Blue Creek battleground
JAKE PARRISH/Press Bureau of Land Management Field Manager Kurt Pavlat explains at a community meeting Wednesday night the development the agency is proposing for the Wallace L. Forest Conservation Area on Lake Coeur d'Alene.
JAKE PARRISH/Press More than 150 people listen to Bureau of Land Management Field Manager Kurt Pavlat speak at a community meeting Wednesday evening regarding the Bureau's proposal to develop the Wallace L. Forest Conservation Area.
JAKE PARRISH/Press Dave McKeown, center, who lives on Yellowstone Trail Road, listens to Bureau of Land Management Field Manager Kurt Pavlat answer questions posed by community members at a meeting regarding the Wallace L. Forest Conservation Area Vegetation Treatment and Trails Project.
JAKE PARRISH/PressDawnell Scroggin expresses her frustration along with fellow community members at the Bureau of Land Management's proposal to develop the Wallace L. Forest Conservation Area. Scroggin has lived in the area all her life, and believes the vegetation thinning and proposed mountain bike trails will disrupt the wildlife and tranquility the area currently exhibits.
By BRIAN WALKER
Hagadone News Network
BLUE CREEK BAY — Differing views on the proposed future of a 751-acre conservation area east of Coeur d'Alene collided during a heated meeting at the site on Wednesday night.
Several of roughly 200 in attendance said the roads in the Wallace L. Forest Conservation Area around Blue Creek Bay on Lake Coeur d'Alene east of Coeur d'Alene aren't built to handle an increase in traffic and that mixing mountain bikers on a downhill trail with horseback riders is an accident waiting to happen.
Kurt Pavlat, field manager for the Bureau of Land Management that has managed the site since 2003, said signage will be posted separating the uses, but there will always be a minority who ignore the signs.
"What we're trying to do is find a balance," Pavlat told the crowd. "There are not perfect solutions."
Dawnell Scroggin said she doesn't have a problem with mountain bikers, but she's bothered that the proposal restricts her from riding horses in that area. She said that access will be taken away.
"When you make the trails that are only restricted to mountain biking, that is an issue," she said.
Another woman in the audience took offense to Scroggin's view: "It's public land, honey."
Willy Bartlett said there's not a lot of mountain trails dedicated specifically to mountain biking in the region, so he believes a portion of the area for the purpose would be a good fit.
"It could be a huge economic benefit, and it would be nice to have some trails for bikes only," he said.
Pavlat said the local mountain biking community was at the table last year during the scoping period for the future of the conservation area. However, multiple residents who live near the site said they were unaware of such an input period.
Pavlat said the BLM did what it could to notify the public of the scoping phase, including with postcards, advertising, social media and methods.
The project proposes hazardous fuels reduction to reduce wildfire risk on 616 acres; improving existing non-motorized trails; building trails on the 70-acre mountain biking area at the steep northwest corner of the area; and gravel parking lots.
"We'd use existing skid trails," Pavlat said. "We prefer to keep it as rustic as possible. The reason we want to do this is to make it safe for people recreating."
Pavlat said improvements would start next year at the soonest and be done over six years.
"That way we wouldn't have to shut it down," Pavlat said. "We want to have minimal impact on folks."
Improvements would be funded through the timber sale from the property and volunteers would provide some of the labor, he said. A cost for the improvements has not been determined.
Pavlat said no new roads would be built and overnight camping and motorized off-road vehicles would not be allowed.
Multiple attendees said they fear the proposal will drive wildlife from the conservation area, and groaned when Pavlat said he doesn't believe that will be the case.
Barbara Hansen said she supports the timber management portion of the proposal, but doesn't agree with the recreation plan.
Linda Lane said she has lived near the conservation area since 1976 and is critical of the proposal.
"Why should we trust you guys?" she said. "You've already messed up Blue Creek. The pilings were cut so there's no more osprey, and what about the wildlife?"
Ron Dayton, who knows the Forest family, said it should be consulted before any changes are made because it made the conservation area happen.
"Whatever is done should be in compliance with their wishes," Dayton said. "If they say to go for it, then I am all for it. But people don't grant land willy-nilly."
Pavlat told Dayton that he hasn't heard any protest from the Forest family over the proposal.
"They haven't called me personally and said that this is a terrible idea," Pavlat said.
Comments will be accepted through Oct. 14. After a decision is made on the project, there will be an appeal period.
"This is a proposal," Pavlat said. "Nothing is chiseled in granite."
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How to comment
The Bureau of Land Management is seeking comments on its proposal for the 751-acre Wallace L. Forest Conservation Area on Lake Coeur d’Alene east of Coeur d’Alene through Friday, Oct. 14. The environmental analysis and maps of the project are at http://bit.ly/bluecreekbay. Comments can be sent to blm_id_bluecreekbay@blm.gov or by mail to the BLM Coeur d’Alene Field Office, Blue Creek Bay Project, 3815 Schreiber Way, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815.