TERRITORY Fall 2019 issuu

FA L L 2 0 19

EXPLORE IDAHO

SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE

ABRAHAM VERGHESE

THE CHEF’S FARM

THE ART OF WARD HOOPER

PEACE WHERE IT MATTERS MOST

Imagine a community where you can build your dream home. Imagine a community that you’ll love.

Spotlight Real Estate can help you find that community and Solitude Homes can build your dream home.

You can find Solitude Homes across the valley. Call Spotlight Real Estate for model home locations.

Cody Weight 208.724.0555 Solitudehomes.com

Jenn Hickey 208.724.6124 Spotlightidaho.com

MAKE YOUR ESCAPE COMPLETE BE A GUEST IN OUR HOTEL INN THE PINES

LOCATED 35 MILES FROM BOISE, ALONG SCENIC HWY 21 NEAR IDAHO CITY.

Escape to the mountains and soak in our fresh hot spring waters.

Indulge yourself or treat your special someone to a therapeutic massage.

PLAN YOUR ESCAPE AT 208.392.9500 | THE SPRINGSID.COM

OPENING JUNE 2019 Ennis, Montana

Legendary. Spectacular. Wild.

There are only a handful of trout rivers that have achieved legendary status among anglers worldwide—and the Madison River is at the top of that list.

With 1200 acres on 2 miles of Madison River frontage just south of iconic Varney Bridge,

Madison Double R will offer guided fly fishing on area waters, luxury accommodations, and a relaxing outdoor experience second to none.

Now accepting reservations: office@madisonrr.com • 406-682-5555 • MADISO NR R .C O M

TIP:

Just a few degrees make a big difference in energy savings! Adjust your smart thermostat up in the summer and down in the winter.

TIP:

Plant shade trees on the west side of your house this fall to keep it cool and lower monthly energy costs next summer.

For more energy-saving tips and programs visit

idahopower.com/save

de re usarchite c ts.c o m

connecting to place Sun Valley Magazine Front Inside Cover.indd 6-7

PC: Joe Fletcher Photography

Sun Valley | Waimea

8/22/2019 9:43:50 AM

PC: Joe Fletcher Photography

12 Metro Experience the Wonder of Gorongosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Building on a Legacy of Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Making It Count: The 2020 Census . . . . . . . . . 16 6

56 Arts Idaho's Artist: Ward Hooper . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 'Idaho' Is the Literary Toast of Ireland . . . . . . . . . 60

24 Features

24

22

IDAHO RAISED How a Hagerman Valley aquaculture company is revolutionizing the farmed-fish industry

By Zach Kyle

62

Life Of Empathy, Prejudice, and the Ritual of Exam . . . . . 18 Boise’s Livability Ambassadors . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Taste Farm Fresh and Ready to Eat . . . . . . . . . . 62

In Every Issue Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Editor's Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Dining Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

30

EXPLORE

Bucket List Adventures . . . 30 The Climbing Craze . . . . . . 44 Thinking Globally, Acting Locally . . . . . . . . . . 48 Advocates for the West . . . 52

42

CENTER MOMENT #boisefall

ON THE COVER

Nic Houser rock climbing a route called Thin Slice, which is rated 5.10 and located on Parking Lot Rock at City of Rocks National Reserve.

Photo by Mark Weber

Livability Ambassador Sharon Konkol: Courtesy City of Boise Karl: Courtesy Ward Hooper Plant-based meal: Courtesy The Chef's Farm Tom VanTassel with Kai Young: Courtesy Riverence / Josh Reeder

CONTENTS

WHAT’S YOUR IDAHO HOME REALLY WORTH?

Idaho home values have been on the rise.

Thinking of downsizing, upsizing, or just curious what your home is worth in today’s market?

Get your home’s estimated value instantly.

GetMyIdahoHomeValue.com

Call Us: 208-501-8200 WestRealEstateGroup.com

CONTRIBUTORS FALL 2019 Pamela Kleibrink Thompson is a career coach, independent

recruiter, and management consultant whose writing has appeared in 110 different magazines. Her show biz credits include “The Simpsons,” “Family Dog” and “Bebe's Kids.” She has spoken on creative careers at conferences from Stuttgart to Singapore. She serves as a board member for Idaho Writers Guild and the High Country Chapter of International Coach Federation. You can reach her at PamRecruit87@gmail.com. (“Building on a Legacy of Leadership,” page 14)

Meghan Levi is a freelance writer and proud fourth-generation

Boisean. She’s a national park lover, history nerd, festivalgoer, community advocate, and unapologetic pastry consumer. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from Washington State University.

While not wrangling her toddler, she writes for local and regional publications, highlighting the lived experiences of the West. (“Boise’s Livability Ambassador Program,” page 22; “‘Idaho’ Is the Literary Toast of Ireland,” page 60)

Zach Kyle grew up in a commercial fishing family in the sticks outside of Bellingham, Wash. He worked for 10 years at three Idaho newspapers, most recently as a business reporter at the Idaho Statesman. He left the print business in June to begin a career as a freelance journalist and business communications specialist.

He and his wife, Catherine, live in a tiny duplex in Boise’s North End. (“Idaho Raised,” page 24)

8

Chad Case is an award winning professional photographer

and videographer. His travel images have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, National Geographic Adventure, The New York Times, Outside, Sunset Backpacker and numerous other publications. Chad also operates Idaho Stock Images representing over 100 photographers with more than 40,000 images online.

His work can be seen online at chadcasephotography.com. (“Embark on an Idaho Bucket List Adventure,” page 30)

also in this issue... contributing writers

Sharon Fisher, Cheryl Haas, Jamie Hausman, Kate Hull, Patti Murphy, Greg Stahl, Emilee Mae Struss, and Adam Tanous

contributing photographers

David Anderson, Dayne Ellis Johnson, Matt Leidecker, Forester Mitchell, Nils Ribi, and Mark Weber TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

publisher/editor in chief Laurie C. Sammis managing editor Adam C. Tanous copy editor Patty Healey creative director Roberta Morcone guest art director Kristina Mitchell advertising sales Alicia Cachuela Kelly Mitchell controller Linda Murphy circulation director Nancy Whitehead

Territory Magazine is the winner of the

Western Publisher's Association 2017 award for "Best New Publication, Trade or Consumer"

TERRITORY Magazine Online: www.territory-mag.com email: info@territory-mag.com TERRITORY Magazine® (ISSN 074470-29766) is published four times a year by Mandala Media LLC. Telephone: 208.788.0770; Fax: 208.788.3881. Mailing address: P.O. Box 272, Boise, ID 83701.

Copyright ©2019 by Mandala Media, LLC. Subscriptions: $12 per year, single copies $5.95.

The opinions expressed by authors and contributors to TERRITORY are not necessarily those of the editor and publisher.

Mandala Media LLC sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This issue was printed on recycled fibers containing 10% post consumer waste, with inks containing a blend of soy base. Our printer is a certified member of the Forestry Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and additionally meets or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act standards. When you are finished with this issue, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it.

Postmaster: Please send address changes to: TERRITORY Magazine, P.O. Box 272, Boise, ID 83701.

Printed in the U.S.A.

PLAN

Boise’s Best. At its Centre.

Centrally located in the heart of vibrant downtown Boise, the newly expanded Boise Centre has a variety of customizable meeting spaces, modern amenities, exceptional culinary services and a friendly and dedicated staff ready to make your next event an unforgettable experience. Explore Idaho’s premier convention center for yourself.

EXHIBIT

ATTEND

• Centralized, downtown location • Only seven minutes from Boise airport • Over 20 direct flights from major U.S. cities • Surrounded by more than 100 restaurants and breweries • Over 1,200 hotel rooms within walking distance • Close to outdoor recreation, including the Boise Greenbelt

LEARN MORE: boisecentre.com

EDITOR'S LETTER

10

So much of life in Idaho today is defined by its geography, one created a long time ago—something on the order of 80 million years ago. That’s when the Farallon Plate plowed into and underneath the North American Plate creating the Rocky Mountains. As the land rose up, valleys formed, rivers flowed, and life in all shapes and forms sprang forth.

That geology—as forbidding as it can be—has defined how the state has developed, or more precisely, has not developed. The very remoteness and wildness of the land has ensured that it will likely stay that way. With all of that wild, open land comes opportunity: opportunity to ride, float, hike, explore.

In this fall issue, we include a special section, Explore Idaho, which celebrates a handful of the many ways one can explore the state. Tasked with putting together an Idaho bucket list, writer Greg Stahl was limited to five adventures, an almost impossible exercise. Nonetheless, he came up with his list: rafting one of the big four rivers, climbing a storied peak, biking Boise's front range, camping in a fire lookout, and taking a cultural field trip to some of the remarkable events around the state (“Embark on an Idaho Bucket List Adventure,” page 30).

Also in our Explore section are profiles of two organizations that are working to preserve the Western experience: one through education and conservation efforts, the other on the legal battlefield. The Peregrine Fund has long worked to save birds of prey and their habitat for future generations. Now they are expanding their education efforts in a partnership with Idaho Power (“Thinking Globally, Acting Locally, “page 48). Advocates for the West, a Boise-based nonprofit, uses its legal skills and knowledge of issues to protect the Western landscape and habitats (“The Way the West Can Win,” page 52).

While the term “sustainability” is a bit timeworn, the idea behind it is as critical as ever. It seems that certain practices, like the way we generate food, need to advance if we are to meet the coming environmental and demographic challenges. As Zach Kyle reports in a feature article (“Idaho Raised,” page 24), one company, Riverence, is making great strides to do just that in the aquaculture industry.

In the Life section, we learn about citizens who are working to align the city’s infrastructure plans with the community’s values (“Boise’s Livability Ambassador Program,” page 22). Also in Life, I report on a long conversation I had with author and physician Abraham Verghese, a man who worked in the trenches of the AIDS epidemic and shares insights about that experience, as well as observations about current health care and medical education (“Of Empathy, Prejudice, and the Ritual of Exam,” page 18).

In Metro, we take a look at Zoo Boise’s new Gorongosa exhibit, a project that brings a slice of Africa to Boise and delivers on the zoo’s promise to champion animal and habitat conservation (“Experience the Wonder of Gorongosa,” page 12). Also in Metro, writer Kate Hull digs into the coming U.S. Census and its implications for the states (“Making It Count,” page 16).

In Arts, we talk with “Idaho” author Emily Ruskovich who has just won the prestigious International Dublin Literary Award (“‘Idaho’ Is the Literary Toast of Ireland,” page 60).

Of course, there is much more—more on food, art, and exciting events to come.

Exploring always presents itself as a gamble: it could be a bust, or it just might be an experience that changes your life. I’d take that bet any day.

Adam C. Tanous managing editor

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Deborah Butterfield

Cast bronze

36.5" x 43.75" x 13.75"

C E L E B R AT I N G O V E R 4 3 Y E A R S EXHIBITIONS Victoria Adams • Deborah Butterfield • Pegan Brooke • Squeak Carnwath • Nicole Charbonnet • Linda Christensen Pamela DeTuncq • Daniel Diaz-Tai • Raphaëlle Goethals • Morris Graves • Michael Gregory • Diane Andrews Hall Valerie Hammond • Margaret Keelan • Lisa Kokin • Gary Komarin • Hung Liu • Lynda Lowe • Kara Maria • Laura McPhee Cole Morgan • Kenna Moser • Kathy Moss • Ed Musante • Gwynn Murrill • Marcia Myers • Robb Putnam • Rana Rochat Joseph Raffael • Jane Rosen • David Secrest • Anne Siems • Mark Stasz • James Cook • Helen Steele Allison Stewar t • Luis González Palma • Kiki Smith • Theodore Waddell

GAIL SEVERN GALLERY 400 First Avenue North

•

PO Box 1679 • Ketchum, ID 83340 • 208.726.5079 • 208.726.5092 Fax W W W. G A I L S E V E R N G A L L E R Y. C O M

•

info@gailseverngallery.com

Metro

Warthogs are one of many species that have returned to Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique and are now part of a new Zoo Boise exhibit.

EXPERIENCE THE WONDER OF GORONGOSA Zoo Boise opens a new Gorongosa National Park exhibit

By Adam Tanous 12

T

his past July, the City of Trees gained some new residents, though they were a little more exotic than the usual influx of new Boiseans. They included a raft of African animals: wild dogs, baboons, vervet monkeys, crocodiles, spottednecked otters, and nyala antelope. The occasion was the opening of Zoo Boise’s new Gorongosa National Park exhibit, a 2.5-acre section of the zoo paying tribute (and conservation funds) to the spectacular park in Mozambique, which is undergoing a massive restoration effort.

Zoo Boise and Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique have had a longstanding partnership, according to Zoo Boise’s assistant director Liz Littman.

“We showcase the animals in the Park and tell the story of the restoration work that is being done with the community and the animals that live there,” Littman said in a recent interview.

The new exhibit is a $9 million undertaking, $6 million of which went to construction costs, according to Littman. In addition, the Friends of Zoo Boise has pledged to raise 10 percent TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

of construction costs, or $600,000, to provide funds for conservation programs. This is a longstanding tradition of Zoo Boise: the zoo routinely donates a portion of admission ticket sales to conservation efforts. As Littman put it: “We are redesigning what a zoo can be worldwide.”

The Gorongosa National Park story is a long and complicated one (see sunvalleymag.com/articles/paradiselost-and-found/ for an in-depth article) that starts in the 1960s with a park renowned as one of the great African wildlife parks. Shortly after Mozambique gained independence, the country became mired in a civil war from 1977 to 1992. During those 16 years of war, over a million people were killed; a million fled in exile. Tens of thousands of animals were killed for food, caught in crossfire, or just killed in the fever of war. The park, the people living there, and the infrastructure— schools, health clinics, farms—were all devastated.

Enter Idaho Falls resident Greg Carr who first learned of the human and ecological tragedy in 2002. Armed with

passion, entrepreneurial skills, and a fortune earned in the digital communications industry, Carr saw that the park’s restoration was intricately tied to both the buy-in and the well-being, of the communities living in the park.

Not only did Carr pledge to spend $40 million (he has spent more) to restore the park, but he also committed to building schools, health clinics, reforestation projects, and sustainable farming programs.

Seventeen years in, the undertaking is bearing fruit. The animals are coming back, the restoration and ensuing tourism have created jobs, school children are flourishing, and health clinics are serving a population that had never really had any significant health care before.

Matthew Jordan, associate director of the Agricultural Livelihoods Program at Gorongosa National Park, told me that two of his group’s overarching objectives are to create sustainable farming mechanisms and to conserve the rainforest on Mount Gorongosa, the critical component of a huge rain catchment system that feeds river sys-

Coffee beans: Brett Kuxhausen / Gorongosa Media Baboon and wild dogs: Courtesy Zoo Boise Crocodile: Forester Mitchell

tems and Lake Gorongosa, an expanse teeming with wildlife. Unfortunately, historical farming there entailed slash and burn techniques, which resulted in much of the mountain becoming deforested. Traditionally, maize was planted in the cleared areas.

“Usually, the nutrients of the rainforest are kept in the rainforest,” Jordan said. “The humus material [on the surface] is where the nutrients are.

