More than 700 acres in north Idaho will soon be under the control of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG). The IDFG Commission voted to acquire the 770 acres at its meeting Friday morning. The purchase protects the land from development, but hunters will be allowed access.
According to program manager Gregg Servheen, the land includes a 650-acre conservation easement in Boundary County, and 120 acres added to the Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Nez Perce County. Fish and Game spent roughly $122,000 on the land in Nez Perce County; that money came from a state WMA trust fund and from a US Fish and Wildlife Service grant. Since the acquisition in Boundary County wasn't a sale, but a conservation easement, there was no cost to Fish and Game.
Hunting is allowed in WMAs, and those who get permission will be allowed to hunt on the conservation easement. “We’ll protect that land from development and other uses that would have potentially negative effects on wildlife habitat,” said Servheen. “But we will allow it to continue to be used as a working forest.” Forest Capital Partners of Coeur d’Alene manages the easement land.
