AROUND THE STATE
Boise’s Next 150 Years Boise Greenbelt / Sara Arkle
In 2013, Boise celebrated its 150th birthday. Now it’s time to invest in protecting Boise’s clean water, breathable air, natural spaces, and recreation opportunities for the next 150 years. It’s time for the city to create an office of sustainability. All of us—the Idaho Conservation League and our members and supporters—want Idaho’s largest urban center to be a conservation leader in the region. Although we have worked hard to protect the things we value and respond to threats of climate change, that work has largely been on a project-by-project basis.
When polled, 66 percent of Boiseans believed that water conservation and energy efficiency measures should be required for all city projects. An office of sustainability would make sure that such measures were integrated into city activities and facilitate community efforts to protect those things we love. We’re partnering with other conservation groups and businesses in Boise to promote an office of sustainability in 2015. Sara Arkle Community Conservation Associate sarkle@idahoconservation.org
Company Okays Grizzly Plan Grizzly bear / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Only 40 grizzly bears remain in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem, spanning the Idaho-Montana border. You can understand why we were concerned when the Canadian mining company MMG Limited filed a plan with the Forest Service to drill core samples there. The project is located near Hall Mountain in Boundary County. Several grizzly bears have been sighted in that area in recent years, including at least three mortalities. The loss of just a few bears can deal a huge setback to the population. The Forest Service approved MMG Limited’s plan in December, and we then
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appealed that decision. We requested that the mining company implement mitigation measures for the grizzlies. We were pleasantly surprised when the company agreed to build structures around the drill rigs to muffle the noise and light created by their operations. These measures will reduce adverse effects to grizzly bears in the area. Brad Smith North Idaho Associate bsmith@idahoconservation.org