When you take away the trees, you take away the ability of the rainforest to replace the nutrients.” With the slash and burn technique, Jordan said, “by the third or fourth year, the farmers get marginal yields.”

To combat the problem, Jordan and his team have worked with local farmers to plant over 250,000 trees on Mount Gorongosa. Further, they have planted shade-grown coffee trees that thrive under the canopy of the rainforest. The coffee beans are harvested on site by the farmers, then wet-processed in a factory nearby. The workers in the factory, Jordan pointed out, are mostly women.

Once the beans are wet-processed, the farmers are left with “green bean coffee,” which is one of the most valuable commodities and commodity markets in the world.

The Gorongosa coffee is then shipped to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where it is roasted by the Chapolera Roasting Company and prepared for sale. One such place of sale is, of course, the café at Zoo Boise. In addition, the zoo has modified a safari truck from which to sell the Gorongosa product. Jordan said that he plans to take Gorongosa

Animals, from top left: The crocodile, baboon, and some of the wild dogs in the Gorongosa National Park exhibit of Zoo Boise.

Above: Freshly picked coffee beans in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique.

coffee to other zoos, as well as to sell it online. Naturally, the revenue flows back to the farmers on Mt. Gorongosa.

Jordan noted that 80 percent of Mozambique’s 23 million people are subsistence farmers. While the coffee program currently involves only about 300 to 500 farmers, Jordan and his team are gaining the trust of the community, and they expect the program to grow significantly.

The Gorongosa coffee project is the latest link tying together Idaho, Zoo

Boise, and Gorongosa National Park.

It is also an innovative model of a conservation effort coupled with a human development project. It is yet another example of what Carr told me a few years ago when the coffee program was just getting under way: “We have to be really involved in their lives. The park has got to be helping their lives in a lot of different ways, so that they say, ‘you know what, we’re better off with a park than without a park.’”

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

13

Metro

Building on a Legacy of Leadership

14

The Andrus Center’s Seventh Annual Women and Leadership Conference

By Pamela Kleibrink Thompson

B

oise is known for the contributions by and achievements of women.

The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation and the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation are just two examples of private sector organizations that have funded musical events, built parks, artistic venues, and community assets like the Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, JUMP, and the Esther Simplot Performing Arts Academy. Women are also celebrated in annual events like Boise State University’s New Leadership Idaho and the State Treasurer’s Smart Women/Smart Money Conference. One of Idaho’s leading women’s professional development conferences—the Andrus Center for Public

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Policy’s Women and Leadership Conference—will celebrate its seventh year when it convenes Sept. 25-26 in the university’s Student Union building.

In 1995, Governor Cecil Andrus established The Andrus Center for Public Policy to focus on his legacy issues—the environment, public lands, education, and leadership. The Andrus Center works closely with various government agencies and user groups on environmental issues like reducing the size, severity, and cost of rangeland wildfires.

One of Andrus’ daughters, Tracy Andrus, became involved with the Andrus Center several years ago and currently serves as its president. Katie Roberts was named executive director

in April 2019. Its annual Women and Leadership Conference is held each September at the Center. This past year more than 920 people attended.

“The Women and Leadership Conference is important because it provides a venue for women, and men—no matter what stage of their professional careers—to network, hear from and be inspired by national female leaders, and learn new skills they can use in their professional and personal lives, all without having to travel to a larger and more expensive national conference multiple states away,” Roberts explained in a recent interview. Andrus added to the conversation: “It’s incredibly important that both women and men are part of

Photos: Courtesy Andrus Center for Public Policy

From left: Sally Jewell, Lesley Slaton Brown, and Beth Oppenheimer

Tracy Andrus: Courtesy Andrus Center for Public Policy

the dialogue on how we bring about an answer to the continued underrepresentation of women in positions of leadership.”

Former presenters at Women and Leadership include Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; Hollywood producer Lynda Obst; actress and activist Geena Davis; U-2 pilot Merryl Tengesdal; and Dr. Ellen Ochoa, Johnson Space Center director. This year’s presenters include Jennifer Palmieri, former director of communications for the White House; Sally Jewell, former Secretary of the Interior; Beth Oppenheimer, executive director of the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children; Nancy Hughes, president and founder of Stove Team International; Lesley Slaton Brown, vice-president and chief diversity officer at Hewlett-Packard; and Anna Wilson and Monty Powell, recording artists and songwriters.

Breakout sessions during the conference help attendees build skills in leadership and business. Skill builder session topics have included “Work Seems Limitless, Your Time is Not”; “Vulnerability in Leadership: Finding Your Power and Building a Culture of Authenticity”; and “Paving your Own Path: A Workshop on Entrepreneurship, Freelancing and Side Hustles.”

Andrus, for her part, is serious about addressing “… the need for women to take their rightful place in leadership positions within our various levels of government, our businesses, and our boardrooms. We have equal brainpower and equal talent, and we need equal representation.”

Besides leadership and the environment, the Andrus Center also focuses on education. Andrus observed, “Knowledge is key to individual empowerment. When we give people the tools to help them become what they want to be, the world becomes a better place.”

“The impact of working for the Andrus Center for Public Policy, and being able to organize and host the Women and Leadership Conference over the past few years, is immeasurable,” Roberts said. “Simply being involved in something so much larger than myself that has positively affected thousands of individuals is extraordinary.”

TRACY ANDRUS

Tracy Andrus, one of Cecil Andrus' daughters, is the current president and chairman of the Andrus Center for Public Policy.

CECIL ANDRUS

Cecil Andrus served three terms as state senator from Clearwater County from 1961 to 1967. After moving to Lewiston, he was elected state senator from Nez Perce County in 1968. Andrus ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1966 but ran against the same opponent in 1970 and won by more than 10,000 votes. Idaho’s only four-term governor, Andrus served from 1971-1977 and from 1987 to 1995.

Andrus also served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1977-1981 in the Carter Administration.

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

MAKING IT COUNT

16

Looking ahead to the 2020 Census

By Kate Hull

T

o most, the 2020 U.S. Census might just seem like a population count and a showcase of data. And while true, this constitutionally-mandated totaling also carries a heavier weight than just a number.

The Census results shape how $675 billion in federal funding is distributed—money that helps with government programs for transportation, schools, senior and foster care centers, medical assistance programs, and transportation, to name a few. As 2020 nears, Boise and the rest of Idaho are working to ready its residents to be counted, a feat that is no small task.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Why It Matters In recent years, the Boise area has made headlines as one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Meridian is the fifth fastest growing city with a population of more than 50,000 that has seen a 6.1 percent increase between July 2017 and July 2018. And as the 2020 Census nears, that growth will likely continue to increase.

“The census counts impact the amount of federal dollars received, information on how the community is doing, and political representation across the state and community,” says Hailey Townsend, the communication assistant for COMPASS.

COMPASS, which stands for the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho, is an association of local governments working together to plan for the future of the Treasure Valley. For the upcoming census, they have both a communication and a technical role.

“For the 2020 Census, COMPASS is facilitating a broad regional ‘complete count committee’ to coordinate outreach, as well as taking an active role in supporting local outreach efforts and conducting regional outreach to encourage participation in the 2020 Census,” says Townsend. “This role is of increasing importance, as there may be additional reasons for census non-participation, including the format of the Census, potential citizenry questions, political climate, etcetera, than in the recent past.”

COMPASS has also led the technical side of the 2020 Census preparation for Ada and Canyon counties.

“This, while less visible, is also critical to the success and accuracy of the count,” Townsend adds. “This work has included providing residential address lists to the Census Bureau and providing up-to-date city limit information.”

COMPASS has also worked with local cities and counties to request statistical area boundaries for 2020 Census data tabulation and for annual surveys. These data help cities plan and determine eligibility for federal programs.

The Numbers In 2010, Boise had approximately 81 percent participation of the entire population, which is roughly 5 percent higher than the average county in Idaho. Overall, Idaho had only 77 percent participation, leaving 23 percent uncounted.

According to previous census data, Idaho currently receives $1,400 per person for a total of nearly $3.2 billion each year. Boise receives $33.1 million annually to fund its population of 236,310. Some of Idaho’s highest funded programs are Medicaid, SNAP (commonly known as the food stamp program), Medicare Part B, highway planning and construction, Federal Pell Grants, and the National School Lunch Program.

Photo: Courtesy U.S. Census Bureau / census.gov

Metro

2,000,000

IDAHO’S POPULATION

1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000

Source: (2019-07-11). Retrieved 2019-08-19, from worldpopulationreview.com/states/idaho/

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2020

If the numbers are off due to low participation, funding for that county is drastically affected. And with a growing region, the gap between the actual population and funding received will continue to widen.

For members of the community working to raise awareness, they see room for improvement.

The constant struggle for counties is getting the population to participate.

Hard-to-count populations like lowincome families, non-English-speaking residents, rural communities, people experiencing homelessness, and others, are sometimes hard to reach.

But over the coming months, local Census employees and community leaders will work to educate all facets of the population on how to be counted. They will mobilize grassroots efforts like hiring local community members to spearhead efforts, make phone calls, hold events, and knock on doors. And for the first time this year, the Census also has a way for people to participate online.

WHEN IS IT HAPPENING? In January, the census will officially begin in remote Alaska and will take place in the rest of the country by April.

Apportionment counts will be given to the president in December 2020, and a complete release of data will be given to each state on April 1, 2021. In the coming months, look for information in the mail about participating in the census or visit census.gov and compassidaho.org to help mobilize your community.

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

Life

Of Empathy, Prejudice, and the Ritual of Exam A conversation with physician and author Abraham Verghese

By Adam Tanous

T 18

he first thing one senses in meeting Abraham Verghese— physician, educator, and bestselling author of both nonfiction and fiction works—is a calm humility. It is a humility that comes with seeing countless patients through harrowing disease and decline. And yet, it is a humility fortified by a firm belief in both the power of medical care, with an emphasis on care, and in the idea that triumph can come even as mortality may be imminent.

As a young doctor specializing in infectious disease, Verghese arrived in rural Tennessee—Johnson City—in October 1985, two months after the first HIV-infected patient appeared at the Johnson City Medical Center. While the first academic papers reporting the early cases of the disease appeared in 1981, the infections were all specific to port cities: Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. As Verghese wrote in his first memoir, “My Own Country”: “Everyone thought it had been a freak accident, a one-time thing in Johnson City. This was a small town in the country, a town of clean-living, good country people. AIDS was clearly a big city problem. It was something that happened in other kinds of lives.”

As it turned out, it was a storm that knew no boundaries, geographic or otherwise.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

To read Verghese’s account of his five years treating AIDS patients in Johnson City is to understand what true empathy is. Though, in a long conversation I had with him during the recent Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, he, of course, waved that off. But I wondered if that profound empathy so evident in the book was just inherent to people who ended up in medicine or something learned.

Verghese explained it this way: “I didn’t choose to specialize in AIDS. I actually went into infectious disease because … it was all about an astute diagnosis, and the patient rose like Lazarus, you know. And then AIDS just landed in our lap. So, a generation of us in infectious disease were suddenly treating people with a fatal condition, which is exactly what we had not wanted to do. We had gone into this field for a kind of hope, if you like.

So, it was an education, and perhaps the empathy was also part of the education for us.”

The fact that there were no effective treatments for the disease until 1995—14 years after the first cases were described in medical papers—had a profound effect on Verghese and other doctors on the front lines of the epidemic. In a 2016 podcast titled, “The Importance of Being,” Verghese touches on a theme

central to medicine: the distinction between healing and curing.

“I look back and think of patients long gone, particularly patients in the early AIDS era, young men for the most part … They were full of the ripening of life, full of desire, longing, ambition … I wanted to do for them, to fix what ailed them. I wanted to be busy with them in a medical way even though in those days we had no effective HIV medications, and there was nothing we could do to change the course … The absence of any treatments also taught us physicians powerful lessons. I learned from my physician’s assistant, Della, a warm and caring woman who felt less of the pressure to do and instead could just be … Once, as we walked in to visit a patient who was hours from exiting the world, I said, ‘What are we going to do here, Della?’ She said, ‘We are going to be with him.’”

Given all of the progress on the medical front with the disease—there are now real and effective treatments, as well as some promising vaccines in the pipeline—it is easy to forget the direness of the situation in 1985. Everybody was navigating in the dark. “No one knew what this was,” Verghese explained. “It was an unknown condition. It is hard to tell my medical students now [Verghese

Photo: Courtesy Sun Valley Writers' Conference / Nils Ribi

Abraham Verghese at the 2019 Sun Valley Writers' Conference

19

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

Life

teaches at the Stanford Medical School] to imagine that time when we didn’t know causes, we didn’t know how it spread. Our best guess was that it was blood borne because it was the same risk groups popping up, namely intravenous drug users, blood transfusion recipients … and men having sex

been made, not only in attitudes, but also in treatments and outcomes. But what lessons have been learned that are applicable to current epidemics, or those still to come? Verghese notes two. “We too often underestimate the impediments that society can put in the way of public health management

“IT WAS A TRUISM [OF THE AIDS CRISIS] THAT FAMILY TRUMPED PREJUDICE. ANY BIAS YOU HAD, ANY DOGMA YOU SUBSCRIBED TO, WENT OUT THE WINDOW WHEN IT WAS YOUR SON, YOUR BROTHER.” with men. But that wasn’t true in Africa … where the male-to-woman ratio [of infection] was one-to-one. In America it was more like 20-to-one … The epidemic in America was literally at the tip of the iceberg. The real epidemic was in Africa, and there it was a very different looking disease.”

Perhaps attributable to the lack of understanding of the disease at the time and partly due to the specific etiology of the disease, patients not only suffered the ravages of a horrendous disease, they also endured tremendous prejudice. Verghese described the milieu at the time: “Along comes a plague that’s unknown in how it spreads and that is affecting a group for whom society as a whole had a lot of distaste. And it was easy to blame them for it. ‘This was brought on by you’ is what they were saying … So, the metaphor of AIDS was one of shame and secrecy. It was one of blame: ‘You got this for your actions.’ That got in the way of everything, my treating them, my getting help to treat them.

There were doctors who would [treat them] and others who would have nothing to do with it.”

He described taking an X-ray to a radiologist to get his opinion on the scan. “He says to me, ‘Why do you take care of these f****** fags, they deserve to die.’ People were willing to talk like that in that era.”

While the AIDS epidemic is by no means over, huge advances have

20

Verghese has written three books: “My Own Country,” “The Tennis Partner,” and “Cutting for Stone,” the latter of which is a novel. He has a new novel, “The Maramon Convention,” coming out soon.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

… It’s happening as we speak with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We actually have now both a vaccine and a treatment that can effectively prevent or control the spread of the disease. But the bigger disease in the DRC now is suspicion of foreign workers, suspicion of any kind of treatments, and, as a result of so much secrecy around Ebola, people are dying. It has become a huge problem … and it’s not a scientific problem. It’s a social problem.”

The other lesson Verghese notes, this one positive, concerns prejudice.

