Last week I posted an article how the Idaho National Guard was taking incoming fire at its training grounds at the Birds of Prey area near Boise. A lot of people read the article probably because we figure incoming fire comes from hostile military units. There was also the odd statement from the rancher who didn’t seem minding losing a cow to recreational shooters every so often.
The Idaho Statesman today called for an expanded ban on shooting in the Birds of Prey Area, which was created by Secretary of Interior Cecil Andrus to protect a unique area for raptors in, and adjacent too, the Snake River Canyon.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project and the creator of The Wildlife News.
I’ve got great memories of visiting the Canyon via the Swan Falls Road and then floating the river, with a group of fellow birders, in the early 90s. You really get a sense for just how important the canyon is for raptors (at least a half-dozen species) from the river.