Earth Day in ID: Bikes, Local Food, Trees and Wilderness
Thursday, April 22, 2010
BOISE, Idaho - Picking up trash, planting trees, a bike rodeo and eating locally-produced food are examples of some of the ways Idahoans are marking the 40th anniversary of Earth Day today. The Idaho Conservation League is sponsoring some of the state's events.
Executive director Rick Johnson says the diversity in celebrations is a good reflection of the grassroots-type intent of Earth Day. He sees parallels in how wilderness proposals in Idaho have been successful - with Congress currently looking at a plan for Central Idaho's Boulder-White Clouds.
"The key constituent groups that were originally brought to the table: motorized recreation, wilderness advocates, the local county and communities, and ranchers."
Some motorized recreation groups have been airing advertisements denouncing the Boulder-White Clouds proposal. Mike Matz, director of the wilderness program for the Pew Environment Group says recognizing everyone's concerns is important.
"Not getting everything that everybody wanted, but certainly satisfying the needs well enough for everybody involved."
The late U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day as a national teach-in about threats to our natural world. Since then, it has become an annual event observed around the globe.
A listing of Earth Day events is at www.idahoearthfest.org/id1.html.
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