“Given all of the prejudices non-Southerners associate with the Deep South, not necessarily true, and given the prejudices around this disease, I think the real marvelous lesson … It was a truism that family trumped prejudice.

Any bias you had, any dogma you subscribed to, went out the window when it was your son, your brother.

That was reassuring to see … Family was such a strong value, even though they didn’t talk about it, it was.”

Today, Verghese spends less time in the HIV setting than on general medicine wards, and he remains an educator and a writer. After his intense experience in Tennessee, he took a break from medicine and attended the prestigious University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He has subsequently published three critically acclaimed, bestselling books: two nonfiction works, “My Own Country” and “The

Book: Courtesy Simon & Schuster

—DR. ABRAHAM VERGHESE

Tennis Partner,” and one novel, “Cutting for Stone.” He has an upcoming novel, “The Maramon Convention,” that will be published by Scribner.

And if that were not enough to consume his time, Verghese teaches at the Stanford Medical School. There he focuses much of his energy and time on training new doctors. He is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor at the Stanford Medical School, and vice-chair of the Department of Medicine.

One of his passions in medical education concerns what he terms “the ritual of exam,”—the process both objective and subjective—of interviewing and doing a hands-on, bedside evaluation of the patient, a skill and value he worries may be overlooked by some physicians.

“Too often, I feel, there is a knee-jerk response—‘Let’s order a test. Oh, you’ve got this symptom, let’s get this test,’” Verghese told me. “It is a great luxury of our medical world that we have all of these ways of affirming things. The exam is far from precise, but nevertheless … I mean, what does a CAT scan of the head show you? It only shows you the skull and the brain. But to understand what’s the deficit the patient is left with … The CAT scan won’t tell you that they are profoundly weak on the right side or can’t speak. You have to do a skilled exam.”

And that exam, Verghese maintains, with its unusual setting with odd furniture, patient gowns and white doctors’ coats, with the instruments there, “… has all the trappings of a ritual … People are used to rituals. Society is full of them: baptisms, graduations, bah mitzvahs … Anthropologists teach us that rituals are all about transfor­ mation.

“What is the transformation in this ritual? One, it is the sealing of the doctor-patient relationship. That privilege of touching—in any other context in society—that’s assault. So, you need to bring to it a great deal of gravity …

Secondly, the localizing of the illness on the body—not on some CAT scan, not on some biopsy specimen … but on your person. It is sort of acknowledging your personhood. We sort of need that, you know.”

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

Life

BOISE'S LIVABILITY AMBASSADORS A one-of-a-kind program gives residents a peek behind the scenes

By Meghan Levi

22

Boise's 2019 Livability Ambassadors at Orientation

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Photos: Courtesy City of Boise

I

t’s no secret the City of Boise aims to be the “most livable city in the country.” It’s a vision worth aiming for, but what exactly does that mean?

After all, livability can mean many different things to many different people.

The City of Boise defines livability through a mission of Lasting Environments, Innovative Enterprises, and Vibrant Communities (LIV). Every few years, since 2015, the city has produced the City of Boise Livability Report, aiming to meet the following seven goals: Safe and Secure Community, Healthy Community, Responsible Built Environment, Connected Community, Environmentally Sustainable Community, Strong Diverse Local Economy, and Creative and Informed Community.

Again, it sounds great on paper, but what does it mean for the average citizen? Jami Goldman, the city’s sustainability coordinator, has an answer.

“After working on the LIV report, we realized it needed to be more than a static document. We needed to breathe life into it, and make it a living document,” Goldman explained. By creating the Livability Ambassador Program, a visionary document became a citizencentered lived experience.

Eighteen Boise residents were selected out of the 60-plus applications received for the first year of the program. Crystal Rain, a 2018 Livability Ambassador, heard about the program at an Earth Day event at Boise State University. As Goldman was introducing the program to the crowd, Rain thought, “This is everything I want to do. Sustainability has always been my jam and jelly. I want to understand the city’s vision for a more sustainable community.”

Rain, and the rest of the inaugural year ambassadors, explored the city’s work on Environmentally Sustainable Community. The first-year ambassadors traveled to many sites across the Valley, including Twenty Mile South Farm, which includes the city’s first net-zero commercial building. “Not many people know we have a 4,225acre farm in Kuna where we use 100 percent of our biosolids to fertilize crops we sell back to the commu-

On a tour of the Greenbelt this summer, the Ambassadors learned about potential bike lane and other connectivity improvements.

nity—all to keep our sewer rates low,” Goldman said. “That’s a unique, Boisespecific thing. Very few communities have the ability to create an urban farm of this magnitude.”

Outside of the six field trips, the group had presentations and discussions with city experts about Boise’s sustainability practices. Wayne Rysavy, the city’s communication manager for Planning and Development Services, acknowledged the format is very purposeful: “We often think of the city as an abstract entity. The Livability Program gives the community a face and a name to the experts working behind the scenes. Citizen involvement helps ensure we are moving in the right direction and aligning with our community’s values.”

The first year of the program was a clear success. Creating something of this scale from scratch was no small feat, and yet it came together like a seasoned program. “Nothing about my experience felt incomplete or like a pilot program,” said Rain. These types of opportunities are what brought her to Idaho from Alaska. Boise’s commitment to livability resonated deeply with Rain. “The City of Boise walks the walk,” she said. “They don’t take the easy route. Livability is about

economics, the environment, and the social wellbeing of a community. None of this is easy messaging; it takes in to account the full external costs of running a healthy city.”

The 2019 Livability Ambassadors are focused on creating a Responsible Built Environment. Sharon Konkol, a current Livability Ambassador and 40-year resident of Boise, is an advocate of active transportation and wanted to learn more about how the built environment impacts other community functions. Konkol explained that livability, to her, is simple: “It’s clean air to breathe, clean water, and locally grown food. An economic base that supports adequate housing in the city limits to lessen commuter traffic. The built environment has immense impact on other forms of transportation like walking and biking.”

Between scooter wars, proposed bikeways, and endless road construction, transportation and its relationship to the built environment is a timely topic for the new ambassadors to tackle. Rysavy acknowledges that transportation infrastructure (bikeways and multi-use paths, for example) is part of a much larger puzzle that includes behavioral change from the larger community. “How do we get people to move toward a multimodel way of thinking and away from single-occupancy vehicles? We have to propose solutions that align with what our community sees as realistic changes. The Livability Ambassadors help us see those pressure points and better understand our community. We don’t want a top-down approach to any of this.”

As the second year of the program is in full swing, Rain reflected on how her experience as an ambassador has impacted her life. The new friendships with other ambassadors, professional connections, and a deeper sense of place all contributed to her glowing review of the program. But what made her want to put down deeper roots was this: “I can’t say enough good things about the program and what I learned.

Being a Livability Ambassador made me realize that Boise can still feel like a small town. We still have time to sit down and talk.”

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

23

IDAHO 24

How a Hagerman Valley company is revolutionizing the farmed-fish industry

by Zach Kyle

I

daho trout: local and delicious.

That’s the promise touted in restaurant menus across the Gem State. After all, short of a russet, what dining experience could be more Idahoan than a trout harvested in the Magic Valley?

Tourists at The Sawtooth Club in Ketchum might consider the Idaho ruby red trout, “a boneless filet, apple-wood grilled, brushed with house-smoked roasted red pepper butter, served with wild rice pilaf.”

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Diners at Sockeye Brewing in Boise might be tempted by the 8-ounce pan-seared trout from Hagerman, “topped with a sage, lemon and pecan pan sauce, served with chef’s sautéed vegetables and garlic smashed potatoes.”

The trout beautifully arranged on those steaming plates indeed comes via a two-hour truck ride. And, just like Idaho russets, those trout are grown and harvested from fish farms. The Sawtooth Club and Sockeye Brewing’s filets come from Riverence, an aquaculture company operating near Filer. Riverence has become popular for Sysco, which delivers food to most Idaho restaurants. That’s because the quality of Riverence trout is consistent and available

RAISED 25

Photo: Courtesy Riverence / Eric Wolfinger

A young Riverence spring water steelhead trout.

at a stable price, year-round, making it a favorite for Idaho chefs, Sysco culinary consultant David Knickrehm explained.

“When tourists come to Idaho and want an Idaho experience, in a state known for the outdoors, what’s better than to serve local, Hagerman Valley trout that is absolutely perfect?” Knickrehm said. “And it is.”

Riverence fish are already distributed across the country, and its trout and salmon eggs grown in Rochester, Wash., are delivered to fish farms around the globe. Its founders hope that, as Americans’ appetite for seafood grows, Riverence can take a bigger bite out of a seafood market mostly supplied by imports. To do

so, the company must continue selling consumers on its quality while telling its story—namely, why customers should trust it as a player in an aquaculture industry that has its share of skeptics.

That Riverence story starts with Colorado cows, West Coast salmon and more than a few Emmy Awards.

It goes like this.

Cattle, Hollywood and Trout

Chances are you haven’t heard of David E. Kelley, who came up with the idea for Riverence. But chances are you have heard

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

Aquaculture produces about half of the seafood consumed in the world, and farmed seafood production has increased 8.3 percent annually since 1970, making it the fastest growing method of food production in the world, according to NOAA.

26

Idaho is ideal for trout farming thanks to its abundant spring water. Pictured: The Snake River, Perrine Bridge, and Riverence’s Blue Lakes facility.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Photo: Courtesy Riverence / Gabe Watkins

of the fruits of some of his other ideas: “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice,” and “Big Little Lies.” That’s because Kelley created those famous TV shows, as well as creating or writing for a laundry list of other shows and movies made for TV. You’ve probably also heard of Kelley’s wife of 25 years, Michelle Pfeiffer, who has graced the silver screen in major movies since the early 1980s.

One of Kelley’s favorite non-Hollywood pastimes is sport fishing in coastal Alaska and British Columbia. That passion led to Kelley mulling the future of wild salmon and other fish facing pressure from deteriorating habitats, commercial fishing and potential threats from global warming. So, he got in touch with a longtime business associate, Rob Young, a sixthgeneration cattle rancher. “[Kelley] came to me with the idea that there must be a way to do production aquaculture and reduce pressure on wild stocks,” Young said. “He came at it from a conservationist mindset, and he knew I’m a little bit obsessive about efficiency and sustainability.”

By that, Young means he’d become preoccupied by the exponential growth in the world population, which has roughly tripled since 1951. Farmers responded to the increase in hungry mouths by automating operations and mass-producing food, he explained. But many of those practices aren’t sustainable, and with the population continuing to swell, Young believes something has to give.

“The model we’ve worked under for the past 90 years isn’t sustainable,” he noted. “More people today might live, but are they living well? When is the tipping point?”

Young knew little about aquaculture. However, he knew all about cows, which his family had raised for more than 100 years on its Colorado ranch and in Switzerland before that.

During that time, the cattle industry made leaps in nutrition and breeding for larger, healthier animals.

After studying aquaculture, Young said he was impressed that fish farming was more efficient in converting feed into pounds of protein than livestock industries. However, where ranching operations continued to evolve in recent decades, he thought aquaculture stagnated. He told Kelley they had an opportunity to move fish farming forward, and the partners founded Riverence.

“I thought aquaculture had rested on its laurels for a bit,” Young said. “We came with fresh eyes. Typically, in business, you’ll hear, ‘This is the way we’ve always done it.’ I saw a lot of that in aquaculture.”

Aquaculture 101

Fish farming has its critics. Young and his Riverence employees say they embrace opportunities to explain to customers how some assumptions about aquaculture are misguided, and also to talk through how Riverence’s methods address remaining concerns surrounding the environmental

impact of its operations and the safety of its farmed trout (and some salmon). But before engaging in that conversation, consumers should know a little bit about the broader aquaculture world.

More than 80 percent of all seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Aquaculture produces about half of the seafood consumed in the world, and farmed seafood production has increased 8.3 percent annually since 1970, making it the fastest growing method of food production in the world, according to NOAA. However, the United States remains a small player in the industry. Aquaculture here has more or less plateaued in recent decades. The U.S. is the 13th largest aquaculture producer today.

Meanwhile, China’s aquaculture industry now produces 62 percent of the world’s farmed fish and shellfish.

Seafood farmed domestically is subject to federal regulation, which could satisfy some consumers. But most aquaculture products come from overseas, making it hard to know if a given product contains more antibiotics than is allowed here, or has adverse effects on the environment, said Roy Hillborn, a professor of aquatic and fishery sciences at the University of Washington.

“There’s big concerns about overusing antibiotics, both in livestock and in aquaculture,” he said. “The Norwegians reduced their antibiotics use by a hundred-fold, where the Chileans were using large amounts. It’s really hard for consumers to know what they are buying.”

Domestic fish farms are more environmentally friendly. Some countries allow damaging aquaculture practices, and even if they don’t, those products must be flown to the U.S., creating a large carbon footprint. Trout raised and consumed in Idaho should typically be more sustainable.

Hillborn has studied the environmental impacts of wild and farmed fish in comparison to other livestock. Idaho-farmed trout fares well, he said. It’s tricky analysis. Wild seafood requires fuel to catch, so deep-sea fisheries, such as tuna, tend to have a larger carbon footprint than salmon harvested in coastal fisheries.

Though even that has a caveat: fish farms create a carbon footprint where the feed is harvested, which might be across the globe.

For example, much of the soy that fuels Norwegian aquaculture is grown and imported from Brazil, Hillborn noted.

Idaho trout fares comparably to some wild-caught fish, according to Hillborn, and is far more environmentally friendly than livestock industries. (There’s no wild-caught trout industry, so Hillborn used salmon as an example.)

“Farmed salmon are more sustainable than chicken, pigs and beef,” Hillborn said. “Should people eat farmed salmon? Wild salmon would be better, but there’s only so much wild salmon in the world.”

Gauging wild-caught seafood is tricky, too. According to Hillborn, U.S. fisheries are generally well managed, ensuring natural stocks won’t be endangered by overfishing. Some Alaska wild stocks are enjoying record returns. However, wild fish and shellfish populations have dwindled in certain fisheries and in certain

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

27

28

regions, and healthy natural stock populations rise and fall, causing volatility in supply and prices. But, as is the case with farmed products, most of the wild-caught seafood in the U.S. comes from foreign fisheries where overfishing may threaten wild stocks, as is the case with several species of tuna.

Long story short: Whether it’s wild or farmed, most consumers will have a tough time parsing which seafood products are sustainable for fish stocks as well as for the environment. The simplest homework might be to trust organizations that research and grade fisheries and aquaculture operations, such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, which rates wild and farmed seafood products as a “best choice,” “good alternative” or “avoid.” Riverence uses flowthrough raceway pens, which have moving water, mimicking a stream. Swimming against the current helps the fish create muscle mass. The watchdog organization lists trout raised in outdoor flowthrough raceway pens—the type used in Idaho—as a “best choice.”

The Riverence Way

Thankfully, understanding Riverence and its practices is simpler than untangling conditions in the many fisheries and fish farm environments across the world.

Trout farming typically breaks into two separate operations: breeding facilities, which produce eggs, and farms, which buy eggs, hatch the fry and then raise the trout for two to five years before harvest.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

In the livestock world, there’s constant communication between the two sides, Young said. Ranchers carefully track cow health. That data informs the selective breeding, which continues to take great strides, he said. The result is larger animals that are more resistant to sickness.

