An appeal hearing on the Caldera Flats proposed subdivision on the Henry's Lake Flats. The hearing is scheduled Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 6 p.m. before the Fremont County Board of Commissioners. The hearing is scheduled in the Fremont County Courthouse courtroom in St. Anthony. 

The Buttons appealed the Fremont County Planning & Zoning Commission’s denial of a Class II permit for Preliminary Plat approval of the Caldera Flats subdivision. This is the proposed subdivision where the airpark previously was planned

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This 32-lot subdivision is proposed for approximately 160 acres located in the Henry’s Lake Flats area of Island Park. The Button’s appeal alleges that the proposed subdivision meets the requirements for approval under the Fremont County Development Code; and that P&Z’s denial was improper, contrary to the standards of the Development Code, and violated the proper procedures.

Written comments for consideration by the BOCC may be submitted at the Fremont County Clerk’s office, 151 W. 1st North, Suite 12, St. Anthony, ID, 83445, no later than noon, Monday, May 4, 2026. Written comments may also be submitted through the County’s website at https://www.co.fremont.id.us/331/Public-Hearing-Comment-Submission-Form  by that same deadline. Written comments received after the deadline will not be considered.

The names on this petition will be presented to the commissioners during the appeal hearing on May 20, 2026.  Thank you for your support and help as we work to #ProtectTheFlats.

Thank you to all -- this was denied --A public hearing on the AirPark has been scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, at 10 a.m. at the EMS Building, 4378 County Circle Island Park. If you are able, please attend the hearing.

Help stop two developments on the Henry's Fork Flats in Island Park.

Fremont County will be considering two different proposed developments on the Henry's Fork Flats.

132-room hotel

The first one is a Class II Sketch Plan Application filed with the county on May 15, 2024, and lists the owner of the property as Lynn Burtenshaw of Terreton and the applicant as Kirk Barker with Ensign Hospitality LLC of Salt Lake City. The proposal lists the hotel to be located on 60 acres of land in Fremont County on the Henry's Lake Flats. The property fronts US 20 on the west side of the road just as you come out of the trees onto the Henry's Fork flats area. The proposal is four miles north of the company's Springhill Suites Hotel The application proposes a 132-room hotel to be called the Flat Rock Hotel and would be affiliated with the Marriott Tribute line. The three-story hotel plan includes 5,000 square feet of meeting space, full-service restaurant, bar and spa. The proposal, as filed with the county, includes 10 residences which would be sold fee simple and rolled back into the rental pool of the hotel. Also proposed are 25 units of employee housing. Earlier plans also showed a 70-stall RV Park on the property.

Lynn Burtenshaw also owns around 30 acres of adjacent property that is located in the City of Island Park. That property is zoned residential. In March, the City of Island Park P&Z Commission denied a commercial development request to annex the property into the city and re-zone the 60-acre parcel on the west side of Highway 20 to commercial. The owners/developers are now trying to work the issue through Fremont County with a request to change the County Comprehensive Plan and zoning for the property.

Private Air Park Community

Different developers are requesting approval to rezone for development a 431-acre parcel located on the east side of Highway 20 for a private air park community with a private runway with a small number of private hangar homes, and private hangars on either side of the runway. The rezone requested is from rural to industrial use.

We are asking for these two projects to be denied. 

Henry’s Lake Flats (HLF) has been identified by several agencies and/or non-governmental organizations as a priority landscape for conservation.   The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) classifies Henry’s Lake as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) due to its extraordinary value to wetlands and wildlife (BLM 1997). Specifically, BLM designated Henry’s Lake, including the HLF, as an ACEC to facilitate “protection of riparian, wildlife, recreation, and water quality resources from land disposal, unrestricted rights of-way and development as well as other adverse impacts” and “increase opportunities to pursue future protection and acquisition projects to augment the unique resources on public lands” (BLM 1997).

• Similarly, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) recognizes Henry’s Lake Flats as a high priority in the Idaho Wetland Conservation Prioritization Plan (IDFG 2005a), and as a Conservation Focal Area in the Idaho State Wildlife Action Plan (IDFG 2005). The proposed rezone and subsequent developments will have permanent and lasting negative impacts to Fremont County’s wildlife. These include habitat loss and fragmentation, disruption and disturbance of wildlife use, loss of big game migration and movement areas, loss of an identified raptor concentration area, loss of priority wetlands and freshwater habitats, and disruption of the hydrologic cycle and water quality vital to Henrys Fork wildlife and fisheries. 

•Open spaces are vital to thriving wildlife populations.

•Iconic wildlife (including the federally protected grizzly bear) and multiple other identified species of greatest conservation need; their natural and historic movement, required habitats, and migratory linkages will be negatively impacted by commercial development of the Henry’s Lake Flat and other Island Park Caldera open areas,

•Native and resident pronghorn habitat will be destroyed by development on the Henry’s Lake Flat and other Island Park Caldera open areas, Pronghorn movement and herd viability, as many spring offspring are born in the Island Park area will be negatively impacted.

•The iconic and vast open space meadowland and view scape will be profoundly diminished and obscured

•The Henry’s Lake Flat is a vast wetland that features natural springs, creeks, streams, including the Henry’s Lake Outlet and is identified in the national wetland inventory. Multiple SGCN's (species of greatest conservation need) critical habitat is identified as the Henry's Lake Flat including several species of migratory birds and pronghorn antelope.  Nesting and birth grounds are also identified on the Flat.

This area is a huge recreation area with a major snowmobile trail through one parcel of land. This could impact recreation in the area. 

Commercial and high-density development of the Henry’s Lake Flats and most of the Island Park Caldera open areas will cause: 
•greater stress on vital fire, police, safety, and EMT services,
•will cause air pollution,
•will cause water pollution
•will cause noise pollution
•will cause loss of natural light by closing off and congesting the landscape.

As concerned citizens we should encourage the Fremont County Planning and Zoning Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the Fremont County Zoning Map, Fremont County comprehensive plan and development code. They should focus on the Henry’s Lake Flat and other open spaces in the Island Park Caldera.  The Nature Conservancy and other private lands that have been placed under protective conservation easements are zoned the same as the 2 parcels asking for annexation, new zoning, build application and subsequent permitting, in order to build large commercial and air park/air park homes- with airstrip to serve an exclusive community development. Responsibly, looking at the conservation and ecological values of the Henry’s Lake Flat should be an immediate undertaking in Fremont County.

The Community of Island Park deserves this analysis before we start looking to develop what can never be replaced.