Lake CdA site closing to overnight use

A public recreation area on Lake Coeur d’Alene’s Blue Creek Bay will be closed to camping and overnight use beginning Saturday.

People living near the Wallace Forest Conservation Area complained of loud parties, bonfires and lewd activities.

“We heard loud and clear from the public that illegal activity in this area is frequent and that we, the land managing agency, need to take immediate action to protect the resources and provide a safer area for public use,” said Eric Thomson, Coeur d’Alene field manager for the Bureau of Land Management.

The closure will be in effect daily starting one hour after sunset and ending one hour before sunrise. It applies to the entire 736 acres, which will be patrolled.

The closure is an interim step while the BLM completes a long-term recreation plan for the area, said Brian White, BLM’s outdoor recreation planner. Visit www.blm.gov/id/st/en.html and click on the map’s Coeur d’Alene region, then “Blue Creek Bay recreation site” for more information. Maps of the area are available at the Coeur d’Alene Field Office, 3815 Schreiber Way in Coeur d’Alene.