Jason Mann, Riverence director of nutrition, has worked in various corners of the aquaculture world for three decades. In his experience, only half or a third of trout eggs survived. That low number convinced the owners to invest millions in their own breeding facility, where the company crossbred more than 100 trout families, including Idaho species. (Idaho trout provide the genetic spine of most trout farmed in the world, Mann said.) As a result, Mann explained, more than 90-95 percent of Riverence eggs survive from fertilized egg to what’s known as the “swimup” stage, a critical milepost in the life of fish. Once hatched, Riverence eggs produce fish that grow 30 percent faster than those from eggs purchased. Farms across the world buying those eggs have reported strong results as well, he said.

Young is concerned about the overuse of antibiotics across the globe, in part because he was resistant to antibiotics after contracting E. coli while traveling in Peru. He said Riverence administers antibiotics only when fish are sick, “just like you would for your child or pet,” in order to keep them alive.

Riverence does not administer blanket antibiotics, as can be the case overseas. Riverence fish survive at a high rate because of superior breeding, Young said. “We’re trying to give these fish a healthier head start and a healthier life cycle. I’ll be bold and say I think we’ve done that in spades.”

Riverence maintains its fish are not genetically modified.

Young says he often explains to customers that selective breeding—choosing parents based on traits—is different from manipulating the genes themselves. The meat you buy in stores is the product of selective breeding.

Tom VanTassel with Kai Young: Courtesy Riverence / Josh Reeder Tom VanTassel with Robert Young: Courtesy Riverence / Gabe Watkins

Farm manager Tom VanTassel teaching Kai Young about aquaculture, left, and posing by a freshwater source with CEO Robert Young, below.

Photo: Courtesy Riverence / Gabe Watkins

Raceways, flow-through channels where fish are raised, at Riverence’s Blue Lakes facility in Twin Falls.

Hillborn, the marine biologist, noted that fear about genetically modified food is overblown anyway. “There’s an enormous amount of hysteria about gene technology,” he said. “Every major study, even about the ‘Frankenfish’ with genes from two different species, has never shown any evidence it’s harmful to humans.”

Another concern about farmed fish as well as GMO crops is that either could devastate natural populations if they were allowed to crossbreed. Experts feared the worst in 2017 when as many as 263,000 Atlantic salmon escaped from saltwater holding pens into Puget Sound in Washington State. The fish farm operator was deemed negligent for failing to maintain the pens and was fined $332,000 by the state.

It’s safe to say that Riverence, which operates an inland fish farm and gets its water from natural springs, will never have a major escapement.

Positive Reviews

Chefs can be a picky bunch, Knickrehm said. However, the chefs Sysco sells to give Riverence fish high marks for flavor and consistency, which isn’t always the case for every product.

“We expect certain variances in fish. With Riverence, there’s almost no variance at all,” Knickrehm said. “It’s perfect every

29

single time. It has the tightest quality spec of any company I’ve dealt with.”

Knickrehm acknowledges that farmed fish face a marketing challenge. But the chefs Sysco distributes to swear by Riverence fish, and farmed fish offer the same Omega-3 fatty acids that nutritionists say offer a litany of health benefits, including brain development, mental wellbeing, and heart health.

Perception of farmed fish will change when chefs and consumers learn about operations like Riverence, he said.

“Wild-caught definitely has a better image. Chefs are conditioned to say they only use wild-caught,” Knickrehm offered.

“But this is a sustainability issue. I think farmed fish is the wave of the future. If the practices at Riverence for feeding, care, and development of healthy fish caught on across the market, I think the entire public perception would change.”

Idaho fish farms have a chance to brand Idaho trout the way the Idaho Potato Commission branded Idaho potatoes, Knickrehm pointed out. Consumers have an easier time feeling good about buying local, he said. “Things like antibiotics are a concern among consumers, but you can put that argument to bed with Riverence because we know where the products are coming from. Chile produces a lot of excellent products, but it doesn’t allay that concern.”

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

EXPLORE

EMBARK ON AN

IDAHO

30

BUCKET LIST ADVENTURE

The Middle Fork of the Salmon offers great whitewater, spectacular scenery, and a true wilderness experience.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Rafting the Snake River in Hells Canyon

FIVE PLACES TO GO BEFORE YOU DIE (OR MOVE)

Opposite Page: Matt Leidecker Hells Canyon: Mark Lisk / Idaho Stock Images

B Y G R E G S TA H L

F

or any would-be bucket lister, Idaho is a cornucopia of adventure worthy of any lifetime achiever’s aspirations. With 35 million acres of public land, 100,000 miles of rivers, and dozens of mountain ranges in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, it’s easy to build a lifetime to-do list of outdoor adventures. Less obvious but equally deserving are more domestic and cultural activities that could range from visiting a local winery to unearthing and cooking an Idaho-grown potato. The limits are bounded only by your imagination and personal tastes.

While compiling a lifetime achievement list for Idaho is fairly straightforward, it’s impossible to tailor a bucket list suitable for people of every ability or interest.

With that in mind, we built the following list using a few basic parameters. The activities are geographically and substantively diverse, and while they’re not reserved for experts alone, most aren’t for novices, either.

What this means for any aspiring Idaho bucket lister is that you have to participate in building your own list. Use the following pages of top-tier Idaho activities as a starting point, then build your own list and get out there. The stunning beauty and warm-hearted people of Idaho await.

1

PADDLE ONE OF THE BIG FOUR

Idaho has more than 100,000 miles of rivers and streams, with more than 3,100 miles of whitewater suitable for rafting, kayaking and canoeing. Idaho also has some of the best and most prized Wild and Scenic Rivers in the nation. These are free-flowing rivers revered nationally for their outstanding water quality, wilderness character and stunning scenery.

Four of those—the legendary Middle Fork of the Salmon, Selway, Main Salmon and Snake River through Hells Canyon—are so good and highly sought after that permits are issued using a randomized lottery system administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

“These are Idaho’s big four: They’re all Wild and Scenic, and they’re all national treasures,” said Kevin Lewis, conservation director at Idaho Rivers United, a nonprofit advocate for Idaho’s rivers. “Idaho is unique in that we have so many miles of really special wilderness rivers. No other state in the lower 48 really compares.”

A North Idaho Gem: The Thorofare Paddling in Northern Idaho has a different flair from the southern and central parts of the state. The mountains are heavily glaciated, and that makes for rivers that are either very steep or flat. The gentle paddle from Priest Lake to Upper Priest Lake via a 2.8-mile slow-moving thoroughfare (which locals spell thorofare) is one of the premier open-water paddling trips in the Northwest —if you can catch it when it’s not overrun with motorboats.

While they collectively constitute a national treasure, each of the four rivers is unique.

The Snake River in Hells Canyon is a large-volume river at the bottom of North America’s deepest canyon and flows through a predominantly desert ecosystem.

The Middle Fork of the Salmon is a mountain river that starts in heavily forested mountains at around 7,000 feet. “It’s just world famous as one of those runs that everybody has to do,” Lewis said.

The Main Salmon is a larger river below the Middle Fork confluence. It flows through a mix of forest and desert ecosystems and has big sand beaches and lazy long pools between rapids.

The Selway flows through Northern Idaho’s lush coniferous forests and is the most difficult for which to obtain a permit. There’s only one launch per day, which ensures lots of elbow room but makes it that much more difficult to actually get on the river. “We rafted it last week and didn’t see another party our whole trip,” Lewis said in mid-July.

“It is isolated with crystal clear water and a short season.”

Idaho’s official moniker is The Gem State, but it could just as easily be The River State, The Paddling State or, as one of the state’s guidebooks coined it, The Whitewater State.

It is unmatched in its quality and quantity of big, beautiful rivers and scenic mountain lakes that are waiting for paddlers of all abilities to dip a paddle, take a stroke and start exploring, and the big four are worthy of your bucket list.

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

31

EXPLORE

2

BIKE THE BOISE FRONT

32

From custom-built bike parks at Sun Valley, Grand Targhee, Brundage, Schweitzer and other resorts, to rolling desert single track around Twin Falls, Idaho has an incredible array of mountain biking to choose from and dozens of rides worthy of any Gem State bucket list.

Among all the thousands of miles of winding dirt, however, there’s not much that compares with the huge, high-speed descent from Bogus Basin to Boise, which, route depending, adds up to more than 5,000 vertical feet of mostly downhill riding.

There’s no single trail that descends from the top to the bottom, so some creativity is

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

required to link them together. In general, though, there are two fundamental ways to get from the 7,500-foot summit of Shafer Butte back to the city at 2,700 feet.

“It’s like a choose-your-own adventure with all the trail choices you have,” said Layton Martin, who’s been mountain biking in Boise more than 15 years and manages the service desk at Joyride Cycles. “I’d say it’s very comparable to The Whole Enchilada (a famous downhill trail near Moab, Utah). You start up high in the trees and drop thousands of feet into the desert.”

For the maximum amount of single track that doesn’t intersect dirt roads, link the Bogus Basin trails with East Side, Sweet

Sweet Connie, Peggy’s, and Polecat. For this combination you drive to Pioneer Lodge at 6,800 feet and climb to the summit of Shafer Butte or immediately start your descent via Morningstar or Berm Baby Berm. Once at Simplot Lodge at the main base, cross the road and locate East Side Trail, which weaves among shady pines while dropping 1,000 feet and climbing about 500. The top of Sweet Sweet Connie zigzags in steep switchbacks but mellows as it begins to parallel Daniels Creek. From there it’s a long, sweeping descent that connects to Peggy’s Trail and Cartwright Road, where you cross and ride the Polecat Loop back to town.

The other fundamental route requires more time on a fire road but includes very high-quality single track. It starts at Bogus Basin and exits the resort at the top of Deer Point onto Ridge Road. A shady, wooded and somewhat technical trail called Mahalo is recommended but not required before turning onto one of three long downhills on Dry Creek, Shingle Creek, or Hard Guy trails. Both Dry Creek and Shingle Creek are somewhat technical, while Hard Guy is pretty straightforward.

It’s worth noting that there’s no way to enjoy the huge descent from Bogus Basin to Boise without at least 1,000 feet of climbing.

These rides require commitment, and riders should be prepared for emergencies and a minimum of two to three hours on the trail.

“It’s amazing to hit all the different climate and vegetation zones all in one ride and then be able to come back to Hyde Park at the end of it and get a beer,” Martin said. “It’s pretty unique.”

Photos: Chad Case / Idaho Stock Images

Left: The summit of Shafer Butte at Bogus Basin Ski Resort. Above: Riding one of the many trails at Bogus Basin.

met a stranger g W get visitors here, sure. Travelers.

We Folks olks just passing through. But strang stran strangers? gers?

Nah. W We meet friends. Spend a d day ay in Boise and you’ll feel right at home.

We meet ffriends!

W s BOIS E.ORG

Blaze Your Own Trail Whether exploring the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness or the soothing properties of the spa treatments at The Cove, your next mountain-lake adventure begins at Shore Lodge.

From award-winning fine dining and yearround heated saline pools to mountain biking and complimentary shuttles to Brundage Mountain, you’ll find that Shore Lodge is the only way to do McCall.

SANCTUARY-SEEKERS The Cove + The Theater at Shore Lodge + Room Service + Complimentary Cruiser Bikes + Whitetail Club Golf Course RISK-TAKERS Mountain Biking + Heated Saline Pools + Lakefront Dinners + Complimentary Shuttle to Brundage Mountain + Snowshoes

STRIKE OUT ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE TODAY For reservations visit ShoreLodge.com or call 800.657.6464

EXPLORE

3

CLIMB A STORIED SUMMIT

36

A seasoned peak bagger could spend a lifetime climbing Idaho’s numerous stony spires.

The Sawtooth Mountains alone have 57 peaks over 10,000 feet, and any one of them is worth adding to a bucket list. The state’s highest peak, 12,667-foot Mount Borah, is another worthy goal, but for this list we’re selecting a mountain with debatably better views and a lot more significance to the state’s history and identity.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

At 11,815 feet above sea level, Castle Peak towers over Idaho’s newest wilderness area, the 91,000-acre Cecil D. Andrus—White Clouds Wilderness. It’s a celebrated landscape that hosted land-use skirmishes for more than 40 years until its wilderness designation in August 2015. The fighting began in the 1970s when the people of Idaho staved off a massive molybdenum mine planned for the peak’s lower flanks. The fight drew Castle Peak and the White Clouds into the political

limelight for the first time and helped effect congressional designation of the 756,000acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area, as well as help get Gov. Andrus elected to his first of four terms.

“It’s a special place in Idaho. It’s the farthest inland that salmon swim. It’s in the coldest waters in this region. Some of the geology is fascinating,” said Betsy Mizell, the central Idaho director of the Idaho Conservation League. “But what really makes it special is that people worked on it for 40plus years to get it designated as wilderness.”

Castle Peak can be done as a huge day trip, but it’s best over two or three days, which affords time to slow down and appreciate the Idaho backcountry. The common approach is a 10-mile hike from Fourth of July Lake Trailhead to Washington Lake, then over the ridge at the southern end of Washington Lake into Chamberlain Basin where you can set up a base camp at Lake 9197. The most frequently-climbed route is the south face’s big gully, which climbs at a right-to-left angle. The gully narrows near the top, but by following cairns you’ll successfully arrive at the summit ridge and make a relatively easy hike back to the east to achieve the summit.

Atop the summit, you’ll enjoy views east to the Lemhi Range, north to the Salmon River Mountains, west to the Sawtooths, and south to the Boulders. Castle Peak literally towers over all surrounding mountains and affords an incredible view that easily ranks as one of the best summits in Idaho.

It should go without saying that this is a fairly serious backcountry adventure and should be undertaken by physically fit groups who are prepared to deal with shifting weather and unexpected circumstances. If you don’t know, as the saying goes, don’t go.

Mizell also cautioned about the fragile backcountry. “These are high alpine areas,” she said. “They’re very fragile and only see summer for a short period of time. Please be respectful and pack out what you pack in.”

Hiker: Joshua Roper / Alamy Stock Photo Summit: Courtesy Idaho Public Television / Tim Tower

Left: Castle Peak in the Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness. Above: On the summit of Castle Peak.

EXPLORE IDAHO!

Let TERRITORY Magazine be your guide to the people and the places that make Idaho great.

Get the inside story on Idaho and Boise delivered to your door every quarter, subscribe online at territory-mag.com and be entered to win special swag —

FA L L

2 0 19

a wine tumbler, free year subscription or dinner gift certificate.

S UMME R 2 0 19

RE EXPLO O IDAH

NABLE SUSTAI LTURE AQUACU

M ABRAHASE VERGHE

EF ’S THE CH FARM

T OF THE AR OPER WARD HO

TAKING ON THE NORTH FORK

SALMON RIVER SOLITARIES

territory-mag.com

MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

INTERNATIONAL CUISINE

THE HISTORIC HIGHLANDS

4

Top photo: Chris Celentano / Idaho Stock Images Bottom photos: Courtesy Recreation.gov

EXPLORE

CAMP IN A FIRE LOOKOUT

38

Idaho’s fire lookouts were built to sight forest fires before they grew out of control, but many have been retired, and some are available as mountaintop cabins with unparalleled views.

