Investment firm proposed buying this state land near McCall. Now it has a recreation lease

Valley County has partnered with McCall-based conservation group United Payette to lease two popular parcels of state-owned land in an effort to ensure recreation is protected. The parcels are part of several Idaho Department of Lands-managed tracts that a Boise-based developer proposed privatizing in recent years.

United Payette announced the lease in a news release. It covers 1,200 acres across two parcels: the Crestline Trail area west of Payette Lake near Warren Wagon Road and the Greengate area east of the lake near Eastside Drive.

Jeff Mousseau, a McCall resident and member of United Payette’s steering committee, told the Idaho Statesman the conservation group helped arrange the lease between the county and the Department of Lands. The lease begins June 1 and expires Dec. 31, 2024.

The agreement preserves motorized and non-motorized recreation on both parcels, as well as hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging and a variety of other recreational activities.

Mousseau said United Payette will pay the $31,000 lease using donations.

The lease ensures annual maintenance and conservation efforts continue on the parcels. It also spells out restrictions for commercial “glamping,” or glamorous camping, ensuring any glamping sites are temporary and avoid sensitive shoreline and wetlands.

Valley County Recreation Director Larry Laxson said in the news release that the agreement is a win for Valley County residents, visitors and the state. Laxson pointed out the open spaces it protects are key areas that border the lake.

Public land concerns led to lease

Mousseau told the Statesman that United Payette has had a conservation-related memorandum of understanding with Valley County for several years.

“That came about because of problems with Trident and the potential sale of those lands,” Mousseau said, referring to a Boise-based investment firm that proposed privatizing much of the public land around Payette Lake.

Trident’s bid to swap North Idaho timber land for several McCall parcels was shot down by the state Land Board in 2021. The board was weighing the future of 13 state-owned parcels of endowment land within McCall’s area of impact.

Trident officials proposed a plan called Preserve McCall that it said would create a park with permanent public access on the parcels included in the new lease. Opponents worried the firm could walk back the public access in the future. They also said the development could potentially damage the lake and surrounding scenery.

Since rejecting the Trident proposal, the Department of Lands has moved ahead with plans to auction some of the McCall parcels. Last year, an auction for parcels on Cougar Island, the largest island in Payette Lake, attracted only a single bidder. The winning bidder partnered with United Payette in December to create a conservation easement in perpetuity on the property.

Mousseau said the new lease isn’t a long-term solution for protecting the state-owned land. But it does signal the community’s interest in protecting recreation around Payette Lake, he said.

“This is protection against something bad happening to those lands in the short term,” Mousseau told the Statesman.