Henry’s Fork Airport Hearing Coming Soon

If you live near Island Park, Idaho, you might have heard about a proposal to build a new airport near the outlet of Henry’s Lake. For most fly anglers at large, however, this may be the first you’re hearing of the project.

There is currently a proposal in front of the Fremont County (Idaho) Planning and Zoning commission to build a private luxury airport on the Henry’s Lake Flats. The Flats are a section of land on the southeast side of Highway 20, and they play a critical role in the habitat that supports grizzly bears, pronghorn, moose, elk, and deer.

According to a press release from the Henry’s Fork Wildlife Alliance(HFWA), “Open spaces and natural habitats are vital to the cherished wildlife of Island Park—including federally protected grizzly bears that are present on the Flats, native and resident pronghorn whose calves are born in spring, elk, and multiple officially identified ‘species of greatest conservation need’ whose habitat includes the Flats.”

The private luxury airpark is proposed to be built on 432 acres of land. The project would include an airstrip, 32 residential lots, a 132-room Marriott hotel, and a potential 70-stall RV park. The Flat Rock Hotel’s plans were submitted by a Salt Lake City-based company, Ensign Hospitality. Douglas Button of Imperial Investments LLC is heading the airstrip project.

133 of the 432 acres would be rezoned to “commercial/industrial” use, although the plans for using that rezoned land aren’t currently known.

While an airstrip would certainly make travel to the Island Park area more convenient, this would still be a private enterprise, and the risks to the ecosystem far outweigh the benefits.

The Fremont County Planing and Zoning commission is holding a public hearing on the project at 10am on August 24th. This hearing will be at the Island Park EMS building, and each individual present will have three minutes to speak. HFWA hopes to fill the meeting room and encourages attendees to arrive early to “show Fremont County we care about what happens in Island Park.”

There’s also a petition you can sign to voice your opposition to the project, which you can review here.