Longtime trail to Stack Rock is now closed; Idaho Parks and Rec names interim director
A longtime Boise Foothills trail leading to Stack Rock is now closed after private land easements expired, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.
In a Facebook post, the Boise National Forest said Entrance Exam, a trail that hikers and mountain bikers have long used to get to Stack Rock, is officially closed. Entrance Exam started around mile marker 13 on Bogus Basin Road and offered a shortened route (8 miles out-and-back) to Stack Rock via its connection with Eastside Trail. The route, also known as Trail to Stack Rock, was based on private property easements secured by the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley. In its Facebook post, the Forest Service said those easements expired this spring.
“This route didn’t meet U.S. Forest Service safety standards and created a trespass situation across private land with the expirations of temporary easements,” said Stephaney Kerley, Mountain Home District Ranger, in the social media post.
The area is now fenced off and bears signs reading: “The Stack Rock trailhead is located 1/4 mile up this road. Please do not use this unauthorized route, it crosses private property that users do not have permission to be on.”
The signs direct hikers and bikers to the Forest Service’s Stack Rock trailhead, which was completed at the end of last summer. That route is longer than Entrance Exam by about 3 miles round trip.
Idaho Department of Parks and Rec names new interim director
The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation on Tuesday announced that Susan Buxton took over as interim director of the agency on Sept. 1, following former director David Langhorst’s retirement.
Buxton served on the department’s board of directors from 2012 to 2016. She will continue to work as administrator of the Idaho Division of Human Resources while heading up the Parks department.
“I am honored to work with the department, especially as Idaho citizens have looked to state parks and recreation facilities to find outlets to the stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Buxton said in a news release.
Idahoans form group to protect state endowment lands
In a news release last week, a group of Idaho residents said they’ve formed the Payette Endowment Lands Alliance in the interest of protecting state-owned lands in the McCall area.
The group formed in response to Boise-based development company Trident Holdings’ proposed land swap with the Idaho Department of Lands, which would have traded North Idaho timber territory for 28,000 acres of state land around McCall. About 650 people signed a full-page ad in a July issue of the McCall Star-News voicing their opposition to the trade, the alliance’s news release said.
In June, the Idaho Land Board paused leasing plans for endowment lands in the McCall area. The board heard from Trident owner Alec Williams, who grew up in McCall, in July regarding the land swap.
“We felt it was important to organize and give citizens an effective voice in advocating for protection of these lands,” said Deb Fereday, one of the group’s organizers, in the news release. “The idea of privatizing these lands led us to organize this group. We realized how vulnerable these lands are, both ecologically and politically.”
The Idaho Department of Lands has a constitutional mandate to use its endowment lands for the best financial returns to state institutions like public schools.
“Because of its mandated fiduciary responsibility, the state faces certain unique challenges managing these lands,” alliance spokeswoman Julie Manning said in the news release. “However, we feel the trust responsibility provides some discretion and flexibility, and it’s important for managers to consider the broader social, economic, and environmental benefits of these lands for the McCall area and the public.”
Group organizers said they hope to work with the Department of Lands and other stakeholders to ensure continued recreation access in the area.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 11:58 AM.
