July - from the 'Year at Robie Creek' series
Originally published in the: So Dude’s working for the Forest Service now, and it’s put us in mind of what they do to preserve and protect the resources we so enjoy living amongst here on the Creek. As government organizations go, their mission, “[c]aring for the land and serving people”, is one we can get behind, and one that, if the FS office here in Idaho is any indication, its agents take seriously. Restoring and maintaining natural resources in such a way as to allow for the people who want to use them in the many ways we all need and want to is a daunting task. Many of Idaho’s waterways and their denizens, for instance, not only still suffer the effects of mining operations from the Boise Basin gold rush but are under continuing duress from phosphate mining and energy production operations among other things. People also want to use them recreationally, for boating, swimming, fishing, and panning. Our grasslands, used by farmers, ranchers, hunters, campers, hikers, and