Opinion: Value of McCall-area endowment land far exceeds current dollar value
The Payette Endowment Lands Alliance is a new grassroots organization working to conserve and protect the Idaho endowment lands in the McCall area.
Approximately 28,000 acres of 100,000 acres in the Idaho Department of Land’s Payette Lakes Supervisory Area, surround Payette Lake and extend outward. Under constitutional authority, the Idaho Land Board holds these lands in trust for designated beneficiaries, primarily K-12 public education. We envision a future where the McCall area endowment lands and their ecosystem are protected in perpetuity while generating revenue for the Idaho Endowment Trust.
Currently, McCall-area endowment lands are at risk of being sold or traded to private interests. For example, Trident Holdings, LLC has expressed interest in acquiring these lands for development, and it is likely that other companies will follow.
Why is this concerning? This land is owned by Idaho trust beneficiaries and managed by the Idaho Department of Lands. Trading or selling it to the highest bidder could come at the long-term expense of beneficiaries. Also, if these lands are privatized, gates will go up, and the public should expect to lose access forever.
Lastly, loss of McCall endowment lands is a statewide issue. If big money acquires these lands, it can happen to endowment lands statewide.
The long-term values of the McCall-area endowment lands for beneficiaries go far beyond their present dollar value. These lands provide a buffer around the lake and protect its water quality, which in turn enhances the value of the lands. These lands provide wildlife habitat and recreation, generating tourism revenue and tax dollars that indirectly benefit public education. These lands are critical for the health and survival of our ecosystem and must be protected for the citizens of Idaho.
What can the public do? Although the Land Board has authority to decide the fate of endowment lands, the public can attend the monthly Land Board meetings virtually or in person and comment by email or U.S. mail prior to meetings.
The next Land Board meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the Lincoln Auditorium at the state Capitol. Agenda items include an update by the Idaho Department of Lands of a draft strategic plan for McCall-area endowment lands and a presentation by Trident Holdings.
The public can provide written comments about items presented Tuesday to the Land Board and Department of Lands prior to the subsequent meeting, Dec. 15.
For more information, go to https://www.idl.idaho.gov/about-us/land-board.
PELA supports forming a coalition to work with the city of McCall, Valley County, Ponderosa State Park, and Idaho Department of Lands to find pathways to keep the state lands open to the public, ecologically healthy and protective of the lake and watershed while helping the state generate “long-term financial returns” for trust beneficiaries. This would be “win-win.”
PELA is strategizing and collaborating with state and local officials, conservation organizations and local people. To learn more, please visit pelamccall.com.
Over the past several months PELA has been contacted by many people. What has struck us most are the passionate feelings for this area. Whether they were talking about crouching under a ponderosa in the rain to watch the mergansers playing and diving in the lake, hanging out with friends on the cliffs to watch the sunset, or taking their children to see the first spring flowers on the south facing slopes above Little Lake, all were verifying the joy in connecting to the natural world.
When trying to articulate the values of these experiences, it’s difficult to speak in the monetary terms the state demands. You can’t say listening to the song of the creek as you lie on the granite rocks above Lake Fork Creek was worth $50,000, but at that moment what it did for your heart was worth everything.