BLM to replace recreation furnishings at northern Idaho campgrounds, sites close temporarily

Huckleberry Campground, about 30 miles east of St. Maries along the St. Joe River, will close to public access and parking at 12:00 a.m. April 13, the first site in a Bureau of Land Management Coeur d’Alene Field Office program to replace developed recreation furnishings. The signed closure order lists Huckleberry’s renovation window as April 13–24, and the order makes clear no parking or public access will be allowed into the developed recreation area while work is underway.

The BLM published its announcement on April 8 and the signed closure order sets the full closure period from 12:00 a.m. April 13 through 11:59 p.m. May 29, 2026. Affected sites named in the order include Killarney Lake Campground and Boat Launch in Kootenai County, Blackwell Island Recreation Site and Boat Launch/Day Use on Lake Coeur d’Alene, Mineral Ridge Trailhead and Mineral Ridge Public Boat Launch, Beauty Bay Recreation Area, and Mica Bay Boater Park. The agency estimates it will replace roughly 100 picnic tables, 60 fire rings and 40 barbeques across these developed recreation areas.

BLM officials say the replacements are driven by visitor safety and improved user experience, and the closure order cites federal authority 43 CFR 8364.1 and compliance with the 2007 Coeur d’Alene Field Office Resource Management Plan, specifically RMP Goal RC‑1 and Objective RC‑1.2. Funding for the project comes from the Great American Outdoors Act, enacted August 4, 2020, using Legacy Restoration Fund allocations intended to reduce deferred maintenance on public lands; BLM materials place its deferred‑maintenance backlog in the multi‑billion‑dollar range, roughly $5.3 billion in past agency slides.

Operational timing overlaps other upgrades in the field office. A March 16 BLM announcement said pavement resurfacing work began around March 30 and will continue into May; the signed closure order lists Killarney Lake Campground site‑furnishing work April 27–May 1, and slurry‑seal and striping operations are scheduled May 4–13 for Blackwell Island, Mineral Ridge, Beauty Bay, Killarney and Huckleberry. Blackwell Island is a high‑use site with vendor estimates of about 40,000 annual visitors, so even short closures there could disrupt day‑use boaters and marina traffic.

During closure windows, the order states parking lots, paved surfaces, waterway access points, restrooms, campsites, docks, boat launches and trails are subject to closure, with exemptions only for federal, state or local officers, BLM contractors, and rescue or firefighting forces. Recreation.gov listings show Huckleberry historically had about 33 campsites, a detail that may matter for reservation holders seeking refunds or re‑routing.

For agency information contact Heather Appelhof at happelhof@blm.gov or 208-384-3388, or call the Coeur d’Alene Field Office at 208-769-5000; BLM also will post updates on its Idaho Facebook page. The coordinated replacements and concurrent pavement work are designed to finish before the summer peak, improving durability and safety of site furnishings while temporarily rerouting campers, anglers and families who had planned spring trips.