George P. Radanovich: “The Boise foothills provide a beautiful, open-space backdrop for the city of Boise. For decades, community members have…”

“The Boise foothills provide a beautiful, open-space backdrop for the city of Boise. For decades, community members have sought a way to protect open space, and in May 2001, the citizens of Boise approved a tax to secure open space in the foothills. Roughly 7,700 acres of land in the Boise foothills is owned by the State of Idaho. The State is required to manage these lands to maximize revenue, which would likely lead to development. S. 1131, introduced by Senator Larry Craig in the Senate and Congressman Butch Otter in the House, would remedy this problem by codifying an agreement produced collaboratively by the city of Boise and the State of Idaho and the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The agreement would exchange Idaho State endowment lands on an equal-value basis with other Federal and State lands across a broad area in the State. I urge support of this important measure.”