The Fremont County Planning and Building Department is proposing important changes to the Fremont County Development Code. Check out the proposed changes HERE. Keep scrolling to learn more about the proposed changes and why they matter to Fremont County residents. After learning more, you may want to take action to let your voice be heard. Here are some actions that you can take…
- Sign the Petition to ask the County halt changes to the Fremont County Development Code until the Comprehensive Plan is updated.
- Mark your calendars to attend the public hearing to discuss the proposed changes. THE PUBLIC HEARING HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO MAY 19, 2025. it will be held at the Fremont County Annex Building in St. Anthony located at 101 N. Bridge St.
- Submit a public comment THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL MAY 12, 2025. So, email your thoughts about the proposed changes to the Planning and Building Department: P&B@co.fremont.id.us.
- Stay connected:
- We’ll keep our HFWA website and socials updated with the latest information so join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/henrysforkwildlifealliance and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/henrysforkwildlifealliance
- To receive updates on this important issue, join the email list for the Involved Property Owners of Island Park by emailing Teri Ehresman at IslandPark723@gmail.com.
- Encourage others to get involved!
OK, LET’S LEARN MORE ABOUT WHY THE PROPOSED CHANGES MATTER:
The Fremont County Comprehensive Plan is a guiding document developed by the County, with extensive public input, mandated by Idaho’s Local Land Use Planning Act. The Comprehensive Plan is designed to promote health, safety, and the general welfare of the community and represents the community’s vision of how growth and land use development should occur now and into the future.
The first Comprehensive Plan for Fremont County was adopted in 1995 and updated in 1997, 2003, and 2008, with amendments approved in 2019. It has been 17 years since the last update was adopted and 6 years since the last amendments were approved. The current plan is woefully overdue for updates. Fremont County residents were told last fall that an update to the Comprehensive Plan was upcoming. In fact, the County has allocated funding for that update i
n the budget for this current Fiscal Year.
While the County is showing no signs of initiating the Comprehensive Plan update, it has proposed changes to another important document, the Fremont County Development Code. As discussed, the Comprehensive Plan is an important guide, but it doesn’t actually have any legal teeth of its own. So, ordinances like the Development Code are created to implement the Comprehensive Plan, acting as the legally binding, nitty-gritty rules that determine how growth and development happens on the ground.
So, a question should be raised…why is the County is proposing changes to the legally binding rules of development without first updating the guiding document that the rules are meant to uphold? There is also a concern, given some of the inappropriate development projects considered last year for the rural base zoning of the Henrys Lake Flats of Island Park (including a private fly-in airpark community and large hotel/conference center), that the County is out of touch with the public that they serve. During the 2008 update of the Comprehensive Plan, community meetings resulted in a Vision Statement showing the special character of this amazing place and its people. Here are some quotes from that statement:
- “Fremont County delivers a strong sense of place to its residents, containing an appreciation of heritage and a feeling of spiritual sanctuary. We value the peace and quiet, and easy-going style of Fremont County.”
- “Fremont County values the clear air, water, and night sky, as well as the scenic vistas and recreation opportunities the outdoors provides. We value fish and wildlife, for hunting and fishing but also for viewing, and recognize that maintaining and enhancing wildlife habitat is key to sustaining these resources.”
- “Fremont County values active participation in our democracy, and we enjoy transparent government, with easy access to local officials.
- “Profitable family operated working farms and ranches are essential to maintain the rural western heritage and culture of Fremont County.”
Let’s make sure that residents’ identities and voices are recognized and that the unique character of Fremont County endures into the future with an updated Comprehensive Plan, developed through extensive public input. Only then should amendments to the Development Code be discussed. It’s up to us as Fremont County residents to stand up and demand that our voices are heard. Now, scroll back up to the top of this page to take action!
Protect The Flats Campaign
Last year, HFWA worked tirelessly with the Island Park community to defeat two proposals to convert cattle ranches to high-density commercial development on the Henrys Lake Flats. Either of these developments would have set a dangerous precedent for development on the sensitive habitat of the flats. Doug Button, who proposed the defeated Island Airpark project, a luxury private fly-in community, is at it again. Button is now seeking approval from the Fremont County Planning and Building Department to repurpose the north portion of the property where the Island Airpark was proposed. He plans to build a 32-home subdivision, named the Caldera Flats Subdivision.
Update on Caldera Flats Subdivision Plans: At a public hearing on March 29, the Fremont County Planning and Zoning Commission decided to table the application for this project until additional information can be gathered. We’ll keep this website and our HFWA Facebook and Instagram pages up-to-date with any new developments relating to this project. Click HERE to learn more.
Summer 2024 Recap!
A HUGE thank you to all of our amazing supporters and volunteers who made our summer season incredibly successful. Check out some of the main highlights in this short video!
Who is Henrys Fork Wildlife Alliance?
We are a local citizens organization devoted to engaging local communities in the conservation of healthy wildlife populations in the Henrys Fork Watershed. Learn more on our About Us page.
Mark Harbaugh, Ashton
“The main focus of HFWA is to bring people together to discuss and prioritize all the different impacts that are happening to our environment.” Mark is a proud Idaho native and former Global Sales Manager at Patagonia. “I traveled literally all over the world” … “places where they’ve had to manage the human-wildlife interaction to basically preserve the resource for the next generations to come along, so another five generations can enjoy the wildlife that we have.”
Becky Hall, Island Park
“There are different sides of the issue but we all need to come together because we love the wildlife, we love the outdoors, we love Idaho…we need to come together and find common ground.”
Todd Lanning, Island Park
“I am a native of Idaho, born and raised. I love Idaho. The only reason I left was to serve my country and the day I got my discharge papers I came home to Idaho. I love to hunt and fish in Island Park. I love our wildlife. I like our robust and growing economy. Our business depends on hunting and fishing. That’s why I think it’s important to preserve and protect our wildlife.”
Janet L. Keefer, St. Anthony
“My family has been in Idaho for more than a 100 years and I have lived in Fremont County for over 40 years. I am accustomed to living in a landscape filled with a diversity of wildlife – the elk, the deer, the moose, and bears – and strikingly beautiful natural wonders. Close to where I now live near St. Anthony, are wintering grounds for much of the unique wildlife which populates this county. It just makes sense to protect the wildlife and habitat that make this area so special.”