The experience of camping in an Idaho fire lookout is easily a top bucket list contender.

“The sunsets and sunrises were absolutely spectacular,” said Idaho outdoor writer Steve Stuebner, who stayed at Arid Peak Lookout in north Idaho in August 2017. “You just lie there in your sleeping bag and watch the glow of sunrise. That was something really special, out of this world.”

A fire lookout is essentially a small box of wood with glass windows that reveal views over 360 degrees of mountains. When in service, they were staffed by a man or woman who lived there for the summer and kept a watchful eye on the surrounding forest. Most were built in the early part of the 20th century, and many were retired in the past 20 to 30 years as additional fire locating technologies came into use. Most lookouts sit on stilts, so that the view easily looks past nearby trees.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Some are simply far above tree line.

According to the Forest Fire Lookout Association, an organization that helps refurbish and maintain old lookouts, there are 10 Idaho lookouts available to rent through recreation.gov. You can drive to some, like Deadwood Lookout near Deadwood Reservoir in the Salmon River Mountains. Others require a bit of hiking. Arid Peak Lookout in north Idaho near the town of Avery requires about a twomile hike each way. Shorts Peak near Bonners Ferry requires a 2.5-mile hike.

“I just love hanging out in the afternoon, sipping a beer on a mountaintop, and enjoying the scenery,” Stuebner said. “I just think it’s a unique opportunity and would love to see more of those things being open to the public.”

With 900 such mountaintop facilities, Idaho once had more fire lookouts than any state in the nation. To peruse the offerings and book your stay, check recreation.gov and look for one of the following 10 Idaho lookouts: Arid Peak, Bald Mountain, Castle Butte, Deadwood, Deer Ridge, Little Guard, Lookout Butte, Lunch Peak, Shorty Peak, or Surveyors.

From top: Little Guard Lookout, Bald Mountain Lookout, and Arid Peak Lookout.

ENTRANCE TO ALL

30

IDAHO STATE PARKS

FOR ONLY

10

$

Your $10 per year Passport sticker gives you unlimited day-use access to every Idaho State Park to climb, hike, bike, boat, fish, paddle, see and be to your heart's content in some of Idaho’s most beautiful places. Purchase a Passport when you renew your vehicle’s registration online, by mail or at your DMV.

North Idaho State Parks

South/East Idaho State Parks

Coeur d’Alene Parkway Coeur d’Alene’s Old Mission Dworshak Farragut Hells Gate Heyburn Mary Minerva McCroskey Priest Lake Round Lake Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes Winchester Lake

Ashton-Tetonia Trail Bear Lake Bruneau Dunes Castle Rocks City Of Rocks Eagle Island Lake Cascade Lucky Peak/Units Harriman Henrys Lake Idaho City Trails System Ponderosa Thousand Springs/Units Lake Walcott Land Of The Yankee Fork Malad Gorge Massacre Rocks Three Island Crossing

IT'S TOO GOOD TO PASS UP

IdahoParksPassport.com

5

TAKE A CULTURAL FIELD TRIP

Traditional dancing and a strongman competition are part of the Jaialdi celebration.

40 A cultural field trip in Idaho is as easy as looking at any community’s calendar of events. Every August there’s the Sun Valley Music Festival when classical musicians descend on central Idaho to perform classical music—for free.

Every July, the McCall Music Society hosts a similar event called SummerFest. The city of Donnelly hosts an annual Huckleberry Festival. Yellow Pine has a harmonica festival.

Ketchum hosts weekend-long festivals centering on the region’s mining and sheep ranching history. Challis hosts a revered music festival called the Braun Brothers Reunion. Salmon has a whitewater festival.

The list is far longer than the number of cities in the state.

If you want to experience a tried and true piece of Idaho culture that’s got international significance, head to Boise for the once-everyfive-years Jaialdi. The next is coming right up in late July 2020.

Jaialdi is an event that celebrates Basque culture and history in Idaho. Basques immigrated to Idaho and the Intermountain

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

West in large numbers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to work for the region’s booming sheep ranching and mining industries. Idaho and Nevada are now home to more Basques than any part of the world outside the Basque homeland in Spain and France.

In the native Basque language, Jaialdi literally means “Festival.” The Boise Jaialdi puts Basque culture on display with dancing, music, sport, and authentic food and drinks and draws an international crowd of 40,000 or more. Jaialdi was first celebrated in 1987 as a one-time weekend event to educate Idahoans about local Basque culture. Its wild success prompted Gov. Cecil Andrus to hold the event again in 1990 in conjunction with the state’s centennial celebration. The event is now held every five years on the last weekend of July.

John Bieter, a Basque studies professor at Boise State University, told The New York Times in 2015 that the festival is a time for Basques to celebrate and promote their ethnic identity. He said it’s an effort that’s become more important now that fewer than 1 million people speak the traditional Basque

language, meaning it could become extinct.

“It ends up being about relationships,” Bieter told the Times. “We’ll have Basques from the ‘old country,’ and Basques from all over the West, and then you’ll have Americans who stumble across the festival who discover Basque culture for the first time.”

Young Dancers: AP Photo / Idaho Statesman, Darin Oswald Strongman: Courtesy Jaialdi 2020 / Adam Eschbach / Idaho Press

EXPLORE

International School. Idaho Roots.

Visit us to learn more about Idaho’s top private school that delivers an internationally-recognized academic program, while celebrating Idaho’s outdoors and communities.

Preschool through high school Small classes and experienced faculty Outstanding college placement Idaho’s top performing International Baccalaureate® World School Idaho’s Best Private School (Niche.com) Idaho’s Most Challenging High School (The Washington Post) Residential and day programs Scholarships and tuition assistance available

Contact us to schedule your personal tour and start your application.

5521 WARM SPRINGS AVE BOISE | 208.424.5000 | WWW.RIVERSTONESCHOOL.ORG

@anka.wanderlust

@moises8ctavio

@idahoughan

@mango_monk

@scottkaterealestate

@andyeckhart

@adamwatkins

# boisefall

through the lens of instagram

42 @lovemycityoftrees

@kiramarie.photo

@yaskpics

@olive.tree.photography

@alyssareichel

@oliverguyphoto

@scenic_picnic / Jeff Mensch

43

@idahoughan

@amandaboyce_16

@joeymilan

@vibedogtraining

EXPLORE

CLIMBING

BEYOND THE

CRUX

44

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

BOISE’S BURGEONING CLIMBING SCENE

BY EMILEE MAE STRUSS

I

t seems Boise has finally made it. Made it past the crux-y part of fostering a sustainable climbing community. The new state-of-the-art climbing gym in Meridian, Vertical View, is the answer. Vertical View started akin to an earthquake; with subtle rumblings that would eventually create something massive. This buzz among climbers has existed for years with comments such as “Somebody needs to build a massive indoor climbing gym around here.”

“It was almost offensive,” Vertical View Operations Manager Tyler Pape said, “that we didn’t have some momentous climbing gym here in Boise.”

Pape is not only a seasoned rock climber but also proficient in long evenings spent sitting at Tyson Gray’s kitchen table, eating Clif Bars and just dreaming—dreaming about the potential that Boise has to birth one of the greatest climbing gyms around.

Pape said that Vertical View was originally Tyson Gray’s “brainchild.”

Gray, a husband and father of five, says that the idea came to him as his 4-yearold daughter was passing him on a rock wall at another gym. She said, “I’m beating you, Daddy!” In that moment, Gray realized something very different about climbing.

“I love the outdoors and have dabbled in many different activities,” Gray said. “The problem with most of the activities is that we would have to split up as a family. That’s why I love climbing, it’s something we can all do together.”

That “brainchild” is no longer just an idea but a fully-grown 31,000-square-foot building. Vertical View is four stories high with climbing walls varying from 20 to 65 feet high.

There are 200 climbing routes, 84 rope anchors, and a route for everyone.

Yes, a route for everyone: new climbers, professional climbers, kid climbers, terrified climbers, and competitive climbers. This is not to mention the I-haven’t-climbed-in-15years climbers.

“There’s no doubt the wall will be intimidating,” Pape said. “But you’ll walk into Vertical View and see people of all ages climbing and having a really good time—it’s contagious.”

Walking into Vertical View certainly generates that “Wow!” response.

The tallest wall actually starts in the basement and towers up to the third floor. When you walk in the front

Good-to-Know Climbing Terms belayer — The one on the ground using a metal device called a “belay device” to control the rope and climber above with minimal effort.

beta — Tips to the climber from someone who has typically already climbed the route and can help you. crux — The hardest part of a route. dyno — A dynamic movement up the wall to a hold that would otherwise be out of the climber’s reach.

send — When a climber tops out on a climb without weighting the rope or falling. bomber — A term used to describe a really good hold, as if it’s bomb-proof.

doors, you will see climbers on the wall mid-climb and still going up. The basement, Pape noted, is gigantic.

That’s where there’s stadium seating for hosting competitions. Underneath the seating is a 15-foot bouldering cave.

Other areas include an Olympiccertified speed wall, a space designed specifically for kids, and an intense training area for those desiring a challenge. Climbing isn’t the only thing offered at Vertical View. They also have a full fitness gym and two yoga studios: one regular and one hot yoga studio.

Rock climbing is no longer just a recreational activity. It’s also a highly competitive sport. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, will present the first ever sport-climbing competition in the Olympics.

“We want to invite professional climbers to find a home here where they can really push their climbing to the next level,” Pape explained.

Rock climbing is a varied sport with different types of climbing. Bouldering is a short, stout, and powerful type of climbing. The walls stand somewhere between 10 and 15 feet. It requires neither harness nor rope—just your rock-climbing shoes and a chalk bag.

Climbers use chalk, similar to the chalk that gymnasts use, to reduce moisture on their hands.

Sport climbing is typically the type of climbing one might imagine. A rope connects the climber to the belayer through a metal anchor that holds the rope up at the top of the wall.

Speed wall climbing is relatively self-explanatory. The climber climbs up

traverse — Moving laterally across the wall.

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

45

EXPLORE Nic Houser climbing a route called She’s The Bosch, rated 5.11 and located on Window Rock, City of Rocks.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

OUTDOOR CLIMBS IN SOUTHERN IDAHO Often times, climbers will say they “train indoors to climb outdoors.” That’s because climbing indoors is a great place to learn how to use the proper gear to safely take your skills to the real rock. The key information provided below is primarily from longtime Idaho climber Dave Bingham, who is also the author of several guidebooks, including “Idaho Underground” and “City of Rocks & Castle Rocks.”

This fall, he released a second, updated version of “Idaho Underground.” Guidebooks are highly recommended.

THE BLACK CLIFFS Boise, Western Idaho what you’ll find — Towers of columnar basalt that rise up to 65 feet high. where you’ll find it — Take Highway 84 to Highway 21 on the way to Lucky Peak, the Black Cliffs are on the north side of the river. why you should go — Easy to access from Boise with mixed climbing routes.

CITY OF ROCKS & CASTLE ROCKS Southern Idaho what you’ll find — A climbing mecca. These granite walls are well known across the country. where you’ll find it — Take I-84 east to Delco. Go south on State Highway 77 to Connor Creek Junction and turn right at the stop sign. Highway 77 continues to Almo. City of Rocks and Castle Rocks are both in Almo. There is a wonderful visitor center there where rangers can help you get around. why you should go — Endless climbing with very good routes, sketchy routes and everything in-between. This is a climber’s true treasure of a place.

THE FINS Snake River Plain, Eastern Idaho what you’ll find — World-class limestone and high-desert sport climbing. where you’ll find it — Take Highway 33 south from Howe and turn west onto Forest Service Road 557. Keep right on the dirt road and you’ll go through a canyon. Headwall is a campground about 5 miles down the road where you can park. Four-wheel-drive is mandatory. why you should go — It’s a newly developed area and, well, it’s world-class climbing, so that’s a thing.

DIERKES LAKE Twin Falls, South-central Idaho what you’ll find — Steep, challenging sport climbing and (many) salt-lick-smooth boulders. where you’ll find it — Take Twin Falls Ave. in Twin Falls approximately 4 miles east. Follow the signs to Shoshone Falls. Dierkes Lake is near Shoshone Falls Park. why you should go — The climbs, although stout, come with a whole entourage of lakes, waterfalls, and shady spots to picnic.

Photo: Mark Weber / Idaho Stock Images

46

the wall as fast as possible using an autobelay, which is an automatic belaying system that moves with the climber up the wall. When the climber wants to come down, he or she just sits back into the harness and slowly descends.

With so many different types of climbing, it’s easy to understand how Vertical View is filling a gap in the Boise climbing community. Before Vertical View, there was Asana Climbing Gym in Garden City, and Urban Ascent in Boise. Asana Climbing Gym is known as the “bouldering gym” due to its shorter walls. It provides colorful routes with various difficulties amd challenging overhanging sections. It is a favorite of the very committed bouldering community.

Urban Ascent was Boise’s first heartbreak as a climbing community.

Urban Ascent was known as the sport climbing gym. They bolstered taller walls with greater sport climbing capabilities.

Urban Ascent closed its doors on April 28, 2018. The space was instead used to create affordable housing.

“When we started this conversation five years ago,” Pape said, “we thought Urban Ascent would always be there.”

Pape added that when Urban Ascent closed down, it not only triggered the loss of a climbing gym but also the loss of a lifestyle for the climbers. Climbing, Pape shared, is much more than just an activity. It’s a way of life and a place of belonging. Urban Ascent is gone; however, it is returning under a new name, “The Commons.” The Commons is located in downtown Boise. Its focus areas will be similar to that of Urban Ascent, offering sport climbing, bouldering, a fitness area, and yoga studios.

As Boise sprouts from one climbing gym to three this fall, we notice one very important thing about the climbing community: They’re here, they’re growing, and they’re welcoming you— yes you—with open arms.

EXPLORE

48

THINKING GLOBALLY, ACTING LOCALLY A NEW CLASSROOM AT THE PEREGRINE FUND WILL CONNECT BOISE STUDENTS TO GLOBAL RAPTOR SCIENTISTS B Y PA T T I M U R P H Y

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

I

n an outdoor area at The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey, a small group of people gather around a bird handler who holds a miniature owl on her gloved hand while sharing information about the bird. Around the corner, a family pauses to take a photo of the bald eagle in one of the several outdoor enclosures in which raptors from around the world perch just a couple of arm lengths away. Inside the interpretive center, a group of exuberant school children move from one exhibit to another as they learn about raptors in the wild.

This up-close and intimate introduction to these wild birds is what helps educate visitors about raptor conservation and the global programs of The Peregrine Fund, an international nonprofit organization that

works to breed and conserve endangered raptors around the world.

Since moving to Boise from New York in 1984, The Peregrine Fund has seen an explosion in the number of visitors, from tourists to school classrooms, who come to learn more about birds of prey and raptor conservation.

