‘Independent’ Idaho Depends On Feds

In a look at a pioneering family on the Salmon River, Emilie Ritter Saunders/Boise State Public Radio provides insight into how Idahoans can be fiercely independent at the same time they’re dependent on state and federal government:

This life might be what many people picture when we think of western independence. But as we sit around the Baker’s kitchen table, there’s a keen sense that even though these ranches are more than 150 miles from the nearest big-box-store, they aren’t entirely autonomous. The Baker grandparents are on Medicare. Two have worked for the government. Their ranches are surrounded by land managed by the federal government. “Basically, we need the federal grazing to keep the ranch viable. And when it’s gone, the ranch is gone,” says Doug Baker, Sarah’s dad. Full story here.

Question: Do you consider yourself to be an ‘fiercely independent’ Idahoan?