Recreational property rental on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (IPNF) embodies a history that extends back to 1906. There are nine tracts of land along Priest Lake that include a total of 123 residential/recreational leases. The IPNF has determined “each tract, lot, building and landscape must be analyzed under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) for eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and any potential effects permit renewal may have on the improvements and any archaeological remains contained within each tract and lot.” This means that any leaseholders who wish to reconstruct their cabin, build an addition, or add a garage must have the project reviewed to determine whether the project will impact the historic setting and aesthetic of the lease lot and tract.
This review at Lease Lot #566 of the Luby Bay Recreation Residence Tract was prompted by a proposed cabin addition and garage construction project. The existing cabin on the property, built in 1972, is not eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), thus the addition to the cabin and construction of the garage would not affect the historic setting. Previous work by IPNF archaeologists, however, indicated that pre-historic archaeological deposits may be present on the lease lot. Plateau Archaeological Investigations performed systematic shovel probing across the lot, resulting in the excavation of 27 probes to help identify the presence or absence of archaeological materials. It was determined that the proposed cabin addition and garage construction project would not impact any buried cultural resources, and guidelines for future development were developed to protect known archaeological deposits.
This archaeological review was performed under the authority of an Archaeological Resource Protection Act (ARPA) permit which was issued to Plateau Archaeological Investigations by the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.
Location: Bonner County, Idaho
