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Idaho Conservation League

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The Idaho Conservation League (ICL) is a non-profit organization devoted to protecting Idaho’s environment. “The ICL preserves Idaho's clean water, wilderness and quality of life through citizen action, public education, and professional advocacy.”[1] As a 501C3 all donations are tax refundable and ICL relies on the support of foundations and supportive individuals for funding. The Idaho Conservation League devotes the majority of its funding to conservation efforts. 80% of ICL’s budget goes directly to programs aimed at protecting clean water, clean air, and Idaho’s wild landscapes.[1]

History

What is now the Idaho Conservation League originally began as a series of casual lunches where people could meet to discuss environmental issues. After discussions about how Idaho needed an environmental legislative lobby group, three individuals – Ken Cameron, Ken Robinson, and Tom Davis – founded the Idaho Conservation League and began putting together a diverse board of stakeholders. The ICL was founded in 1973 as a voice for conservation at the Idaho Statehouse and they have engaged in every legislative session since.[2]

Several of their main achievements since then can be seen below.[3]

  • 1980s – Helped pass the Idaho Clean Lakes and Water Quality Act
  • 1990s – Helped revise the Idaho Forest Practices Act
  • 2000s - Helped pass the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Bill, the first wilderness designation in Idaho in 29 years.

Issues

The Idaho Conservation League works to protect Idaho’s clean water, clean air, signature wildlife, and healthy landscapes.

Water

One of the main issues that the Idaho Conservation League focuses on is protecting water quality; ICL has worked to protect watersheds all over the state from mining pollution. In Southwest Idaho, the Boise River is the primary source of drinking water for thousands of people and ICL has worked to protect this water source from potential mining contamination.[4] To protect the Boise River, ICL is appealing a decision made by the Forest Service to allow a mining company to begin exploration in the Boise National Forest near the river's headwaters. [4] In East Idaho ICL worked with Monsanto, a phosphate mining company, to encourage Idaho to adopt stricter mercury regulation.[5] In North Idaho, the Idaho Conservation League has worked to clean up residual mining pollution in Lake Coeur d'Alene.[6]

Other threats from mining that ICL has worked to resolve are mercury contamination and acid mine drainage. [7] “It was ICL that succeeded in getting rules enacted that reduced the discharge of mercury from gold mines in the state of Nevada (a 50-percent decrease in airborne emissions) that poisoned and are still poisoning Idaho lakes and streams.”[8]

In addition to protecting against mining contamination, Idaho Conservation League works to protect Idaho’s ground water from hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as “fracking,” a process used in natural gas extraction. When a natural gas company began exploration in western Idaho in 2011, ICL asked the Idaho oil and Gas Conservation Commission to prohibit carcinogenic chemicals and require companies to provide a bond protecting Idaho communities in the case of a fracking emergency.[9] ICL has one main goal in regards to fracking, that "Idaho has rules protective of the people's groundwater" that set limitations on the use of hazardous substances. [10]

Idaho Conservation League believes that there should be a balance when it comes to resource extraction that allows for both economic development and resource protection, to ensure that the health of Idaho families and Idaho’s clean water is not jeopardized. [9]

Wild Landscapes

One of Idaho Conservation League’s most recent successes was the protection of the Owyhee Wilderness in Southwest Idaho as part of the Owyhee Initiative.[11] The Owyhee Wilderness, which was signed into law in 2009, is the first wilderness area to be designated in Idaho since the early 1980s. This designation will ensure that“517,000 acres of Wilderness and over 316 miles of rivers as Wild and Scenic Rivers will be protected in perpetuity for future generations,” and public accessibility to these areas will increase from the creation of seven new public right of ways.[12]

Idaho Conservation League also works all across Idaho to protect the state’s wild landscapes. In South Idaho, ICL is working to protect China Mountain from a new wind farm development. Although ICL supports renewable energies including wind and solar generation because they protect Idaho's clean air, China Mountain is home to an abundance of wildlife species including elk and sage grouse. ICL believes that new wind projects should not jeopardize intact wilderness lands or wildlife habitat and advocate for new projects to be places on lands already converted to human uses such as agricultural fields. [13]

In North-Central Idaho, ICL is working with a variety of stakeholders as part of the Clearwater Basin Collaborative (CBC).[14] The CBC “was established in 2008 to bring together representatives from business, conservation, government and tribal interests to resolve land management conflicts in the Clearwater Basin.”[15] The group is currently working on an agreement that will protect the landscape while also allowing for recreation, rural economic development, and forest health and management.[16]

In Central Idaho, Idaho Conservation League is currently leading the effort to establish the Boulder White Clouds Wilderness by supporting the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act (CIEDRA).[8] This bill, sponsored by Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson (R)., has been under construction for several years and has been introduced to congress during each of Simpson's terms. The bill, once approved, would provide for “voluntary retirement of grazing allotments, grants for local community development, preservation of some off-road vehicle routes, and small land conveyances for local parks and other public works.” [8]

References

  1. ^ a b Charity Navigator Rating - Idaho Conservation League
  2. ^ Germain, Jeanette. "The Idaho Conservation League: Twenty Years of Environmental Action." Boise, ID: Idaho Conservation League, 1994.
  3. ^ Higman, Dennis. Idaho Conservation Group Models Enviro Success in a Tough Political Climate. New West, February 03, 2011. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/idaho_conservation_group_models_enviro_success_in_a_tough_political_climate/C41/L41/
  4. ^ a b Quinones, Manuel. Groups Challenge Forest Service Approval of Idaho Project. E&E Reporter, April 05, 2011
  5. ^ The Associated Press. Monsanto Wants Tighter Mercury Rules in Idaho.Idaho Statesman, July 22, 2009
  6. ^ Coeur D’Alene Basin Cleanup Plan Comments Due Tomorrow | Blogs | Down To Earth | DownToEarthNW.com
  7. ^ Petcash, Doug. Proposed Mine Project Could Drastically Change Landscape. Idaho's News Channel 7, KTVB.COM, November 24, 2009. http://www.ktvb.com/home/Proposed-mine-project-could-drastically-change-landscape-72665472.html
  8. ^ a b c Higman, Dennis. Idaho Conservation Group Models Enviro Success in a Tough Political Climate. New West, February 03, 2011. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/idaho_conservation_group_models_enviro_success_in_a_tough_political_climate/C41/L41/
  9. ^ a b Prentice, George. Fracking Idaho. Pacific Northwest Inlander, May 25, 2011. http://www.inlander.com/spokane/article-16569-fracking-idaho.html
  10. ^ Prentice, George. A is for Act (Idaho's Oil and Gas Conservation Act): Writing new rules while trying to satisfy everyone. Boise Weekly, June 08, 2011. http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/a-is-for-act-idahos-oil-and-gas-conservation-act/Content?oid=2292334
  11. ^ Owyhee Initiative http://www.owyheeinitiative.org/resources.htm
  12. ^ Owyhee Initiative http://www.owyheeinitiative.org/history.htm#Whatis
  13. ^ Lundquist, Laura. Concerned about grouse, groups ask China Mountain developer to reconsider. Times News, January 02, 2011. http://magicvalley.com/news/local/twin-falls/article_3e86b64c-1613-11e0-a241-001cc4c03286.html
  14. ^ Clearwater Basin Collaborative http://www.clearwaterbasincollaborative.org/?page_id=9
  15. ^ Clearwater Basin Collaborative http://www.clearwaterbasincollaborative.org/?p=50
  16. ^ Clearwater Basin Collaborative http://www.clearwaterbasincollaborative.org/?page_id=11
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