According to Tate Mason, director of the World Center, in the past five years the number of visitors has increased from 28,000 in 2015 to an estimated 52,000 this year, clearly stretching the facility’s ability to accommodate the growth.

Expanding Education “We have become one of the preeminent tourist destinations in the state of Idaho and we’re also an integral part of our local schools’ ability to teach

the engineering firm, the new classroom will connect students with biologists around the world as they work in the field with raptors.

Top photo: Courtesy The Peregrine Fund Bottom photo: Courtesy The Peregrine Fund / David Anderson

‘Global Field Trips’

Opposite page: Peregrine falcon. Top: Education coordinator Curtis Evans holds Lucy the turkey vulture. Bottom: Technology will allow students to meet biologists around the world like biologist Carolina Cordero Rodriguez with a ridgway’s hawk nestling in the Dominican Republic.

science and to get their kids fired up about science,” said Mason. “Unfortunately, there is not a room in this building that holds more than 50 people, and, in fact, we’ve had to turn away school groups for lack of space.”

That will soon change with the support of POWER Engineers, a global engineering firm, and its nonprofit organization POWER Foundation, both of which are partnering with The Peregrine Fund to create a new state-of-the-art educational classroom that will more than double the current learning space and provide room to grow in the future.

Jim Haynes, chief administrative officer of POWER Engineers, explained that the foundation was formed in 2012 to support POWER’s philanthropic goals, including promoting STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education.

Funded by a five-year $100,000 financial pledge from the foundation, and pro-bono structural, electrical, and mechanical services provided by

“The Peregrine Fund has projects in 27 countries around the world, and we want to connect people, primarily kids, to those projects,” said Mason, explaining that the new classroom will feature video teleconferencing technology that will allow students to go on “global field trips.”

“We are going to create this connection where children can have a visual and audio conversation with biologists in other countries who are actually working in the field with raptors. This will also give biologists in the field the ability to talk to a classroom from wherever they are.”

In addition to the audiovisual upgrades, the classroom will have new, full-spectrum lighting, new flooring, cabinetry, a retractable projection screen, new doorways and other expansions.

“Supplementing our grant with pro-bono engineering work was a natural evolution,” said Haynes. “It’s been exciting for us to not only financially support the center’s expansion, but also to have a vital hands-on role in helping the plans come to life.”

In the Beginning…

“When The Peregrine Fund moved to Boise in 1984, they were up here on a desert hill raising falcons in captivity.

People must’ve thought it was something like Area 51,” laughed Mason, referring to the purported secret UFO holding area in Nevada. “Here they were, building a bunch of big barns and raising birds and endangered species and it was all behind fences,

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

49

EXPLORE

50

a very secretive operation, and it was like ‘what is going on up there’? So the people with The Peregrine Fund thought, ‘let’s bring people in and tell our story’ and that led to building the interpretive center in 1992.”

The 580-acre site sits on top of a hill overlooking Boise. The campus includes a falconry archives library, breeding facilities that produce chicks from captive flocks of rare and endangered birds of prey for release to the wild, and an interpretive center that includes classrooms used for raptor education.

Teaching Science Through Conservation Over the years, the raptor education program has become a key part of how area elementary teachers teach science.

“We’ve spoken to educators, and they tell us that The Peregrine Fund is directly teaching what they are teaching their kids,” Mason said. “An example would be if you’re teaching children about structure and function TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

“WE HAVE BECOME ONE OF THE PREEMINENT TOURIST DESTINATIONS IN THE STATE OF IDAHO…” —T A T E M A S O N , D I R E C T O R O F T H E W O R L D C E N T E R F O R B I R D S O F P R E Y

and you have a peregrine falcon on your glove, you’d talk about how their feet are built, or how the beak is built, and explain how engineers have used that information to design airplanes, observing how a peregrine falcon can do what it does,” Mason said.

“If you watch a group of third-graders around an owl, and they hear about how owls are in nature and captivity, the kids get really hooked and ask authentic questions,” he continued.

“Those are the first two steps of the scientific method: observation and questioning. We bring kids into the scientific process without them even knowing it.”

The new classroom is part of The Peregrine Fund’s HATCHED Campaign, an expansion of the World Center that will include 11 new outdoor bird exhibits, a new Global Raptor Educa-

tion Welcome Center, an outdoor amphitheater and more parking. The first stage of the expansion will begin with the classroom in November 2019, with the other additions slated to go up through 2020.

“We were looking for an entity that would be able to use the funds for science, and our foundation allows POWER to fulfill its mission of thinking globally, and acting locally,” Haynes said.

He noted that POWER Engineers has its own connection to helping raptors in the wild. “Much of the engineering we do around the country involves power lines, which are a threat to raptors,” he said. “Some of our work is built on protecting the birds from power lines. Quite a few of our biologists are raptor experts, so this project is just a great fit.”

Rendering: Courtesy The Peregrine Fund

Rendering of the World Center for Birds of Prey expansion, part of the HATCHED campaign.

YOU JUST STUMBLED ONTO BOISE’S PREMIER RENTAL COMMUNITY! Now just a Stonesthrow away The Village at Meridian

N. Cloverdale Road

THE VILLAGE AT MERIDIAN W. Fairview Avenue

N. Eagle Road

THE COTTAGES AT STONESTHROW

Stonesthrow Living, It’s Like Nothing Else You’ve just stumbled upon the Boise area’s newest luxury rental community! Residents will enjoy a modern fitness center, two-car garage, clubhouse with kitchen, pool, outdoor grilling area and fine sand volleyball court.

Visit us today online at www.stonesthrowresidences.com STONESTHROW LIVING, 4195 EAST FLORENCE DRIVE MERIDIAN, IDAHO 83642 | (208) 421-9856

EXPLORE

HOW

THE WEST CAN

52

BOISE-BASED ADVOCATES FOR THE WEST PROTECTS PUBLIC LANDS PRO BONO

BY JA M I E H AU S M A N

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

WIN

T

hroughout the Boise foothills, sagebrush plants border the trails and top the ridges, creating a neutral backdrop for the blue bachelor buttons and yellow sunflowers in the summer and the snow-capped mountains in the winter. Their dusty green leaves and twisted, weathered trunks forge an icon of the West subtler than the imperial American bison. Despite its matte finish, the sagebrush habitat’s existence ensures the prosperity of more than 350 other species.

Advocates for the West, a Boisebased team of lawyers who provide free legal services to environmental nonprofits, is to the region’s natural treasures as the sagebrush is to the species that rely on it, a stalwart

shield. Since the organization’s founding in 2003, they’ve won 85 percent of their 150-and-counting cases, which span enforcement of the Clean Water Act to fighting oil and gas leases. Despite some high-profile cases, including ones battling the Trump Administration’s policies, the team at Advocates rarely appears in the media. Instead, they work behind the scenes, elevating the organizations and causes for which they fight.

Laird Lucas, the founder and executive director of Advocates, is anything but a background character.

He graduated from Yale with a law degree in 1986 and spent the beginning of his career practicing law at a high-profile firm in San Francisco.

In 1993, he turned his attention to

“IT’S OUR DUTY TO SHEPHERD THESE LANDS INTO THE FUTURE.”

OF SUN VALLEY

The Wood River Valley’s premier dining magazine & menu guide

—LAIRD LUCAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, A DVO C AT E S F O R T H E W E S T

Laird Lucas

public interest environmental law and moved to Boise to run the Idaho office of the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies. After 10 years, he founded Advocates and began building a team to take threats to the West head-on.

“I chose to use my time and energy to try to protect the land, try to protect the rivers,” Lucas told me. “That’s what I wanted to do … It’s the mission that we all here have committed to.”

During its first decade, the organization has grown to include four staff attorneys and two senior attorneys in addition to Lucas. Sarah Stellberg serves as one of the staff attorneys, and she’s currently working with Lucas to challenge the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision-making process for oil and gas leases near the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. The Obama administration paused the lease sales to conduct more research on the cultural and archaeological resources of the area. When the Trump administration came into power, leasing became active again, and Advocates has been bringing suits against the BLM for granting leases without proper public involvement.

So far, the lawsuits have paused the leasing.

“We care deeply about preserving public lands and wildlife,” Stellberg said. “Bringing lawsuits and winning

them is an effective way to stop terrible things on public lands.”

Some of the biggest threats to the West, Stellberg said, include the leasing of public lands for domestic grazing, oil and gas production, and mining. While many of the lawsuits end in settlements that move progress forward in compromise, Advocates’ approach of presenting the science and legality behind each case they fight has been a winning strategy.

Most recently, in June 2019, Advocates won a case on behalf of the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) that ordered the Forest Service to protect fish from water diversions in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

ICL’s executive director, Justin Hayes, said that when the group brought their complaint to the attention of the Forest Service and pointed to the Endangered Species Act as the legal document requiring their action, the Forest Service refused to act.

“When we get to the point in our advocacy where we feel like we need to reach for litigation or be in the court system trying to find answers to the questions we’re seeking,” Hayes said, “we turn to groups like Advocates for the West because they are litigators. That’s what they do.”

In the nonprofit world, keeping sharp litigators on staff is expensive

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

SUMMER 2019

Visit sunvalleymag.com/food-drink for the latest in dining and restaurants in the Wood River Valley.

EXPLORE

“BRINGING LAWSUITS AND WINNING THEM IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO STOP TERRIBLE THINGS ON PUBLIC LANDS.” —SARAH STELLBERG, S TA F F AT T O R N E Y, A DVO C AT E S F O R T H E W E S T

54

Sarah Stellberg, one of the staff attorneys at Advocates for the West.

and inefficient, Hayes explained, and Advocates eases that pressure.

“I don’t have to maintain a crack squad of attorneys for the few times I need litigation,” Hayes said. “We have a symbiotic relationship; we are the TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

issue and process experts, and they are the legal experts.”

Although the pendulum swing of federal administrations makes measuring progress feel like one step forward, two steps back, Lucas said he judges Advocates’ success by how much an issue has been elevated.

For example, every state in the West now has sage-grouse task forces, so that when a large project that could affect their habitat is proposed, the developers have to mitigate the risks to the sage-grouse, thus protecting millions of acres of land that was previously vulnerable.

As for the future of Advocates, the team will continue to bring cases to court to protect the wildlife and natural treasures of the region.

“We’re Advocates for the West, intentionally,” Lucas said. “The West has something that really nowhere

else in the world has, which is these big wide open spaces that are public lands ... It’s our duty to shepherd these lands into the future. I feel like we really can have an impact on that.”

Open Cases Advocates for the West works on multiple cases at once to maximize their effectiveness. These are cases pending in their office today:  Little Colorado River Basin Fracking  Idaho Clean Water Act Permitting  Sage-Grouse RMP Challenge  Duck Creek Livestock Grazing  Air Force Urban Warfare Training  Oil and Gas Lease Sales Near Bears Ears National Monument  Wishbone Bighorn Sheep Herd Protection

SHOP BOISE LIKE A LOCAL Downtown Boise APRIL TO DECEMBER

Saturdays on 8th Street & Idaho 9:30AM TO 1:30 PM

BOISE’S ORIGINAL FARMERS MARKET The Capital City Public Market has connected the community with growers, producers and artisans throughout Idaho since 1994, generating millions of dollars of revenue for the local economy.

Arts

56

IDAHO’S ARTIST Ward Hooper’s iconic style connects past to present

By Sharon Fisher

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Opposite Page: Dayne Ellis Johnson / RedfishTMG.com Art: Courtesy Ward Hooper

C

hances are, you’ve seen Ward Hooper art, even if you didn’t know it. Perhaps it was the dozens of posters celebrating Boise neighborhoods or Idaho resort towns. Perhaps it was the sculptures celebrating Basque culture bookending Boise’s Basque Block. Perhaps it was even one of the plaques denoting buildings on Boise’s geothermal system. They’re all his work, and that’s what makes him Idaho’s artist.

“Ward Hooper helps visually shape and inform our community identity,” said Karen Bubb, cultural planner in the Boise City Department of Arts & History, who has worked with Hooper on public art projects. “He connects our contemporary places, like the Basque Block, to a deeply-rooted historic past with his art. Ward is inspired by beautiful, historic design styles, which he makes his own applying them to places of meaning and memory for all of us.”

Karl LeClair, Boise’s public art program manager, voices a similar theme. “Ward has played an instrumental role in shaping the

identity of Boise and its well-loved neighborhoods and resources such as our parks, the foothills open space, the Boise River and the Greenbelt, and also in representing important aspects of life here,” he explained.

“Some of Ward’s work has become synonymous with our experience in Boise, sometimes without viewers or citizens even realizing it.”

Once you recognize Hooper’s style—it really is distinctive—you’ll see it everywhere.

“I’m drawn to things of a different era,” noted Hooper, 55, who owns an art and vintage clothing store downtown (Ward Hooper Vintage), where he creates art behind the counter. “I really like the old travel posters, art nouveau and art deco and things from the 1900s all the way to the 1940s and 1950s.”

An early job was working at a sign shop, which gave Hooper experience handling and arranging type. “You can see a lot of fonts and type in my work,” he said. “Words and the way they are put together graphically can also be a form of art.”

57

Opposite page: Ward Hooper in his vintage store on Idaho Street, Boise.

This page: The vintage-style travel posters Hooper is famous for.

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

Another reason for Hooper’s ubiquity is just how much art he’s created. “When I started off, I was doing traditional painting,” he said.

“I moved into airbrush because I liked that style. Then, fortunately, the computer age merged with the artistic.” Converting to the computer— he uses a Power Mac running Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop—let him create his work more quickly, in as little as a week.

“It makes me more prolific than someone who has to labor over a canvas for months,” Hooper said.

“Learning to draw things on the computer stepped up my game quite a bit.” Commercial availability of largescale printers also helped, he added.

“You cut out the middleman and go right to your clientele.”

Growing up in Grangeville, Hooper was recognized early on for his talent.

“Literally from the second- or thirdgrade, they’d hand out a coloring sheet and everyone in the class would do the same basic picture,” he said. “When I got done, everyone seemed to think I had achieved more than your average second-grader. Given some kudos for what you’re doing can do nothing but help you with what you’re doing.”

But kids weren’t encouraged to become artists in Grangeville, so Hooper went on to Boise State University—just one of two in his class of 100 to do so—and studied art. What he really wanted to be was an illustrator. “Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, illustrators were everywhere: album covers, magazines,” he said.

Unfortunately, that style fell out of favor, so in the early 2000s Hooper started doing traditional travel posters of Idaho’s resort areas. “You live in an area with beautiful scenery.

It rivals the most beautiful places in the world, but I’ve never seen a travel poster for Idaho other than Sun Valley, so I thought, why not?”

That led to a grant from the City of Boise to develop bus-stop posters celebrating Boise’s history and neighborhoods. “Boise at the time didn’t have any artists or artwork romanticizing or glorifying the beautiful things about the city,” he said. “Just postcards with jackalopes and giant potatoes. “

58

Hooper’s body of work comprises an eclectic range of subjects.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Top detail: Dayne Ellis Johnson / RedfishTMG.com Imagine, Black Lab, and Jack Russell: Courtesy Ward Hooper

Life

Be your own utility. Invest in the future.

