall council members touted the importance of preserving endowment lands around the city to preserve public access to other public lands, including Jug Handle Mountain.
“It is not just about drinking water in Payette Lake,” council member Mike Maciaszek said. “It is so much bigger.”
The prospect of privatizing public lands around Payette Lake took center stage in 2020 when Trident Holdings, a Boise investment firm, sought to trade northern Idaho timberlands for more than 20,000 acres of state endowment land around Payette Lake, as BoiseDev reported.
Trident’s proposal was ultimately rejected by the State Land Board, but put the spotlight on a IDL’s constitutional mandate to maximize profits from endowment lands.
A long-term management plan for the Payette Lake lands was adopted by IDL in the wake of Trident’s proposal. About 400 acres of state land surrounding the lake could be sold at auction over the next 20 years, under the plan.
United Payette, a public lands advocacy coalition, formed in 2021 in response to the Trident proposal. Its membership includes the Idaho Conservation League, the Idaho Wildlife Federation, the Payette Land Trust, Brundage Mountain Resort, and several local homeowners’ associations, among other groups.
The Payette National Forest could not be reached for comment on this story due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
