Idaho must keep public lands in public hands

One of my favorite summer activities is going motorcycling. Luckily for me, I live close to a lot of great outdoor recreation areas. My friends and I particularly like a place called Bell Marsh Canyon. We have been going there for years. It’s a particularly popular spot for those close to Pocatello. The trail head is used for hiking, mountain biking, and trail riding for motorcycles. Unfortunately, it’s getting tougher every year to gain access to Bell Marsh Canyon because the private lands that surrounds it is quickly being bought up by private investors, usually from out of state.

Idahoans know the value of public lands. We take the preservation of those public lands very seriously. Public lands are an integral part of the Idahoan identity. We use them for recreation, hunting, fishing, and several other activities throughout the entire year.

You can’t talk about Idaho without talking about our amazing outdoor recreation and that’s in large part due to our abundance of public lands.

Unfortunately, these public lands are at risk. Even the national news has noticed a large effort to transfer our public lands into private hands.For the full story, pick up a copy of the Mountain Home News or click on this link to subscribe to the newspaper's online edition.