Declo Hills To Stay Open

Federal officials yielded to public pressure and will keep the Declo East Hills open for recreational use.

The Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday suggested trading off land in the Declo Hills for property in the Wood River Valley area to protect a game migration corridor.

The hills are a popular hunting, horseback riding and hang-gliding area. The BLM’s decision is not final. Agreement must come from Six S Ranch, which has been negotiating a land trade with the BLM that could have closed the hills to recreation.

The public has until Aug. 19 to respond to the decision, which can be appealed within 30 days.

More than 2,000 people wrote the bureau, opposed to the exchange with ranch owner Sam Skaggs.

The BLM concluded in 1991 that 3,500 acres of land in the Declo area could be sold or traded with a private land owner. BLM officials say the land is difficult to manage and initially decided it could be given up for parcels deemed more important.