Submitted by Ken Watts
UPDATE: The comment period has been extended to July 10, 2023. There are two topics that deserve your attention this week. The first is the Island Park Auditorium District and the second is the Bureau of Land Management’s travel plan for the Upper Snake River area. Both topics are time sensitive and therefore both are addressed briefly this week. These are very important topics for the Island Park area. The vote for setting up the auditorium district in Precinct 1 (basically the Caldera) will be held on May 16, 2023. A yes vote will establish the district so that a community center can be built to serve the Island Park area. The funds for the district would come from a lodging tax (5%) administered in Precinct 1. The benefits of the community center are really too numerous to mention in the space available here. Literally everyone will benefit in some way. Voters should consider the many ways they could benefit from the center personally. Just one example: the Targhee Women’s Club would have a meeting place with a full kitchen, communications, stage, plenty of room, audio visual systems, etc. Local businesses could even cater at the center. On a personal note, it “torques my shorts” when I travel to places like New Orleans and pay multiple lodging taxes to support their community minded endeavors. But when people from New Orleans come to Island Park they currently pay nothing to support our community minded endeavors. THIS IS NOT FAIR! These people should help pay for our community center like we do for them. Turning now to the BLM travel plan: THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS PLAN TO YOU CANNOT BE OVER EMPHASIZED! This is a plan to further prevent you from enjoying and using “your” public lands. You can find the travel plans at this link. The comment period runs until May 5, 2023. The plan has four options for road and trail closures in the Upper Snake River Area. The closure map is available at https://bit.ly/3KabX3y. Option B appears to be the most restrictive, closing most two track roads and trails. Option A appears to be the “do nothing option” and Option D is the least restrictive option where changes are being made. I looked at the closure plan for the area where I live. Option B closed nearly every road and trail except the most used roads. I could no longer get to Ice House Creek where I have fished with the grand kids and just messed around the stream side. We also routinely view wildlife in this area. Most surprising was the fact that the local rancher, Spencer Brown, would not be able to get from his cabin to his grazing allotments to check on his cattle. This is crazy. Maybe option B is the red herring so the BLM can get option C or D and act like they are doing us a favor. The entire community can be hurt by this plan including the rental community. Time to stand up! The BLM has been a great organization to work with when comes to fuels reduction and support for wildlife. The Pocatello office has great people and they listen to the public. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy working with them. This Travel Plan is a step backwards in community relations. There should be public meetings held in Island Park and the plan must be coordinated with Fremont County, as required by law.
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Making Sense of It All
This blog will help you make sense out of all the information on the website, how it affects IP, our history, and how efforts continue to put IP into various forms of conservation status. Archives
May 2023
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