SANDPOINT - The U.S. Forest Service is pledging to leave no stone unturned in a hunt for funding to enable a Priest Lake campground and day-use site to tie into the Granite Reeder Water and Sewer District system.

The Forest Service helped bankroll the system's establishment, but Idaho Panhandle National Forests Supervisor Mary Farnsworth said the agency's recreation budget has steadily declined since the 1990s.

"As of late, it has dramatically gone down about 32 percent in the past three years or so," said Farnsworth.

The Forest Service met with sewer district officials, national forest stakeholders and representatives from U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo's office on Monday to identify potential alternative funding sources.

The Forest Service initially estimated that replacing vault toilets at Reeder Bay with flush toilets would cost as much as $2 million, but Farnsworth pared that estimate to approximately $600,000.

Potential solutions included collecting donations through an existing nonprofit corporation, utilizing timber sale and forest stewardship contracts, or seeking grant opportunities.

There was universal agreement in developing a conceptual or even a full-blown design to show to prospective donors and demonstrate traction in grant request or funding allocation.

"There's an unbelievable amount of public support for almost everything that happens at Priest Lake," said Ken Hagman of Granite Reeder. "But you have to have a way to effectively reach those people and organizations that do have the money. You can't just walk in with your hand held out. They need something they can see."

Farnsworth said an engineering design would cost approximately $66,000.

"Once we've got that, we've got something to cart around. It's a chunk that's feasible versus the whole enchilada," said Farnsworth.

Farnsworth said the use of timber sale receipts would also be explored, which prompted Brad Smith of the Idaho Conservation League to ask if receipts from past sales at Priest Lake could be applied retroactively.

Sandpoint District Ranger Erick Walker said it was a question worth examining. Walker added that a moratorium on Forest Service capital improvement funds is expected to expire in about three years.

"There's going to be a huge demand once that opens back up. It's going to be extremely competitive and hopefully we will have positioned ourselves," Walker said.

Liz Johnson-Gebhardt of the Priest Community Forest Connection and the Panhandle Forest Collaborative said she would see if those organizations would be able to accept donations on behalf of the project.

"We could definitely bring it to them," said Johnson-Gebhardt.

John Tindall of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality said he would pore over potential funding through low-interest loans.

District officials have raised concerns that the vault toilets could be leaking, but Sue Colyer, a recreation program manager for IPNF, said pump-out logs show no signs that the vaults are leaking or are being infiltrated by groundwater.

There was also universal agreement that something needed to be done to address the issue.

"This is important to us for a lot of reasons," said Mitch Silvers, state director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Environment for Crapo's office.

Vince Aguirre of the sewer district said the project does have a strong selling point.

"We've got a perfect theme - keeping this lake clear and pure," he said.