Agency, groups hope Clinton will help provide funds to buy 52, 568 acres

By Mark Arbanas
The Idaho Statesman 
February 14, 1993

The federal Bureau of Land Management has had its eye on 520 acres in the Boise Front for years.

Now, bureau officials hope the new Clinton administration will see fit to release some federal money so they can buy it.

The Wilderness Society and 35 other groups hope so, too.

They've put the land and 23 other sites totaling 52,568 acres around the state on a wish list they hope will be adopted in the federal budget this year. The recommendations are part of a national report calling for purchases around the country. However, president Clinton's pledge to cut the federal deficit might keep the sites on the wish list a while longer.

Most of the sites already are surrounded by federal land or lie adjacent to federal areas, said Craig Gehrke, the Wilderness Society's regional director. They have been picked by the group from agency requests, and in almost all cases, the owners are willing to sell them.

"We haven't had anybody say 'You bet,' but Clinton did support it during the campaign, Gehrke said.

The money would come from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, financed from offshore oil and gas drilling royalties. At present, there is a surplus of about $9 billion in the fund, according to the society.

But spending that money still would count against the federal deficit, officials say, so Clinton and Congress may decide to hold on to the surplus.

Included on the society's wish list are 520 acres along Fivemile Creek northeast of Boise, and 1,200 along the South Fork of the Boise River.

George Farrow, BLM planner, said the fivemile tract includes a two-mile canyon, a perennial stream and habitat for deer, black bears, coyotes and several kinds of birds. He said the purchase would allow the BLm to complete several trails through the area.

The list also includes 1,200 acres along the South Fork of the Boise River, dear to the hearts of may Boise trout fishermen. Gehrke said the acquisition would help keep development from intruding on the scenic qualities of the river. BLM hopes to get 24 sites