I have never written a letter to the editor before, but now I feel compelled to do so. I generally keep my opinions to myself and allow others their opinions. I was in Island Park this past weekend on a family float trip. 

For many years, we have visited this beautiful area and floated the rivers and hiked. Mack's Inn has been a part of the memories, as I am sure it is for a lot of families and holds many memories. I had heard it was being torn down and a hotel built there. Really? Well, it is gone and there is nothing I can do about big business and board room money-makers.

So here in our newspaper recently is a picture in the part of the paper fittingly called "Money." Again, I feel the anger. As I read the article, I could see the position the Island Park planning and building department was dealing with in the matter. It is now in the ownership of a corporation and it can't be denied that they plan on building something there and they will. In my opinion, it is not at all rustic. You could have just put a drop of shrinking magic solution on a big city hotel and skidded it to Island Park. Oh, and complete with an indoor pool and exercise room. Just like any other big city hotel.

Is there not enough natural water to swim in and plenty of outdoors to hike and exercise? We know we are not the ones they want to lure in — it is the out-of-state tourists and it is all about money. Not fitting into the rustic beauty of the area and giving people an Idaho experience, unique to the area and our state. I know that "what will be will be" but I will say how I feel about it. Yes, there is just dirt there now and the docks are a mess. Do the docks wait to be fixed until the corporation has the cookie-cutter hotel popped up? Oh, "they" did leave the nice old motel rooms across the highway. Guess they weren't in the way of the wrecking ball.

I feel the out-of-state investors need to go back to the board room and the drawing board and think outside their tiny box of ideas of how to make money on Island Park and come up with the lodge and not a hotel that will fit into the natural beauty of the area. Wake up!

Marsha Lawry, 

Pocatello