Sawtooth National Recreation Area

The owners of a Sawtooth valley ranch have reached the end of the appeals process for a case about a conservation easement on their property.

Three private property rights groups have filed amicus briefs, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lawsuit regarding a public access trail that crosses a Sawtooth Valley ranch.

The 4.5-mile-long trail connects Stanley to Redfish Lake within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. It opened last summer after nearly a decade of planning.

The appeal centered around the timing of the property owners' lawsuit over the Stanley to Redfish Trail.

The case was filed by Michael Boren last year against opponents to a permit he obtained for an airstrip on his Sawtooth Valley ranch.

The U.S. Forest Service purchased an easement to build part of the trail on private property within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

An Idaho district court judge dismissed defamation claims made by Boise businessman Michael Boren against people who opposed his application for a private airstrip on his Sawtooth Valley ranch.

The proposal has drawn concern from some skiers and other recreators over limits to the number of people who can access backcountry huts and yurts

We take you on a trip to a wilderness paradise to look at the past, present and future of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

The SNRA was created in 1972, in part to halt development springing up on the Sawtooth Valley floor. There was hardly any local zoning at the time. Subdivisions were growing and more were planned.