Boise Saves Foothills Land for Habitat Preservation & Restoration

Photo provided by City of Boise to the Idaho Statesman

I applaud the citizens of Boise for their purchase of 707-acre Hammer Flat area for the preservation and restoration of habitat of deer, antelope, birds, and a host of other wildlife.  This land was scheduled for development, but with the incredible depression in the real estate industry, the project fell through granting Boise the opportunity to buy it and preserve it.  (Idaho Statesman article here)

I am a staunch supporter of private property rights, I am a land developer, and I am generally anit-tax and anti-government control outside of what I deem "original constitutional intent", so you'd think I'd hate to see this happen.  Well, I specifically applaud this effort because it was done the right way, according to my own well-defined political principles.

A levy was proposed on the local ballot to raise taxes on locals to buy and preserve local private land.  The majority of local voting citizens were willing to put their money toward this cause and they passed the levy.  I am particularly delighted to see that this was a citizen based effort and not a government take-over of private land through eminent domain.  I would love to see more local conservation efforts like this.

As for my part of development in the foothills...

Now after a couple of years of exploring the area, I pretty much know which habitats at Avimor are critical for wildlife and bird species.  I will use my influence to protect, restore and enhance these areas.  I will endeavor to continually prove to my employer the marketability of preserving critical habitat as it improves our way of life here at Avimor.

Thank you Boise for respecting private property and for preserving more wilderness for the birds!