Rathdrum Mountain campaign mounted

A small group of Rathdrum residents is racing to save the town’s mountainous backdrop.

The group hopes to raise enough money by July to buy 280 acres of cutover timberland on the east face of Rathdrum Mountain, said John Sylte, a software company worker and longtime Rathdrum resident who is helping to organize the effort.

The land towers above the small but rapidly growing community.

Although much of the property is now covered with stumps, local residents worry that without quick action, it soon will be sprouting subdivisions.

“It’s our viewshed. It’s what we see,” Sylte explained.

The land is currently owned by J.D. Lumber, of Priest River, Idaho.

Friends of Rathdrum Mountain announced Wednesday it was given the first right to purchase the land.

“It’s a huge opportunity,” Sylte said. “It’s incredible.”

Although no price tag has been set, Sylte said he estimates the cutover land to be worth between $700,000 and $1 million.

Friends of Rathdrum Mountain needs to come up with the money by July. For a town of 3,500, this won’t be easy.

The effort is also facing a red-hot real estate market that’s especially hungry for lots with a view.

The nonprofit group is launching a capital campaign and plans to approach local businesses for fund-raising help, Sylte said. One option being discussed is taking the issue to voters – raising the money by passing a bond.

Local residents have expressed overwhelming support for protecting the land, Sylte said.

Part of their motivation comes from seeing other landmark landscape features being turned into high-end home sites.

Tubbs Hill, Canfield Mountain and the slopes above Fernan Lake are slowly being covered with houses, Sylte said.

“What’s happened to other local mountains is a perfect example of what Friends of Rathdrum Mountain wants to avoid,” Sylte said.

Houses are already “creeping further and further up Rathdrum Mountain,” Sylte said, but much of the mountain remains untouched by development.

Although the city of Rathdrum owns a large tract next to the 280 acres, purchasing the land would not protect the entire mountain from development, Sylte said.

Several other private tracts remain, but protecting the east face of the mountainside would ensure a large chunk of the view would remain wild.

“One step at a time,” Sylte said.