MAGIC VALLEY FLY FISHERS POSITION STATEMENT
Regarding Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge & Craters of the Moon National Monument August 24, 2025
MVFF strongly supports adding land and access and improving all aspects of existing public use in Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge and Craters of the Moon National Monument. These areas are used often by our members fishing, hunting, birding, hiking, biking, camping and wildlife area enjoyment.
The proposed plan details as stated in the paragraphs we received that were excerpted from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and we reviewed (& copied below) are greatly needed and will be appreciated & used by us all.
20+ members have told me they will be able to fish, hunt and use these areas more easily and often if the proposals can take place soon.
I only have time and space for 7 of their stories here. I and all others asked want this great fishing, hunting, birding resource to be maintained and enhanced for us, our families, friends and neighbors now and for the future.
The top items on everyone’s lists were to grade & maintain roads, all access areas and improve use maps and signage to make it easier to use the area and know where the boundaries are and what the rules are and why. The fish and wildlife are there; we want to be too!!!
One of our members whose family founded “Quigley” two centuries ago; now just a dot on the map north of the wildlife area & below Craters of the Moon, has trouble navigating the river he’s grown up on with the confused jurisdictions & poorly signed & maintained public and private property & roads. These projects could help fix what exists and add new use for us all as he and his family want.
Another member Bob, was just at Lake Walcott & “The Refuge” Thursday 8/21/25 showing this great area in our back yard to visitors, & said he would also use the area more if these improvements happen. This Bob grew up and lives close by on the Snake River in Hayburn and fished Walcott the week before, caught a few and would really like better access and maintenance. Weekends are very crowded now.
Glenn, our big fish member in the pictures, also agrees on all and is guarded in his hopes these projects will actually get done. Especially in time to help us old guys & gals take our grand & great grandkids to both areas again soon to learn and continue our outdoor family fun traditions of fly fishing, hunting and more.
Another Bob that duck hunts the refuge in fall and fishes both the lake and river when possible told me Friday he agrees totally to improve this area now! Let’s spend the funds as proposed and make it better now and not let it degrade further from neglect and insufficient management & funding for upkeep.
Rob and Cindy fish, birdwatch-photograph, hike & hunt and will use it more year round if roads and access are improved and added. All would like better winter & year-round use with it so close to us and home to so many species.
Steve that fishes the river in his drift boat, as well as hunts grouse and waterfowl, enlightened me that the diminishing Sage Grouse range is not only in and around the Craters but also extends now into the Minidoka Refuge. Better roads in and knowing where legal use and private restrictions conflict is a current major issue in using these close by and valuable wild areas in both proposed cases.
And my last and most recent conversation today was with Norm that lives less than ten minutes from the gate at Lake Walcott. He volunteered to go right over and take some pictures for us if needed. He told me of going to one of the access points on the river in the Refuge yesterday 8/23/25 to carp fish and not being able to fish with bad road conditions, signage missing or unreadable, parking problems and unclear private vs. public boundary issues.
The other members questioned all had equally interesting and important stories.
Please release the funds as proposed (and allocated?). They are needed. Now!
Sincerely,
Bryan S. Woodhouse, Secretary-Magic Valley Fly Fishers 2025
www.magicvalleyflyfishers.com
EXCERPTS FROM: LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND
- Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS) - Idaho - $3,000,000 - 540 Acres
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- FWS will acquire two properties totaling 540 acres. The first acquisition is approximately 500 acres that border the Snake River. The property has highly degraded riparian habitat. FWS will restore the habitat, benefiting many species including warblers, flycatchers, orioles, and raptors. Acquisition will also expand public recreational activities, such as fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing. The second acquisition will be either a conservation easement or fee purchase of 40 acres of wetland and river habitat. The banks along the waterbodies of this property are severely eroding from farming up to the edge of the water; restoration will benefit waterfowl including Canada geese, mallards, pintails, gadwall, and teal. If not acquired by FWS, this property will likely be developed, exacerbating access challenges and trespass issues and further fragmenting habitat.
Craters of the Moon National Monument (BLM) - Idaho - $2,400,000 - 2,143 Acres
- The first planned acquisition is in the northeastern area of the Monument in Butte County and comprises the Huddles Hole kipuka. There is an 80-acre BLM parcel in the center of the kipuka that is entirely surrounded by private land. Access to the property is by a primitive road off the Arco-Minidoka Road. No easements exist across the BLM that access the private property. Cultural resource inventories have not been completed on the property; however, there is a likelihood of evidence of pre-contact use of the kipuka and along the lava edges consistent to similar areas in the Monument.
- The second planned acquisition is located in north Laidlaw kipuka in Blaine County. It has been fenced by the private landowner in the past. The property is adjacent to Snowdrift Crater and the Great Rift Wilderness Study Area (WSA). Snowdrift Crater is a popular destination in the Monument for hunting and other recreational activities. The BLM estimates that 5,000 visitors per year make use of the undeveloped portions of the Monument, including visits to Snowdrift Crater and the Great Rift WSA. The parcel is located within designated Priority Sage Grouse Habitat. Snowdrift Crater is the top of a low angle shield volcano that formed nearly 500,000 years ago. It supports a large stand of quaking aspens and wildlife species including deer, elk, pronghorn, and many bird species.
