In a state known for its agriculture, wildfires can have devastating effects — many of which we saw in the aftermath of last year's Wapiti fire that burned through nearly 130 thousand acres of land near Stanley.
When damage like this happens, some federal land agencies restrict use of the area so that it has time to recover. This is actually happening north of Emmett, where the Paddock fire burned thousands of acres and Idaho Fish and Game is trying to reseed the area.
When the land is closed off, this means that cattle ranchers who use federal land to graze their livestock are often left without a place to return their herds, sometimes causing additional hardship for rural communities.
Jared Talley is an assistant professor at Boise State University who studies “the impacts of environmental policy on rural communities,” and he wrote about his research for The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization. He joined Idaho Matters to talk more about this issue.
