By Tim Reynolds
Dear Commissioners:
I am writing regarding the above subject requests to be heard by the Commission on July 22, 2024: approval of which would forever change the values inherent with the open space and scenic glory of Henrys Lake Flats. I am unable to attend this meeting and am submitting the following for your consideration.
These properties are currently zoned Rural Base which, per the Fremont County planning code, “… was established to provide for the continued use of agricultural lands, rangelands, and wildlife management areas within the County.” The proposed actions are in direct conflict with the purpose of the Rural Base Zone designation, and why it was established. This land has been the site of livestock operations for many decades, just as the zoning intended.
Henrys Lake Flats is truly a national treasure. The scenic value of open spaces and working lands on the Flats is unparalleled in the United States. Island Park residents and visitors are blessed by the vast expanse of emptiness, open skies, and surrounding mountains. A drive across the Flats (except in a sideways blizzard) elevates one’s spirit and enriches one’s soul. Any action which reduces the open spaces of the Flats will simply, and forever, reduce the quality of the Island Park experience: a quality that is the foundation of Island Park socially, economically, and spiritually.
Biologically the Flats are supreme and sublime. Diverse and robust populations of birds, mammals, reptiles, and plants occur across the Flats.
Dr. Charles H. Trost (Professor Emeritus of Biology, ISU) and his students, have conducted a Labor Day raptor count around Henrys Lake and the Flats for nearly 50 years (Taylor and Trost, 2024. J. Raptor Res. 58(1):114-120). The open space of the Flats provides a critical stopover and refueling site for migratory Golden Eagles, Red-
Tailed Hawks, Swainson’s Hawks, Ferruginous Hawks, American Kestrels, and the occasional Bald Eagle. Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks are classified as species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) in the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Idaho State Wildlife Action Plan (2023). SGCN species are those that have low or declining populations, and require proactive conservation actions to prevent further decline and potential Federal classification as Threatened or Endangered. Loss of
habitat, including habitat used during migration, is the number one threat to nearly all SGCN species.
The Flats support a healthy and varied community of grassland nesting birds during the breeding season and throughout the summer. Spring brings a cacophony of territorial Vesper Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Loggerhead Shrikes, as well as many migrant songbirds. And, the unforgettable, far- reaching, and pre-historic sounding call of the sandhill crane is a seasonal Flats’ icon.
The Flats support one of the highest concentrations of nesting Long-Billed Curlews known in Idaho, and perhaps in the West. This largest shorebird in North America is dependent on open grassland for nesting success. It is also a SGCN.
Big game abounds on the Flats. The Flats provide fawning grounds and summer habitat for a healthy interstate migratory population of pronghorn antelope, another SGCN. And, of course, moose, elk, mule deer, and grizzly bears (Federally listed as Threatened) use the Flats at various times of the year.
The Flats also support lesser known, but by no means less significant, populations of boreal chorus frogs, Columbia spotted frogs, terrestrial garter snakes, and Western toads (SGCN; Dr. Charles Peterson, Professor of Biology, ISU. Personal
Communication).
Although a plant inventory on the properties in question has probably never been conducted, an astounding 220+ species of plants have been recorded elsewhere on the Flats (The Nature Conservancy unpublished report).
The picture I hope I have painted for you is that the properties proposed for rezoning (Air Park) or Class II permit (Hotel) are part of a truly unique and biologically diverse environment shaping the character of Island Park. Henrys Lake Flats is indeed one of a kind. Protecting it from development should be the number one priority of the Planning and Zoning Commission at both the city and County level. Why the Flats was not included within the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, or given some other designation protecting it from commercial and residential development, is beyond comprehension.
As Commissioners, the future of Henrys Lake Flats, arguably the heart and soul and spirit of Island Park, is squarely in your hands.
Your decision should be an easy one. Below are sections from the Fremont County Building Code: 2011 Edition, as revised. I have highlighted germane segments and add comments in italics as to why neither of these proposals before you are worthy of approval.
Chapter 4. Establishment of Zoning Districts
4.01 What This Chapter Does. This chapter creates zoning districts and zoning district overlays that regulate the type and intensity of land uses in the County, and adopts an official map of those districts. Zoning district standards and dimensional limitations are established in order to achieve the following:
4.01.010 Desired Community Character. Ensure the protection of the desired community character of each zoning district.
The character of the flats is open space and unparalleled majesty. An air park and a hotel are the antitheses this character.
4.01.020 Housing and Business Opportunities. Promote adequate housing and business activities with the County.
4.01.030 Stability. Promote the stability of existing land uses and protect them from inharmonious influences and harmful intrusions.
I can imagine few things more inharmonious with existing land uses than an air park and a hotel.
4.01.040 Compatible Development. Ensure that uses and structures enhance their sites and are compatible with the natural beauty of the County’s setting and its critical natural resources.
How can an air park and a hotel possibly compare with and be considered compatible with the natural beauty of the Flats. If the Marriott at Mack’s Inn is an example of what the developers consider compatible with the natural beauty and natural resources, your decision should be very easy.
4.01.050 Mitigation of Negative Impacts. Mitigate negative impacts of certain uses within the zoning districts.
Neither proposal addresses this goal.
