The Idaho Department of Fish and Game isn't giving up on Black Lake Ranch.

The agency remains interested in acquiring the 1,013-acre site near Medimont along Black Lake and the Coeur d'Alene River even though the Fish and Game Commission called off a proposed land swap last month. The proposed swap involved the Black Lake property and 1,402 acres it owns 6 miles south of St. Maries in the Lindstrom Peak area.

"(Black Lake Ranch) would be a nice piece of property for the agency to have," said Phil Cooper, Fish and Game wildlife conservation educator, adding that no other proposals are on the table but the agency will keep looking.

Cooper said Fish and Game has property on both ends of the Black Lake Ranch property, so the acquisition would create a continous piece of land.

"There was little opposition to Fish and Game acquiring (Black Lake), but people didn't like the idea of losing (hunting on) Lindstrom Peak," he said. "Even if there was an access agreement struck, they didn't want Lindstrom to be out of Fish and Game's hands because they've been able to use it for a long period of time."

The ranch, marked by an expansive white vinyl fence, is owned by Minnaloosa Land Co. Former owner and developer Marshall Chesrown raised quarterhorses at the site.

Brandon Ferrante, a Black Lake homeowner, upset the swap wasn't approved, said he smells politics.

"We are severely disappointed and find it incomprehensible why Fish and Game backed out at the last minute even after securing two-thirds majority of the public supporting the swap and negotiating land access rights to appease the minority against the swap," he said. "They wasted a lot of time and resources on this within IDFG in addition to the public’s time.

"It's very disheartening that politics have gotten in the way and caused them to back out. This should not be a political issue."

But Cooper said the decision came after four public meetings in March.

"It's how the process is supposed to work," he said.

Ferrante compared Black Lake to a sewer.

"We have a 3-year-old boy who we are forced to keep out of the water due to waste being pumped into the lake, creating toxic algae blooms and increasing the heavy metal levels," he said. "We are also avid fishermen and cannot eat the fish coming out of the lake.

"It is essential to the health of the Coeur d'Alene Basin that this land returns to wetlands."

IDFG had planned to reduce pollution-related wildlife deaths and create recreational opportunities in the area. The lake was placed on Idaho's list of impaired lakes in 1998.