Bogus Basin will add new trails, chair lifts; Boise wants your help naming newest park
Bogus Basin announces new master plan
Officials with Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area have announced a new 10-year plan for the ski area, touting more trails and improved lift capacity among other projects.
In a letter to passholders, general manager Brad Wilson said Tuesday that the majority of Bogus’ existing 10-year plan, implemented in 2016, has already been implemented in the last five years. Upgrades have included a snowmaking system, expanded summer activities and a new high-speed chair lift.
“I am pleased to share that Bogus Basin is creating a new 10-year master plan for the recreation area,” Wilson wrote. “The plan will be complete later this spring and will include immediate capital improvements, with the initial focus on upgrading the winter experience.”
Wilson said several projects will be completed this year in time for the 2021-22 season, including new named trails, more grooming and night lighting, additional parking and more capacity on the Morning Star and Superior chair lifts.
Long-term projects in the 10-year plan include more chair lifts and terrain, as well as additional year-round activities.
Wilson said the progress in recent years has been due in large part to $24 million in earnings over the last five years. The nonprofit ski area reinvests its profits into improvements on the mountain.
According to Wilson, this year’s season pass sale was “an incredible success” with sales on Midweek and Twilight passes up 300% (both options were less expensive this year) and consistent sales of winter passes.
Fish and Game: Remove bird feeders to prevent spread of salmonellosis
Idaho Fish and Game officials are recommending residents temporarily remove bird feeders on their properties to prevent further spread of an outbreak of salmonellosis, a bacterial disease that’s fatal to birds.
In January, officials in the Panhandle region of Fish and Game said they’d received several reports of sick or dead wild birds, believed to be caused by salmonellosis. The disease is caused by salmonella bacteria, which can be spread among birds through droppings and saliva. In rare cases, it can be spread from birds to humans.
Deniz Aygen, a non-game wildlife biologist with Fish and Game in Boise, told the Statesman on Monday that Treasure Valley residents should take precautions with their feeders. Though the North Idaho outbreak seems to involve Pine Siskins, which are not common in the Treasure Valley, “the best bet would be to have folks remove their feeders for a few weeks,” Aygen said in an email.
Fish and Game normally recommends cleaning bird feeders once a month with soap and water to prevent the spread of disease between wild birds. Due to the current salmonellosis outbreak, people are encouraged to soak feeders in a 1:10 ratio of household bleach to water, and to allow the feeders to dry completely before refilling.
Boise seeks public input on naming new park
The Boise Department of Parks and Recreation is asking for the public’s input on naming its newest park, a small parcel at 11th and Bannock streets that will serve as a green space in the city’s downtown.
The city anticipates the park, which is just smaller than an acre, will be completed by mid-June. It will include public restrooms, bike storage and a large, tree-lined green space. The park will also be home to Matthew Mazzotta’s “Gentle Breeze” public art sculpture, which resembles a tree.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Parks and Rec asked people to submit their ideas. The agency asked that submitted names be historically, culturally or environmentally significant and not name a specific individual or entity unless it has a significant connection to Boise. Submissions can be in any language and must be submitted online at cityofboise.org via a form on the new park’s description page.
Submissions will be accepted until Tuesday, March 16.
New campsites, trails planned in Wood River Valley
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will construct several new campsites and dozens of miles of new trails in the Wood River Valley, according to a decision released March 1.
The agency’s Shoshone Field Office approved plans for 81 miles of new trails, seven new trailheads and 21 new dispersed campsites near Bellevue and Hailey.
Most of the projects will be in the Quigley and Kelly Gulch areas, as well as near Cove Creek. The trails will be open to motorized use, with some off-highway vehicle restrictions between January and April when wildlife may be wintering in the area.
In a news release, the agency said the projects would be completed “over the next several years as funding and other resources allow.”
Judge rules against Forest Service in lawsuit, closing access to public land
An Idaho federal judge has ruled against the U.S. Forest Service and the Sawtooth National Forest in a lawsuit brought by an Idaho snowmobiling group that claimed poor scientific analyses had excluded its members from recreating on public land.
U.S. District Judge David Nye ruled in favor of the Idaho State Snowmobile Association on Feb. 10. The snowmobile group sued the Forest Service and the Sawtooth National Forest in May 2019, saying the agency relied on stale research and stretched data in a National Environmental Policy Act review it used to justify the closure of part of its Fairfield District.
The lawsuit centered on a series of decisions from the Forest Service. The agency closed a portion of the Fairfield District, known as the Couch Summit to Fleck Summit corridor, to protect wintering wildlife in 2017. The Forest Service issued permits to landowners whose properties north of the closure were accessible in the winter primarily by driving over-snow vehicles through the closure area. The snowmobile group and others claimed the closure of this corridor cut them off from thousands of acres of public land north of the closure area, which was difficult to reach by other routes.
In December 2018, the Forest Service altered its plan. It opened up most of the Couch Summit to Fleck Summit corridor closure to the public but cordoned off a separate 72,000 acres north of the corridor. The agency said the new closure would provide refuge for wildlife like mountain goats, lynx and wolverines.
The snowmobile association’s lawsuit said there was almost no evidence that lynx or wolverines inhabit the closed area. Nye agreed. He ruled that the Forest Service violated NEPA and voided the 2018 plan, reverting the Forest Service closure to its 2017 configuration, which allowed only landowners and their guests to pass through the closure area with permits. Nye said it’s now up to the Forest Service to reassess the situation.
The Sawtooth National Forest acknowledged the reinstatement of the Couch Summit to Fleck Summit closure in a Feb. 26 news release.
WildEarth Guardians and Winter Wildlands Alliance, two conservation groups that signed on to the lawsuit as defendant intervenors alongside the Forest Service, said in a statement that they’re disappointed with Nye’s decision to revert to the 2017 closure. They said the 2018 plan provided protections for important wildlife habitat while also offering recreation opportunities.
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 12:50 PM.
