BANKS, Idaho -- The Bureau of Land Management is closing a popular hot springs along the Banks-to-Lowman Road after years of dealing with litter, feces, drug use and break-ins in the area.
Skinny Dipper Hot Springs, located four miles east of Banks, will be dismantled and shut down for at least the next five years to allow the area to return to a natural state.
Anyone who attempts to use the area during the closure will be cited for trespassing. BLM officials say the decision comes after an influx of trash and crime around the soaking pools. In the past five years, county sheriff's deputies and BLM officers have responded to 125 incidents near the hot pools including underage drinking, drug use, car burglaries, thefts sexual assault and two deaths.
In addition, trash frequently left near the pools - including human waste and used hypodermic needles - are creating biohazard concerns. Water from the springs flows into the South Fork of the Payette, bringing with it potential environmental contamination.
"Public health and safety is my primary concern," Four Rivers Field Office Field Manager Tate Fischer said in a statement. "The unauthorized use of the public lands through construction of soaking pools has created public health and safety issues that we have not been able to mitigate. We have proactively reached out to the users to work with them to develop an alternative solution; however, the alternatives presented to us did not address the unauthorized development or provide a viable solution to address the public health and safety issues."
BLM spokeswoman MJ Byrne said not every visitor to the site leaves trash or creates issues. But those who do are effectively ruining it for everyone else, she said.
"It's a small contingent that has made it a problem, which is unfortunate," she said.
The soaking pools were created with concrete and piping during the 1990s. Although the construction was not authorized, it was allowed to remain. In 2012, Central District Health officials notified BLM they were concerned sewage disposal at the site was inadequate. The officials "noticed the large volume of users at this site both day and night without a convenient port a potty or vault privy to use."
In response, BLM temporarily closed the hot springs to night-time visitors, and reached out to users to try to come up with a solution. Although an environmental impact study completed this year returned a finding of No Significant Impact, BLM officials made the decision to shut down the site in late April.
Byrne said the BLM looked at the possibility of putting restroom facilities near the springs, but eventually scuttled the plan. The lack of space and steep terrain would make installing and maintaining a vault toilet "practically impossible and cost-prohibitive," she said.
BLM also proposed keeping the site open through a special-use permit, but no group or individual was willing to apply. The soaking pools will be torn apart by hand, likely in the coming months, Byrne said.
The public has until May 28 to file appeals or ask for a stay. Technically, users can't be ousted from the spot until that process is complete. But the BLM is "discouraging" people from coming to Skinny Dipper Hot Springs effective immediately, Byrne said.
Appeals can be filed with the Interior Board of Land Appeals, Office of the Secretary. Questions about the closure should be directed to the BLM Boise District Office at 208-384-3300.
