PELA HEADLINES
PELA Update - An update of PELA activities can be seen by clicking the PELA Update button below.
United Payette - PELA is now teamed with the United Payette coalition for the protection of the endowment lands. This is a coalition of 21 organizations with over 60,000 members working together to permanently protect the McCall area endowment lands.
PELS Implementation Plan - An implementation plan has been prepared by United Payette with strong support by members of PELA that details a set of solutions for these lands. This Plan has been submitted to the Idaho Land Board Commissioners and the Idaho Department of Lands, and work has now started to implement it. Click the United Payette symbol below to access the United Payette site and the Plan.
Our Story
In late June of 2020, a group of local citizens came together over their shared concern about the need to preserve the state endowment lands in the McCall, Idaho area. After meeting together for several months, these citizens realized their shared values and goals in the formation of the Payette Endowment Lands Alliance (PELA), an Idaho registered nonprofit corporation, to provide a public voice for the preservation of the endowment lands in the McCall, Idaho area. In April 2021 PELA received 501(c)(3) tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) meaning that donations, including past donations, are tax deductible. Our Mission/Vision and Values, our Board of Directors, and our Coalition partners can be viewed by clicking the buttons below.
The McCall area lands are precious. They provide critical wildlife habitat. They provide the watershed for Big Payette Lake, which is the sole drinking water supply for McCall. And they also provide a refuge for people from everyday life as well as unlimited recreational opportunities.
Residents and visitors to McCall know the beauty and wonder of the area where a person can still see undeveloped forests and wildlife around Payette and Little Payette lakes. These lands are what fundamentally makes McCall, McCall. PELA envisions a future where these lands and their ecosystem are protected and enhanced for perpetuity, where lands are accessible to all not just a privileged few, and where the lands productively support the state of Idaho endowment trust fund.
We are focused on collaborating to provide community-based conservation and recreation solutions that satisfy the strategies for the endowment lands identified in the Payette Endowment Lands Strategy (PELS) prepared by the Idaho Department of Lands and adopted by the Idaho Land Board in March 2021. We are committed to helping the Land Board fulfill its duties as the trustee of these endowment lands to secure the maximum long-term financial return to the endowment trust while also conserving lands that have unique natural values for the benefit of the ecosystem, the watershed, and the public.
