Proposed Idaho Airport Could Bring Changes to Rangeland

Nov. 19--BLAINE COUNTY -- Northwest of Shoshone, just across the Blaine County line, lies a patch of federally owned rangeland. This time of year, the grasses give off a golden hue in the morning sunlight, accentuated by the gray of sagebrush and the red of lava rock. This place is home to a variety of game including deer and elk and contains dozens of leks-- sage grouse mating grounds.

But if the Federal Aviation Administration approves a plan proposed by the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority, this site will someday be home to 1,200 acres of pavement, jet planes and travelers.

And that's just fine with Pat Castle -- a Lincoln County woman with a lifetime spent exploring the hills south of Timmerman.

"We've got to have progress," Castle said. "If we don't they'll leave us behind."

Friedman Memorial Airport has outgrown its boundaries in Hailey. For nearly two years, Friedman officials have been looking for a new location -- one that will allow the airport to grow to meet current and future needs. The decision came down to three sites: one each in nearby Lincoln and Camas counties and "Site 10" -- just six miles north of the Lincoln County line. Moving the airport out of Blaine County, airport authority officials feared, would severely damage Blaine County's lucrative tourism industry.

Castle lives in Lincoln County on a ranch that was part of the proposed airport location there. She would have had to move if the airport board had picked that site, known as Site 9. This way, she has the option of selling gravel off her place to help build the airport, but she can stay put.

She and her husband were driving recently over the rough road that dissects the property. She had an elk tag to fill and was in search of big game. Castle, 58, said she first started exploring the southern end of Blaine County as a child. She said she's not worried about displacing the myriad of wildlife species that call this country home. They'll adjust.

"It's part of change. You can't just sit here and say, 'Oh look, there's a rock chuck'," she said.

But others aren't so sure. After 18 months of study, both a site selection committee and a team of experts commissioned by the airport authority said this location was the worst of the three potential sites because it is too fragile environmentally, too rocky geologically and simply too expensive.

It also contains public land important to the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Tribe.

Blaine Edmo, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal chairman, said the tribe will wait to see what the FAA's Environmental Impact Statement says, but he's watching the process closely.

"Our concern is on public treaty hunting rights and gathering," Edmo said.

He said there is a cultural resource there along with the game and sage grouse habitat.

"They need to have a good mitigation plan to deal with those issues," he said.

Edmo said the tribe camped across southern Idaho and surely had encampments on Site 10. He admits to being surprised the board chose Site 10.

"Sometimes politics gets in the way of common sense," Edmo said.

Tom Bowman is a Blaine County commissioner and member of the airport authority. He said he thought the Lincoln County location was better, but that it was not in the best interest of Blaine County.

"I reviewed all the work and the data submitted to us -- given the other economic realities for Blaine County -- those other sites may have been better for Camas County or Lincoln County, but this is the best for Blaine County."

Carol Waller of the Sun Valley -- Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau is pleased with the site. The closer the airport stays to the county's tourism center, she says, the better services the area will be able to attract. That means businesses driven by tourism dollars will continue to thrive.

Waller and Bowman both emphasize the process is far from over. The environmental study will bring up any number of issues -- and include input from the affected people and agencies.

"It's sort of hard to say how it's going to play out," Waller said. "I think there was going to be compromises in any of the sites. It remains to be seen what those factors really are."

Bud Bolan of the Hailey Chamber of Commerce served on the site selection committee and said Site 10 won't see any airplanes.

He said the amount of volcanic rock, environmental concerns and tribal issues will prove too much to overcome. He's also concerned that there was little reaction to a comment made by Ron Fairfax, a pilot and airport authority member. At the Oct. 27 meeting in which Site 10 was selected, Fairfax said, "The approach to 10 is a desolate area. If you run short you land in lava. It is not a field you can walk out of."

"Ron Fairfax had a really important statement," Bolan said. "Not reacting or addressing his concern tells me it was a predisposed decision. After some research that will be unfortunately a waste of money, it won't be an acceptable site."

Bolan predicts once the environmental study is complete, the airport authority will revisit the two out-of-county sites.

For now, the start of the study is several months away. Friedman officials are wrapping up the details in the official Site Selection Study and ensuring they will have enough money to complete the environmental study.