Photo: Dayne Ellis Johnson / RedfishTMG.com

Those posters led to commissions for event posters. “Any successful concept breeds more business,” Hooper added.

While Hooper still produces event posters in his inimitable style— “People expect a certain thing, so I have to stick to certain parameters,”— he’s been branching out into posters ranging from rock concerts to dog breeds. “I did the top 10 breeds, in ‘orange crate label’ style, graphic and colorful,” he said. “Suddenly people are like, ‘Can you do my dog in that style?’ I started doing all these breeds I’d never heard of.”

It’s all part of how Hooper challenges himself as an artist. “I was able to find a niche, and make it a bigger niche, and people have latched onto me,” he explained. “I’m a staple here, part of the scenery.”

WHERE TO FIND HOOPER’S ART WARD HOOPER VINTAGE 745 W. Idaho St., Boise BASQUE BLOCK SCULPTURES Grove & Capital Boulevard and Grove & 6th Street, Boise GEOTHERMAL PLAQUES Boise City Hall, 150 N. Capital Blvd., Union Block Building, 718 W. Main St.

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

Contact us to learn how you can: Lock in thousands in savings.

Increase your property’s value.

Generate your own electricity.

Boise 208-297-7660

Sun Valley 208-471-4845 info@altenergyinc.com altenergyinc.com

family outdoors news getaways profiles dining arts fitness neighborhoods music business Explore the trends Treasure Valley territory-mag.com events

Arts

60

‘Idaho’ Is the Literary Toast of Ireland Emily Ruskovich garners prestigious International Dublin Literary Award

By Meghan Levi

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Photo: Courtesy City of Dublin / Conor McCabe

A

uthor Emily Ruskovich has extra­ordinary moments while doing ordinary things. The morning after Mother’s Day presented a quiet moment after a long weekend of moving from Idaho City to Boise.

While her husband, Sam McPhee, made one last trip to Idaho City to collect the remainder of their belongings, Ruskovich headed outside with their young daughter to play in the backyard with the rabbits. Those first sweet moments in their new space were interrupted by a phone call that would change everything. On the other end of the line was her editor.

Ruskovich had won the International Dublin Literary Award for her debut novel, “Idaho.”

As she recounts that moment, the confusion and excitement are still evident on her face, “It was so shocking. I thought I must have misheard her. She had to tell me twice that, yes, I won the award,” Ruskovich said. She even told her mom to put her joy on hold because this could not possibly be real. But real it was.

While Ruskovich has received numerous literary awards, the International Dublin Literary Award comes with a hefty monetary prize of €100,000 ($112,000)—the largest award given in the world for a single novel. The award, given by the Dublin City Council, is unique not only for the large sum of money but for the nominating structure as well.

Nominations come from invited public libraries around the world. Many of the other shortlisted novels received multiple nominations, but “Idaho” got just one. Ruskovich acknowledged, “I owe everything to a librarian in Belgium.”

Once the follow-up email arrived, the doubt slowly began to melt away.

Ruskovich and McPhee traveled to Ireland, baby-free, to accept the award. Ruskovich is known for her intense connections to place and her experience in Ireland affected her profoundly. “It wasn’t real until I was in Dublin,” she said. “Everyone was so nice, I felt a deep connection to Ireland.”

Back in Boise, Ruskovich has been busy doing interviews, answering phone calls, and contemplating this new reality. She noted, “It’s still hard to comprehend it.” Indeed. This season of life has brought a whirlwind of changes for her young family. A move from the quiet respite of Idaho City to the busy capital city, where convenience is plentiful but quiet is not. Ruskovich and McPhee intend to move back to a more remote location once their daughter is older, but for now Boise is the dream. The newness of life in Boise and the convenience of it all delights and halts Ruskovich.

She remembers how her father rose well before dawn to plow the road on Hoodoo Mountain after a heavy snowfall, an eight-hour task. Now, as a parent herself, the enormity of the task hits her.

The landscape of Idaho remains Ruskovich’s deepest inspiration.

The land rises up through her pages as a character, and she credits the intensity of her childhood for being able to harness this gift. Ruskovich recalls those days on Hoodoo Mountain as sharp contrasts lived moment by moment. “You can take one step and there are lovely flowers to put in your sister’s hair and then three more steps and there is a decapitated animal laid waste by a person you will never see,” she explained. That juxtaposition of good and evil played a central role in her development.

As a child, Ruskovich was often overwhelmed by feelings of guilt over a crime she never committed. Unable to shake the feeling, she lay awake at night turning the scenarios over in her mind. “I think this feeling is in everyone, that fear of not being a good person. But for me it manifested in a very literal way,” she explained.

Through her writing she was able to use those darker moments from her childhood as a way to thoroughly access the emotions of her characters.

“That’s why I can empathize so deeply with Jenny and the guilt she felt. I had access to that guilt, even though I had never committed the crime,” she added. (“Idaho” centers on a

mother’s—Jenny’s—killing of her daughter.)

Writing “Idaho” had moments of deep catharsis for Ruskovich. Her happy childhood on the mountain is preserved forever. And she was able to make something worthwhile out of the darker moments as well. Tragedy.

Sisterhood. Joy. “I’m always trying to immortalize my childhood on the mountain. It’s an impulse I’ve had since childhood, to save joy,” said Ruskovich. Joy these days comes in capturing the small moments and containing the bigger ones. A young child to care for, a big move, and an even bigger award has come racing toward her all at once.

“I’ve always wanted to be a successful writer, but I’ve never wanted my life to look any different from the life that I love, which is being home with my family.”

Ruskovich with her award in the Mansion House, residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin.

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

61

62

Plant-based meals from The Chef's Farm

Farm Fresh and Ready to Eat The Chef’s Farm takes the farm-to-table concept to a new level

By Cheryl Haas

E

ver since he hit town from the Bay Area, Chef Christian Phernetton has been a culinary star in the Boise foodie firmament. He created quite a buzz with his eclectic and innovative dishes when he was the executive chef at Camel’s Crossing in Hyde Park and with the short-lived Epek. Most recently, he has expanded

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

the concept of “farm-to-table.” His new venture is The Chef’s Table, a ready-toeat meal delivery service that features fresh plant-based ingredients that he grows on one of his two farms. The food is “clean” with ingredients justpicked from the farm, and packaged in sustainable, reusable containers. His menus reflect the culinary creativity that is Phernetton’s signature style.

“He’s amazing!” declared Mara McMillen. “He’s an artist, which is kind

of a strange thing to say about a chef, but the flavors he creates out of such simple ingredients is amazing. When you taste it, it’s like you’re in a five-star restaurant.” McMillen, president of McMillen Jacobs Associates, an engineering and construction firm, orders food delivery every week when she’s not on the road. “I don’t eat well—I’m busy, I’m stressed and I travel a lot,” she said. “I often work until 7 o’clock at night and the last thing I want to

Photos: Courtesy The Chef's Farm

Taste

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

#idahowines www.idahowines.org

IDAHO WINE

FALL 2019

DRINK

do when I get home is cook. Christian’s taken the thought process out of it. I don’t have to pick the meals up, I don’t have to mix the ingredients and cook them. He’s taken away every excuse not to eat clean and healthy. So it’s kind of a no-brainer to me.”

Phernetton creates a new menu each week, which he emails to clients, then harvests the crops, prepares the meals and delivers them the next day.

He offers four lunches and four dinners that are plant-based with the option of adding an animal protein. All meals are sugar-, gluten- and dairy-free. “The idea is that the menu is never stagnant and is hyper-seasonal,” he said. “Ultimately, when you cook with the freshest ingredients, you have the best-tasting food, and that’s my edge.”

Lunches typically are a salad of some sort, chock-full of fresh greens, and range from Crunchy Thai Slaw Salad to Muffaletta Salad. Dinner menus have included: Sesame Veggie Bean Thread Noodle Salad – “Delicious bean thread needles served with a sesame-ginger garlic sauce, along with garlic sautéed mushrooms, carrots and crunchy water chestnuts. Topped with a mélange of black sesame and peanuts.” Can add beef.

Cuban-style Picadillo – “This traditional Cuban dish is the epitome of comfort food: a fragrant, spiced tomato sauce coats tender lentils and is served with sweet currants and green olives.

Served with rice on the side and a garnish of pickled red cabbage.” Served with cumin and garlic black beans with option of pork.

The magic of meals from The Chef’s Farm begins at the farm itself. Phernetton is emphatic about the necessity of farming in a way that improves the soil. “My style of farming is very bio-intensive,” he explained. “I don’t use mechanized tools. I don’t have a tractor, and I don’t till. In mechanized farming, when the farmer plows and plants, the rows can be as long as 100 feet and it changes depending on the type of crop he plants.

“I work to establish the beds, meaning that I build up the soil. My rows are 50 feet long and 30 inches wide. They are uniform and that never changes with crop rotation. So it’s regenerative.

I dress the rows with compost and lay wood chips down in between the rows

“IF I CAN FEED 40 OR 50 PEOPLE WITH FRESH, NUTRIENT-DENSE FOOD … FROM ONE ACRE OF LAND, THINK WHERE WE COULD BE IF MORE PEOPLE DID THAT!”

64

—CHEF CHRISTIAN PHERNETTON

Chef Christian Phernetton and produce from his two farms.

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Photos: Courtesy The Chef's Farm

Taste

NON-TRADITIONAL TACOS to act as mulch and a weed suppressor. It’s a lot of work in the beginning, but year after year it improves the soil.

And when the soil is nutrient-dense, you get nutrient-dense crops.”

Phernetton operates two smallscale farms: one in Dry Creek, which produces cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage, and one in Hammett near Glenns Ferry which produces greens, root vegetables, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. If he can’t grow it himself, he will source locally—after inspecting farm operations to ensure they meet his rigorous standards. He sources chicken from Raw Life Farms, and pork and beef from Malheur Farms.

In the near future, Phernetton plans to expand into the Wood River Valley, and to produce salsa, pestos and jams in addition to meals.

Phernetton began his career trajectory as a teenager, working for restaurateur Peter Schott in downtown Boise.

He went on to chef in top restaurants in New York City, D.C. and Chicago before landing in the Bay Area, where he realized that micro-farming was what sparked his passion. “When I first moved back to Idaho, my goal was to start a farm,” he said. “It wasn’t my intention to get back into restaurant work but less than a year later I owned one!” Now that he has divested himself from ownership of a brick and mortar establishment, he is pursuing his dream with The Chef’s Farm.

“This is what I believe in,” Phernetton said. “If I can feed 40 or 50 people with fresh, nutrient-dense food using creative flavors from one acre of land, think where we would be if more people did that! Eating food isn’t respected or celebrated the way it used to be. Food needs to be number one in our lives, because if we’re consuming nutrient-dense food, everything will fall into place. That kind of food gives you everything you need!”

The meals Phernetton produces reflect his passion. “Every dish you get from him, you know for sure that it's made with love,” smiled Mara McMillen. “That’s the artist part of Christian. He has to be passionate or he couldn’t produce food like this.

When you taste it, you feel the love that went into it.”

THOUGHTFULLY SOURCED INGREDIENTS PRIVATE EVENTS & CATERING AVAIL ABLE

Chef John Cuevas, recognized with a nomination from the James Beard House

CUEVAS: PHOTO BY MARIUSZ JEGLINSKI

FOOD AND RESTAURANT: THEMITCHELLPHOTOCOLLECTION.COM

TUESDAY THRU SATURDAY 1 1:0 0 AM – 9:0 0 PM CLOSED SUNDAY & MONDAY 103 4 S. L A P OINTE STREE T, BOISE, IDAHO 8 370 6 208.4 32.1 10 0 • MADRERESTAUR ANT.NE T

FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

Taste

Dining A Brief Guide to the Valley’s Best Eateries

Idaho and Northwest influences, including locally sourced produce, meats, fresh fish and more. Plus, enjoy three free hours of valet parking when you dine. Reservations recommended.

245 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise, (208) 333-8002

Fork One of the many perks of a bustling city is a vibrant and eclectic dining scene. Boise is no exception. It seems new and inventive eateries are popping up every day. To help you navigate the many options, we’ve put together a quick guide to some of the best places for food and drink. For a look at full menus and more in-depth coverage of the dining scene, check out territory-mag.com/dining.

With ingredients sourced from local Boise and Northwest farmers, ranchers, bakers, distillers, brewers and cheese makers, Fork’s seasonal menu is fresh and innovative— perfect comfort food for lunch or dinner.

Crafted cocktails and a full wine list complement the menu.

199 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 287-1700

Goodwood Barbecue Company Focused on fresh food made from scratch daily and centered on the unique style of closed-pit cooking, Goodwood Barbecue Company gets rave reviews and is fun for the whole family!

7849 W. Spectrum St., Boise, (208) 658-7173 1140 N. Eagle Road, Meridian, (208) 884-1021

Grit American Cuisine american/regional NW

Berryhill Restaurant Bar 66

Celebrated Chef John Berryhill presents his energetic and Slightly Southern dining in the heart of downtown Boise, featuring 28 wines by the glass, an extensive wine list and full bar.

Don’t miss the leather lounge and fireplace.

121 N. 9th St. B, Boise, (208) 387-3553

Boise Fry Company Named the Best Fries in America by the Food Network, Yahoo!, Travel & Leisure and MSN, this local hot spot is a must visit!

They strive to keep all ingredients (and the process) green, natural and sustainable, and each signature item has been meticulously researched and made by hand.

Chef Paul Faucher and Porterhouse Market’s Dave Faulk join forces to create fresh, seasonal dishes that feature ingredients from Idaho farmers and producers. The gas-fired pizza oven turns out hand-tossed pizzas, and specialties like house-smoked bacon, ham and pastrami make regular appearances on the rotating menus of handcrafted American cuisine.

Red Feather Lounge Red Feather has been celebrating the modern American lounge since its opening in 2002. Enjoy seasonal American cuisine, fresh interpretations of the classic cocktail, and an atmosphere inspired by a vibe of eternal swank.

246 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 345-1813

Reel Foods Fish Market & Oyster Bar Providing the Boise area with a fine-dining restaurant, quality seafood and other gourmet treasures—soups, sauces, spices, condiments and sides. Reel Foods serves soups and oysters to eat in on the covered patio or for take-away from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Soups include clam chowder, fisherman’s stew and seasonal specialties such as blue crab bisque and cioppino.

611 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise, (208) 342-2727

State & Lemp State & Lemp offers a dynamic, prix-fixe menu in a contemporary atmosphere Wednesday through Saturday. Relationships built with local farmers, ranchers and artisans lead to thoughtful, creative dishes that showcase the highest quality productions that Idaho and the Pacific Northwest have to offer.

2870 W. State St., Boise, (208) 429-6735

The Tavern at Bown Crossing

Locally imagined and seasonally inspired cuisine served in a funky modern-rustic space anchored by a turn-of-the-century brick wall. A full offering of classically crafted cocktails complements an eclectic wine list.

