Feds tell Idaho man tree house must come down

Tremain Albright has spent more than $14,000 building and renovating a treehouse along the Kootenai River in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. But the Army Corps of Engineers says the house must be torn down or the city could lose more than $128,000 in federal funding.

KTVB reports that the Army Corps of Engineers says the house is too close to a water levy in the river and could damage the levy if the tree were to collapse.

"It's a sad day, I'm not real happy," Albright told the station. "It's very special. There's probably nothing else like it … within the state of Idaho."

Albright says the money he spent on the treehouse was used converting it into a guesthouse, and he had received a special variance exemption back in 2007 that he thought was permanent. The Army Corps of Engineers will most likely cut down the treehouse on June 15.

"I still feel like this is just an action of big government," Tremain said. "We were totally helpless. The city's helpless, and they are pretty much held under the gun."