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BLM: current planning documents bar a boat ramp at Irwin; county and residents press for solutions
Summary
At the Sept. 3 Irwin City Council meeting, BLM staff told the council and residents that federal planning documents do not authorize construction of a boat ramp on the BLM-owned Irwin parcel; county officials and residents urged short-term parking fixes and longer-term plan amendments.
At a Sept. 3 Irwin City Council meeting, Bureau of Land Management staff told the council and residents that the BLM’s existing public planning documents do not allow construction of a boat ramp at the BLM-owned parcel adjacent to the Irwin Slide. Mayor Larry Perzichilli opened the discussion by saying residents are asking to “either close the slide or build a new ramp.”
Monica Zimmerman of the BLM said the agency is bound by its planning guidance. “We do not have the ability to put in a boat ramp because of the planning document we have,” she said, citing the 1991 Snake River Activity and Operations Plan and subsequent updates. Zimmerman told the council the 1991 plan identified the possibility of boat access at Irwin but a 2008 update did not include a ramp on the BLM parcel; a separate 2018 public-use review examined limits on usage but did not change the current access designation.
County Commissioner Jon Walker said a document signed decades ago with Fish & Game and BLM promised improvements including a new ramp and restrooms once the Slide was reopened; Walker said that document “still sits in my office.” He added the county paid for engineering and reconstruction to reopen the Slide but federal improvements never occurred.
BLM Acting Field Manager Bret Herres said any change allowing a ramp would require a land-use plan amendment and public review. Herres explained the field office is preparing to begin a broader Land Use Plan amendment that could modify the Snake River Activity Plan, but said amendments take time and public comment. In the meantime, BLM staff and residents debated short-term options for parking and access, with BLM noting it has limited authority to alter access absent an amendment.
The exchange highlighted overlapping jurisdiction: BLM owns the parcel adjacent to the Slide, Idaho Fish & Game manages fisheries, Reclamation owns water rights, and the county owns the road and the Slide area. Commissioner Walker told residents the quickest path to a closure would be annexation of homes on the road or a citizen petition to the County Commissioners.
The council did not adopt any immediate regulatory changes; BLM staff said plan amendments and public engagement would be required before a boat ramp could be built.
