The Wilks Bros are back in the legislature, now attempting to change rural development rules.

Somewhat absent since working to revise Idaho’s trespass laws, they are now backing a bill that would wrest local control from counties for their own ends. The bill would force all Idaho counties to exempt certain land subdivision requirements, paving the way for large landowners to skirt county ordinances put in place to manage growth sustainably in rural areas.

Why does this bill matter for wildlife or hunters and anglers: unmitigated growth is a serious threat to important open space vital for habitat and ecosystem connectivity. The bill would make it easier to subdivide large agricultural corridors and rural, working landscapes into fragmented parcels, converting farmlands and woodlands into sprawl.

The Wilks’ bill would accelerate habitat fragmentation, but such ill-conceived growth didn’t just spur opposition from land-users. The bill is in response to Valley and Adams County ordinances reigning in unchecked growth in the wildland-urban interface and in dangerous places like near the McCall airport or in flood plains. County planners – who would be left on the hook to provide emergency services, infrastructure like graded and plowed roads, reviewing septic tank compliance and so on – panned the bill as unwise. Valley County Commissioner Sherry Maupin said county residents were “starting to scream for managed growth.”

This bill would nullify those local voices.

Luckily, the quick outpouring of opposition from agriculture interests, sportsmen, and local and county interests moved the bill’s sponsor – Rep. Terry Gestrin (R- Donnelly) – to pull it. But the concern here is a trend of wealthy development interests introducing legislation (see Trident’s bill) to fundamentally change the way the state and counties address development of our treasured landscapes, paving the way for poorly planned growth to benefit the few at the expense of the many. And all of this on the heels of the latest Western Colorado College Poll revealing over 2/3rds of Idahoans are concerned with poorly planned growth/development.

The Wilks Bros’ bill and the Trident bill are dead for now, but Idaho is on the map and developers and real estate speculators aren’t losing interest any time soon. The bills will be back and next time the efforts of Trident, the Wilks, and all those like them, will be better hidden.

There is a lot at stake to lose here and we will work hard to keep Idaho, Idaho.

** Stray observation: DF Development’s Business Manager Scott Carlton Carlton threatened Valley County, saying the rule change “is likely to prevent DF Development from reopening any roads on its property to the public.”

The Time Has Come

As the legislative season winds to a close we at the Idaho Wildlife Federation have begun to emerge from behind our desks where we’ve been wintering – closely monitoring natural resource activity at the Idaho state house.

With spring comes a sense of anticipation – the all-too-familiar mix of anxiety and excitement.

For instance, just as the first spring Chinook begin their ascent of the Columbia River, the rubber is meeting the road as local, state, regional and federal elected officials consider the true cost of losing Idaho’s salmon and steelhead and what it would mean for the beloved rural character of Snake and Salmon River communities.

Similarly, as COVID (fingers crossed) continues to fade, and live events return, we’re overjoyed to get back out into all the communities across the state we love and shake hands, break bread and share stories of the hunting, fishing and public lands we all enjoy. We cannot tell you enough how much we appreciate your continuous support and flexibility over these past few strange and complicated years.

The work has been done, and will continue. All we ask, is that you take it with you this spring:

EMBRACE Idaho’s abundant and pristine public lands as you traverse your favorite turkey woods.

IMAGINE the restorative potential of a healthy return of salmon and steelhead in rural Idaho communities after a long day fishing.

REMEMBER that everything within sight impacts the habitat of your preferred species of pursuit.

There’s been a lot of talk about it. It’s time to BE about it.

We’ll see you out there –

Daniel Ritz

Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Idaho Wildlife Federation

Email: DRitz@IdahoWildlife.Org