Land Donation Saves Bit Of Lake Property For Public Man Gives 85 Acres On Lake Pend Oreille To State

With his signature, Robert Nesbitt ensured Friday the shores of Lake Pend Oreille won’t be wall-to-wall development.

The 76-year-old Bonner County man donated his 85 acres of prime lakefront property to the state of Idaho for a public park.

The land, with 1,700 feet of shoreline near Bottle Bay, is valued at more than $1.5 million.

“This is a lot of work to just give something away,” Nesbitt joked as he signed a stack of legal papers with officials from the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.

“My wife, family and I have enjoyed many happy times out there, and I hope this is something people of the next generation can also enjoy,” Nesbitt said. “It’s something for posterity that can’t be developed. There are people cheek-to-cheek around much of the lake now.”

The donation has been in the works for a year. Sandpoint attorney Mike Stewart, who did the legal work for free, finalized the deal in his office Friday morning.

The gift was partly to honor Nesbitt’s wife, Enid, who died two years ago. The park will bear her name and officially be called “Enid Nesbitt Memorial State Park.”

Robert Nesbitt will live on the property until his death, and he and his four children will own it for the next 20 years.

After that, it will be managed as a state park and open to the public.

“This is the most significant donation of land we have received in my 10 years here,” said State Parks Director Yvonne Ferrell. “It’s a wonderful piece of property and tremendous that we can preserve this land along the lake.”

The property has a beach and acres of timber that include some old growth cedar. The Nesbitts also built a cabin and shop that later may be used to house a park caretaker.

State officials want to keep the park undeveloped, using it for “passive recreation” which could include nature trails, wildlife viewing areas and a few camp sites.

“There is a short window in time to protect these pockets of land for future generations and Bob sees that vision,” said Monte Later, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Board.

“We intend to see that vision fulfilled and the land cared for in a way Bob wants it to be.”

Nesbitt grew up in Bonner County and is a retired heavy equipment operator. His family has owned the property since 1928. He thought about leaving the land to his four children, but said he didn’t want it to cause family squabbles over money.

“They accepted it as something their mother and I wanted to do, and it will be a wonderful memorial to my wife,” he said.

“It is truly a magnificent gift he has given,” Ferrell said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Map of area.