MCCALL, Idaho — State officials converged at Payette Lake on Tuesday for a ceremony to celebrate America’s 250th birthday by dedicating Liberty Grove, a picturesque area located off Lick Creek Road near Pilgrim's Cove.
Director of Idaho Public Lands Dustin Miller said he hopes the newly designated area will demonstrate the importance of managing Idaho's sprawling forest ecosystems.
WATCH: State officials dedicate new area dubbed Liberty Grove on Payette Lake in honor of America's 250th birthday.
“It’s important to remain focused on what a healthy forest really is," explained Miller.
State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth played an impactful role in the formation of Liberty Grove.
“It is the legacy project that we, as constitutional officers, are giving to the state of Idaho— naming this Liberty Grove," said Ellsworth. "It should be a legacy.”
That legacy started with State Land Board members planting Ponderosa pine seedlings in an area where thousands more were planted earlier this month.
Governor Brad Little put it this way: “We have been fortunate that we have done a real good job of managing the land that, in essence, the Federal government gave the State of Idaho to hold and trust, to manage, not only for the income, for our schools, and other worthy state agencies, but more importantly, for the sustainability of rural Idaho.”
Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield says she believes deeply in that ethos.
“How we use our lands in the state has been a priority for me in the classrooms,” said Critchfield.
Critchfield added that the state has launched nine forestry programs for high school students, teaching industry skills to help preserve, protect, and steward Idaho’s forests for generations to come.
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