4.05 Allowed Uses. If a proposed use of property is not specifically listed in Chapter 4, Division 2 “Base District Regulations,” of this Ordinance, the use shall be prohibited, except that the Administrator may determine that a proposed use not listed in Chapter 4 of this Ordinance is equivalent to an allowed use if the Administrator finds all of the following:
Air Park is not listed in Chapter 4 as an allowed use. Neither is a hotel. It is
interesting that Ensign Hospitality includes the term “Guest Lodge/Hotel” in its
application language. A guest lodge is listed as an acceptable Category II use. It is a long stretch to call a 10-dozen room hotel and associated employee housing a guest lodge.
4.05.010 The impacts on public services and activities associated with the proposed use are substantially similar to those of one or more of the uses listed in the applicable base or overlay districts as allowed;
4.05.020 The proposed use shall not involve a higher level of activity or density than one or more of the uses listed in the applicable base or overlay districts as allowed;
Clearly an air park and a hotel are designed specifically to involve a higher level of activity and density than listed in the Rural Base Zone.
4.05.030 The proposed use is consistent with the purpose of the district in which the use is proposed to be located;
Again, these two proposals are completely inconsistent with the standards of the Rural Base Zone.
4.05.040 The proposed use is in substantial conformance with goals and objectives of the applicable comprehensive plan; and
These two proposals are inconsistent with the comprehensive plan on many levels.
4.05.050 The proposed use is a legal use under the laws of the State of Idaho.
4.13 RURAL DISTRICT
4.13.010 RURAL BASE ZONE (RB)
- Purpose. The RB Rural Base Zone is established to provide for the continued use of agricultural lands, rangelands, and wildlife management areas within the County; to limit development of hazardous areas including, but not limited to, fault lines, landslides, subsidence, shallow soils, steep slopes, unstable slopes, flooding, and seeps; and to allow a limited number of uses with excessive space requirements or buffering needs on nonprime agricultural lands.
An air park and a hotel do not promote the continued uses highlighted above.
- Applicability. The Rural Base designation is to be applied to land which includes prime farmland or grazing land, and which has not been divided into small agriculturally unusable parcels. The Rural Base Zone is not intended to accommodate non-agricultural development. Factors to be considered in designating land for Rural Base areas should include, but not be necessarily limited to the amount of prime farmland in the area, existing lot sizes and land uses in the area, and the character of surrounding land uses.
The parcels in question are large and have a long agricultural history. They are the definition of the Rural Base Zone and should retain that status.
- Objectives.
- Promote the public health, safety, and welfare of the people of Fremont County by encouraging the protection of important agricultural and open lands; to ensure the important environmental features of the state and Fremont County are
protected and enhanced; and to protect fish, wildlife, and recreation resources, consistent with the purposes of the Local Land Use Planning Act (Idaho Code section 67-6501 et seq., as amended). Protecting the properties
Neither of these proposals do anything to protect or enhance the resources mentioned above.
- To conserve and enhance the cultural significance and character of open rural and scenic non-urban landscapes; to provide for agricultural and rangeland uses consistent with the conservation of the environmental and landscape values of the area; to allow the development of agricultural industries and agriculture service establishments; and to protect agricultural and rangeland uses and wildlife management areas from undue adverse impacts from adjacent development.
Neither of these proposals do anything to conserve or enhance open space or rural viewscapes. In fact, they would do the opposite.
- Implement the Fremont County comprehensive plan goal to protect important agricultural land and to maximize opportunities for agricultural activities and an agricultural lifestyle in areas designated as Rural on the Comprehensive Plan Preferred Land Use Map.
These two projects will destroy, not protect, agricultural land.
- To protect and enhance the environment and natural processes for their historic, archaeological and scientific interest, landscape, faunal habitat and cultural values; to protect and enhance natural resources and biodiversity in the area.
These two projects are the antithesis of this objective.
- To encourage seasonal and limited recreational and very low density residential development and use of land which is consistent with sustainable land management and land capability practices, and which takes into account the conservation values and environmental sensitivity of the locality.
Both projects ignore the conservation values and environmental sensitivity of the Flats.
In summary: It is clear why HLE Inc. is requesting a zone change for an Air Park. Nothing in their plan is consistent with the tenets of the Rural Base Zone. Perhaps the
most concerning aspect is that if a zone change is allowed, the effects of the project will not be restricted to the 432 acres for the project. The scenic and wildlife and agricultural values of the entire Flats would be diminished forever.
Moreover, a zone change would simply make it easier for the next developer to rezone and develop another property, which will make it easier for the next developer, and the next and the next, etc. Once this chain begins, it will not be long before Henrys Lake Flats is only a memory.
Regarding the hotel (not a guest lodge!), this simply is not an acceptable use as a Class II development in a rural base zone. Period!
As Commissioners, you are charged with making decisions which will have lasting effects within the County. I believe you will never face a decision which will have a more profound, widespread, and long-lasting consequence on the essence of Island Park as the one that you face today. As you are aware, this is a very, very big deal. Your decision will be your legacy. I strongly encourage you to deny both these proposals and preserve the core values of Henrys Lake Flats and Island Park.
Thank you for your attention. Sincerely,
Timothy D. Reynolds, PhD Certified Wildlife Biologist (Ret.)