The Threat to Cougar Island
The accelerating pace of change in Idaho is unsettling for many longtime visitors to Valley County and McCall. While growth is generally perceived as positive, without guidance and planning, growth will destroy the very things that have made this a special place. It is easy to be complacent until something comes along that poses a real and imminent threat to things we hold dear. The Trident proposal to privatize over 20,000 acres that we have all considered to be in the public domain was such a threat and the community has come together to seek a solution.
Among the wonderful things we take for granted here are the two major islands in Payette Lake, Cougar and Shellworth. Each island has one leasehold cabin, but, along with Ponderosa State Park, they are part of the undisturbed natural landscape that bless the view of homeowners, visitors, and boaters along the East and West shores of Payette Lake. That is one of the brilliant benefits of Ponderosa State Park projecting up the middle of the lake. Cougar Island and the Little Island are an extension of that precious open space. However, the next four months will determine whether Cougar Island continues to be part of the natural landscape. Four lots on the north, west and south sides of Cougar Island are scheduled to be auctioned off by the Idaho Department of Lands sometime late summer as part of their Endowment Strategy for Tier 1 parcels.
At first glance this feels not only out of place, but illogical. Tier 1 parcels are defined by IDL as parcels that “have features necessary for the facilitation of transition to higher and better uses, such as on-site utilities, road frontage, platted, annexed within city limits, and with sewer and water capabilities”. With the exception of being platted by the State, Cougar Island has none of these. There are no on-site utilities; access is by boat only and is limited to about 5 months of the year; it is not within city limits; and the island has no access to sewer or water (other than from the lake). Mitigating these deficiencies would require new docks, solar arrays with backup storage, and on-site septic tanks and drain fields. No home along the mainland shoreline would be permitted to build without hooking up to the sewer, but there are no guarantees on these non-conforming lots created by the State.
The threat to lake water quality is real. The addition of docks, housing, power generating equipment, septic infrastructure, and the natural accumulations that accompany human beings would substitute an urban landscape for what is now a relatively pristine nature preserve.
The residents and visitors to McCall and Valley County need to decide what we want to be. Are we going to preserve the beauty of the forests and grasslands and require that promoters of growth accommodate their plans to the preservation of the things we treasure, or are we simply going to allow the market to decide whether to transplant urban development up the hill? IDL is one of these promoters of growth. It is in the best interests of the endowment. The good news is that they have expressed a willingness to work with United Payette and its numerous member organizations and individuals to preserve endowment lands as long as they can meet their statutory obligations. Saving Cougar Island is the first big test. It is up to us to make the commitment to conserve the things we value.