Keep The Green With Sensible Policies

Tue., Sept. 19, 2000

By Ken Sands kens@spokesman.com

Ask new Idaho residents why they moved to the Gem State.

Chances are, it’s because they treasure the state’s physical beauty and open spaces. Longtime residents feel the same way. We’ve always believed this intuitively, but now we have scientific poll data as proof.

Asked what they like best about living in Idaho, a whopping 62 percent of residents from around the state listed the environment, wilderness and open space.

But how does a state like Idaho maintain this marvelous physical beauty and its open spaces when more and more people move into the state? That’s the same dilemma California faced decades ago, and we all know what happened there. Now, Portland and Seattle are struggling with unmanageable growth and sprawl.

Think it can’t happen here? That the frontier is endless? Think again. Kootenai County’s population has nearly tripled since 1970, and the population growth rate continues to be one of the highest in the state.

But the destructiveness of explosive growth is not an inevitability. Citizens, businessmen and government officials all can play a vital role in maintaining - even enhancing - the quality of life.

But what, exactly, defines quality of life? To many of us, it means adequate parks, recreational trails and green belts in urban and suburban areas. It means clean air and water. It means a safe, peaceful community that is free of prejudice. And it means a place where the jobs are plentiful and they pay a living wage.

The scientific poll conducted by a group of Idaho news organizations found that 62 percent of rural Idaho residents are concerned about their children’s economic futures. The opportunity to appreciate life in rural Idaho apparently is available only to those who can afford it.

Indeed, “quality of life” for an unemployed mill worker might mean simply a $9-an-hour job that will feed the family and allow them to continue living in Idaho. Other quality of life issues, such as the availability of recreational opportunities in the National Forest, just aren’t important. That’s why you see angry protests in small towns devastated by job losses in the timber industry.

Still, we must stop feeding the politics of polarization and realize that compromise and balance are critical to planning adequately for Idaho’s future.

Thoughtful public policy can encourage sensible growth, maintain a vibrant economy and still allow for a liveable environment. The question is whether community leaders have the foresight to avoid the Californication of Idaho. We sure hope so.

Local journalism is essential.

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