Idaho auctioned off 13 state-owned cabin sites at Payette Lake in 2013, 10 of them previously leased and three vacant. Now, with the first such voluntary auction – cabin owners who rent the lots under their cabins can decide whether they want to participate – coming up at Priest Lake on Aug. 28, the state has approved a second round of auctions at Payette Lake for later this year.

The state Department of Lands has received applications from 30 Payette Lake cabin site renters who want to go to auction; it’s proposing putting those 30 plus six vacant sites up for auction. The state Land Board voted unanimously this morning to go ahead with the auction of the 36 lots, to be held in November or December.

At the first Payette auction, all 13 sites sold, with a total selling price of $5.88 million. The 10 previously leased lots all were purchased by the owners of the cabins on them; only one saw competitive bidding, pushing the price up to $11,000 above the appraised value, which is set as the minimum bid. The three vacant lots all saw competitive bidding. All three sold for more than their appraised values, with one appraised at $662,400 selling for $1 million.