Proposal For Island Unveiled Blackwell Island Plans Call For Boat Launch, Trail

A five-lane boat launch and a nature trail. But no overnight camping.

Those are the hallmarks of a proposal to develop Blackwell Island, unveiled Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The island is located at the head of the Spokane River.

The bureau purchased 32 acres there to meet the growing need for public boat access to Lake Coeur d’Alene. However, it met with resistance from nature lovers worried about the loss of wildlife habitat and neighbors who did not want more traffic on nearby Fairmont Loop Road.

The agency scrapped plans for a second, smaller boat launch that would have used the loop road for access. It also nixed development on the island at the north end of the site, except for a nature trail.

The bureau held two public meetings and received hundreds of comments concerning island development, said team leader Bill Cook.

“The vast majority of those responding favor development of a fairly large boat-launching facility,” Cook said.

Few people wanted campsites, he said.

The boat launch would be reached via U.S. Highway 95. There would also be picnic tables and wildlife observation platforms.

The smaller island would be connected to the main one by a foot bridge which could be lifted seasonally to keep people away from nesting birds.

The agency’s next step is to prepare an environmental assessment of its proposal.

In it, two other alternatives also will be analyzed: a smaller boat launch, and no development at all.

Bureau officials hope to finish the assessment in early June. Then comes a 30-day comment period. A final plan is expected by July 31.

Cook couldn’t put a price tag on the project because engineering studies haven’t been done. The money will come from the bureau’s budget and possibly grants from other sources, Cook said.

The site won’t be ready to launch boats, he said, “until 1997 at the earliest, and more realistically, 1998.”