Central Idaho
Central Idaho is a geographical term for the region located northeast of Boise and southeast of Lewiston in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is dominated by federal lands administered by the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Idaho's tallest mountain, Borah Peak, is located in this region. A large part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area is within Central Idaho.
The counties of Blaine, Butte, Camas, Custer, and Lemhi are included in the region. Blaine and Camas counties are sometimes considered to also be part of the Magic Valley region of Southern Idaho.
Demographics
In the 2020 Census, the five county region had a combined population of 40,172 people; only 2.1% of the entire state's population.[1] Camas, Butte, and Custer counties are among the least populated in the state, each having less than 5,000 residents; Butte County lost 10.43% of its population in the last decade according to a 2024 estimate,[2] making Central Idaho one of, if not the least populated area in Idaho.
The largest city in the area is the town of Hailey, Idaho located in Blaine County, with a population of 8,689. Hailey is part of the Sun Valley microregion. Other notable cities include Stanley, Challis, Salmon, Fairfield, and Arco.
History
The area of Central Idaho has been inhabited since at least 12,000 years ago by the Northern Shoshone, Bannock, and Northern Paiute peoples, where the cycle of sockeye salmon runs sustained the Native American population. As colonization and expansion of the United States progressed into the western region of the continent, these tribes were forcefully removed from their homes in the late-1800's; despite this, traditional hunting and harvesting continued in parts of the Sawtooths.[3][4]
After removal of the natives, Idaho developed an economy that relied on agriculture, lumber, and mining. Silver mining became extensively popular in the area. Towards the end of the 19th-century, sheepherding became popular with Basque immigrants, and replaced silver extraction as the area's core economic basis. Sheepherders in the area maintained over 300,000 individual sheep in the early 20th-century.[3]
The Central Idaho area, while being used for industry, was also used for recreational activities, such as camping, fishing, and hunting. Proposals were made in the early-1900's to establish a Sawtooth National Park in the area, but this idea was blocked by the start of World War I. The idea was later reproposed by Idaho U.S. Senator James Pope, but met opposition from industry leaders and companies, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, who did not want to lose their administration rights to the National Park Service.[4]
Meanwhile, Arco, Idaho became the first city in the United states to have its entire power supply generated from nuclear power. On July 17, 1955, electricity produced from a experimental nuclear reactor at the Argonne National Laboratory (now the Idaho National Laboratory), supplied the entire city's population of 1,200 electricity for more than an hour, becoming the first city in the United States to be entirely sustained by nuclear power for its electrical demands.[5]
By 1960, Frank Church, another U.S. Senator from Idaho, began to launch efforts to protect the area, which resulted in a proposal of a "National Recreation Area," which would keep the administrative rights with the Forest Service. While this idea was being developed, the American Smelting and Refining Company, or ASARCO, was investigating a possible molybdenum extraction site in the area, which was met with vehement opposition from citizens of Idaho. After much debate, a large part of Central Idaho was deemed as under protection and conservation with the 1972 Sawtooth NRA Act, which protects a large part of Central Idaho's backcountry, fish, and game from urban sprawl and land division.[4]
Today, herding continues to be a core part of the area, as well as recreation. The are remains sparsely populated, as the mountainous terrain, aforementioned environmental protections, and lack of infrastructure provide barriers to excessive human development.
Cities
See also
References
- ^ "2020 Census Demographic Data Map Viewer". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Population of Counties in Idaho (2024)". World Population Review. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ a b "'A Crown Jewel of Idaho Recreation': The history and significance of Idaho's Sawtooth National Recreation Area". Conservation Voters for Idaho. 3 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Emily Wakild (9 December 2022). "High refuge in the Sawtooths".
- ^ "AEC Press release for BORAX-III lighting Arco, Idaho". United States Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory. 1999. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
External links
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44°24′N 114°05′W / 44.400°N 114.083°W
