Cougar Bay Nature Preserve: Saving Coeur d'Alene's Natural Gem

In 1992, a Hawaiian developer proposed a subdivision on Cougar Bay’s northern shore, just two miles south of Coeur d’Alene. Dedicated, tenacious locals took on the seemingly impossible goal of stopping the “Cougar Beach” development. Unlikely allies—environmental activists and a cantankerous landowner—banded together. Private and public groups stepped up. In 1997, The Nature Conservancy purchased major shoreline areas and created a nature preserve. The sanc...