A unique dining experience offering sushi, USDA prime grade steaks, daily seafood specials, burgers, sandwiches and salads. Full bar with an extensive wine list, great classic cocktails, sake and draught beers. Happy Hour is Monday – Saturday. Brunch is served on Sundays from an a la carte menu, from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tables range from higher tables in the bar area with an energetic atmosphere, or booths, and a quieter area with lower tables. Call for your large party or catering needs.

211 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 342-1142

3111 S. Bown Way, Boise, (208) 345-2277

360 S. Eagle Rd., Eagle, (208) 576-6666

Juniper

204 N. Capitol Blvd., Boise, (208) 949-7523

Capital Cellars Awarded the Wine Spectator "Award of Excellence" in 2016, Capital Cellars serves Boise’s best business breakfast and lunch, as well as featuring an elegant dinner menu that changes seasonally.

110 S. 5th St., Boise, (208) 344-9463

Cottonwood Grille Seasonal Northwest fare, farm-fresh wild game, fine wines and classic cocktails served in a rustic setting along the greenbelt.

913 W. River St., Boise, (208) 333-9800

Trillium Restaurant Located at The Grove Hotel in downtown Boise, Trillium Restaurant specializes in upscale comfort food, featuring regional TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Trillium Restaurant— american/regional NW Located in The Grove Hotel, Trillium offers exquisite dining in an elegant but relaxed atmosphere. Executive Chef Chris Hain has developed a new American menu that favors classic tastes and chic presentations, allowing the food — comprising fresh seafood, choice meats, and local organic produce — to shamelessly take center stage.

Trillium is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Taste

The Tavern at Bown Crossing—american/

Barrelhouse Pub and Grill A unique and casual dining experience, Barrelhouse offers a relaxed environment with delicious pub fare. Serving more than 22 rotating taps of handcrafted beers and hard ciders, with a special emphasis given to Treasure Valley breweries.

regional NW Exciting dining at an affordable price, the Tavern at Bown Crossing can satisfy your tastebuds—whether you are craving a perfectly cooked USDA prime grade steak, hand-rolled sushi or a selection from its creative list of made-to-order salads crafted with the freshest ingredients, the Tavern has you covered. A full bar with an extensive wine list, great classic cocktails, sake and draught beers ensures everybody is happy!

5181 N. Glenwood St., Garden City, (208) 376-4200

Bittercreek Alehouse The Bittercreek Alehouse serves exceptional beers, ciders and ales on tap, alongside tasty bites. Don't miss the Low Power Happy Hour—every weekday from 3-5:30 p.m., when the management unplugs and turns down the lights to reduce their energy footprint, serving and drinking by candlelight in honor of the planet. Romantic and earth-friendly.

246 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 345-1813

asian/sushi

Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill The concept is centered around fictional founders Ling, a firecracker of a gal from Shanghai, and Louie, an All-American guy from Toledo, Ohio, who meet, fall in love and share their passion for food by opening an Asian restaurant that’s “Not for Boring People.” The result is an energetic atmosphere, critically acclaimed cuisine and innovative drink menu. It’s “modern Asian meets American comfort”!

3210 E. Louise Dr., Meridian, (208) 888-5000

Mai Thai

at three locations in the same complex— Shige Express, Shige Steakhouse and Shige Japanese Cuisine.

100 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 338-8423

Superb Sushi After a successful launch in the Crane Creek Market on Bogus Basin Road, Superb Sushi opened a downtown location serving the “most unique sushi in Boise” to loyal customers who return time after time.

280 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 385-0123

bars, pubs & distillery

Bodovino A total wine experience, with over 144 wines by the glass and over 600 wines by the bottle. Now with two locations—downtown Boise and a new location in The Village at Meridian.

404 S. 8th St., Boise, (208) 336-VINO (8466) 363 E. Monarch Sky Lane, Meridian, (208) 887-5369

Donut Daze Enjoy a new and unique experience in Boise: Donut Daze. Serving donuts and fried chicken in a 1960s décor and atmosphere.

Monday through Wednesday 7 a.m. – midnight; Thursday through Sunday 7 a.m. – 3 a.m.

10 Barrel Brewing Company

160 N. 8th St. , Boise, (208) 576-1886

Reef

1759 W. Idaho St., Boise, (208) 344-8424

This 20 barrel brewhouse and our hopking headbrewer Shawn Kelso make this brewpub "the hoppiest place in Idaho" and a hub for all your pre-game warmups and postadventure hunger, and quaffing needs.

830 W. Bannock St., Boise, (208) 344-5870

Mount Everest Momo Café

Amsterdam Lounge

A unique dining experience that brings diners a taste of the rich culinary heritage of the Himalayas. A delicious variety of recipes, painstakingly gathered from the royal kitchens of Nepal to the swept shores of South India, offer a truly delightful Nepali experience.

Himalayan, Nepali, Tibetan and Indian food is carefully prepared from scratch.

Amsterdam is a mixology lounge specializing in craft cocktails and small plates, centrally located in historic downtown Boise, where great conversation is the priority. Women & Whiskey every Wednesday night—ladies receive half-price whiskey all night, featured whiskey is half price for everyone, and free tastings are from 8–11 p.m. Friday happy hour, with half-priced food and drinks, 4-7 p.m.

609 W. Main St., Boise, (208) 345-9515

Unique and authentic dishes from the four regional cuisines of Thailand are complemented by an exceptional wine list and handcrafted cocktails. It is like stepping into a slice of Thailand, right here in Boise.

2144 S. Broadway Ave., Boise, (208) 342-1268

Pho Nouveau Bistro Contemporary Vietnamese comfort food featuring spring rolls, green papaya salad, rice plates, summer noodle bowls (bun) and the always-popular pho.

780 W. Idaho St., Boise, (208) 367-1111

Shige Japanese Cuisine Celebrating over 20 years downtown, Shige Japanese Cuisine is still a local favorite serving up sushi and Japanese specialties

Bardenay The perfect place to meet friends or colleagues for drinks and appetizers. Stop in for lunch or dinner and enjoy Bardenay’s casual Northwestern-style cuisine with cocktails handcrafted with freshly squeezed juices and their signature distilled spirits—currently vodka, rum and gin, with whiskey in the barrel.

610 W. Grove St., Boise, (208) 426-0538 155 E. Riverside Dr., Eagle, (208) 938-5093

A tropical escape in the heart of downtown, featuring the city’s best rooftop patio, live music and exotic food and drink.

105 S. 6th St., Boise, (208) 287-9200

The Hyde House There’s something for everybody on this eclectic menu, where delicious dishes are handcrafted to complement local brews and wines and taps rotate daily!

1607 N. 13th St., Boise, (208) 387-HYDE (4933)

basque

Bar Gernika Traditional Basque dishes, pub fare and an extensive beer selection served in a laid-back space that has become a local institution.

202 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise, (208) 344-2175

The Basque Market Tapas, paella and specialties such as bocadillos, plus cooking classes, wine tastings and a full Basque food market.

608 W. Grove St., Boise, (208) 433-1208 FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

67

Taste

Epi's—A Basque Restaurant

Express Café

Chris and Gina opened Epi’s in memory of their grandmother, Epi Inchausti. This quaint dinnerhouse features food reminiscent of the Basque country, giving you a delightful experience for your evening.

If it's breakfast food you want, Express Café has it. It's always busy, but worth the wait, and feels like going home for breakfast with family—with large portions, friendly cooks and wait staff. You won't be disappointed with the great-tasting, fresh, plentiful and reasonably priced menu items, and the place offers a small-town-diner feel that is cozy and welcoming.

1115 N. Main St., Meridian, (208) 884-0142

cafés, delis & coffee

400 E. Fairview Ave., Meridian, (208) 888-3745

Bacon What could be better than a restaurant named Bacon? … One that serves five kinds of bacon. BACON, a Southern breakfast and lunch bistro conceived by celebrity chef and restaurateur John Berryhill, features coffee, a full bar and the awesome Bacon Bloody Mary!

Flying M Coffeehouse Flying M roasts its own beans, using a smallbatch drum roaster, so coffee is always fresh and delicious. A full complement of madefrom-scratch baked items are handcrafted each morning by master bakers and served with a smile in this bustling downtown coffeehouse that has become a local favorite.

121 N. 9th St., Boise, (208) 387-3553

500 W. Idaho St., Boise, (208) 345-4320

Big City Coffee & Café

Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro

Serving breakfast and lunch all day, along with espresso, coffees and in-house baked goods. Try the pumpkin chai muffin, cherry pie scone, or homemade biscuits and gravy with fresh buttermilk biscuits.

1416 Grove St., Boise, (208) 345-3145

Goldy’s opened in 1999 in the heart of downtown Boise. Quality made-to-order breakfast has made Goldy’s one of the best restaurants in the Treasure Valley—Voted Best Local Breakfast for 18 years!

108 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise, (208) 345-4100

Big City Coffee & Café— cafés, delis & coffee Perfectly sweetened lattes, giant breakfasts and massive pastries. If you love a good cup of Joe; stop here and enjoy the thoughtful space that encourages communal dining and offers a feeling of small-town neighborliness.

District Coffeehouse A nonprofit created to support an orphanage network called Send Hope, District Coffeehouse focuses on freshly roasted, carefully crafted coffee with a mission. Each batch is roasted in micro-batches twice a week using 100% Arabica beans.

219 N. 10th St., Boise, (208) 343-1089 TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

11 N. Orchard St., Boise. (208) 577-6415

Le Coq d’Or An unforgettable and artistic dining experience inspired by authentic European countryside cuisine and farm-to-table French cuisine and modern European dishes. Open for dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday.

176 S. Rosebud Ln., Eagle, (208) 947-2840

Petite 4 Bringing French bistro-inspired dishes to the Boise Bench, Petite 4 is offering dinner service Tuesday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

4 N. Latah St., Boise, (208) 345-1055

Pie Hole Late night dining in a funky space, serving thin crust New York-style pizza. Pie Hole has become a local institution. Open all day and late night.

205 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 344-7783 1016 Broadway Ave., Boise, (208) 424-2225

Richard’s Café Vicino

Founded by husband-and-wife-team Moshit Mizrachi-Gabbitas and Chuck Gabbitas, Janjou was opened in 2008 as a wholesale bakery selling mostly cookies to local shops.

A retail bakery and full cafe was opened in 2013—with the name as homage to Moshit's mother, whose nickname was Janjou.

Vicino is Italian for neighborhood. Seasonal menus take advantage of locally sourced produce, fresh fish, meat and game. Chef Richard Langston and his staff share a culinary philosophy that celebrates the integrity of ingredients and prepares simply to showcase the natural flavors of the products. The end result is delicious awardwinning cuisine that receives rave reviews.

1754 W. State St., Boise, (208) 297-5853

1808 W. Fort St., Boise, (208) 472-1463

Wild Root Café and Market

The Wylder

Husband-and-wife-team, chef Michael Trebbi and his wife, Anne-Marie, serve up breakfast and lunch fare with artistic flare and a local, seasonal, farm-to-table focus. The presentation is elegant and the food is fresh, delicious and artfully prepared by hand.

Enjoy handcrafted, slow-batch pizza with soul. Experience full-service dining, craft cocktails, and suppers. With five styles of red pizza and five types of white, pies are not the only reason this restaurant is always buzzing. There’s a kale Caesar salad that has spawned regulars, as well as a cauliflower dish that makes even the most carnivorous diners ponder plantbased diets. Now open daily for lunch.

Janjou Patisserie 68

all made from scratch with only the freshest ingredients. Boise’s favorite hole-in-the-wall local Italian is open for lunch and dinner daily.

276 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 856-8956

italian & mediterranean

Alavita Fresh seasonal ingredients inform the locally inspired Italian cuisine at this traditional Italian osteria (an Italian joint). Creative craft cocktails and an extensive wine list complement dishes inspired by regional ingredients, making Alavita a great place for celebrating life with good friends, business associates or family.

807 W. Idaho St., Boise, (208) 780-1100

Luciano’s Italian Restaurant Authentic Italian food in a casual, familyfriendly atmosphere that features classic Tuscan-inspired cuisine, with a few surprises—

501 West Broad St., Boise, (208) 209-3837

mexican

Andrade’s An eclectic atmosphere that features more than 100 menu items from the heart of Mexico. Offering great food, great service and great value, Andrade's is known as a local's favorite. Owner Javier Andrade offers a glimpse into the cuisine of a pueblo rich in history, culture, and traditions—with pride in every dish.

4903 Overland Rd., Boise, (208) 344-1234

Taste

Calle 75 Calle 75 Street Tacos is the newest member of elite restaurants in the nation to create authentic corn tortillas from scratch, using the ancient nixtamalization process. Come enjoy pure authentic Mexican cuisine.

110 N. 11th St., Boise, (208) 336-2511 3635 E. Longwing Ln., Meridian, (208) 846-9001

Chapala Traditional Mexican food in a familyfriendly atmosphere offering choices for every taste, and with multiple locations throughout Boise.

1201 S. Vista Ave., Boise, (208) 429-1155

Diablo and Sons

Owyhee Tavern— steak & seafood The Owyhee Tavern, at the corner of 11th and Main, is a welcome addition to the downtown culinary scene. The restaurant is owned and operated by Barry Werner and John and Kristy Toth, who also own Tavern at Bown Crossing. The Tavern's location in The Owyhee exemplifies the “Work, Meet and Live” ethos of the building. Enjoy excellent food and a great atmosphere in historic Boise.

Enjoy some of the city’s best tacos that are rotated with the seasons. Diablo and Sons source from all local farms.

246 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 429-6340

The Funky Taco

Bonefish Grill

Owyhee Tavern

801 W. Bannock St., Boise, (208) 991-4106

Full of fresh and innovative dishes, the Bonefish Grill crafts a complete dining experience—from customized pairings and craft cocktails, daily specials and a menu that specializes in seasonal fresh fish prepared with elegant simplicity over a wood-burning grill. Taste today's fresh catch.

855 W. Broad St., Boise, (208) 433-1234

Madre

Chandlers Steakhouse

Owyhee Tavern opened in October 2016 bringing a new vibe to the downtown area.

Located in the historic Owyhee building, this steakhouse offers American Wagyu, USDA prime grade steaks, organic salmon, fresh ahi, and oysters on the half shell. Specialties also include kung pao calamari, Kobe fondue and ahi poke salad—and don’t forget to ask for a side of cheddar tots or Brussels sprouts. $5 Happy Hour, Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m.

We are The Funky Taco. We create food within a “farm to funky fare” framework.

Our emphasis is on Asian, Indian, Mexican, and Americana ethnicities / styles of food.

We religiously support our local farmers and our menu selections will morph and change with the seasonal yields.

Madre Boutique Taqueria is committed to establishing a new category of neighborhood restaurant that will maintain the classic attributes of comfort and affordability and continuously strive to deliver superior food and service. As part of our effort to meet these goals, we aim to bring people closer to the production of their food by incorporating regional, sustainably-grown ingredients whenever possible.

1034 S. La Pointe St., Boise, (208)-432-1100

Matador Popular Mexican cuisine in an "Old World" atmosphere of dark walnut, intricate ironwork and deep, roomy booths. Matador features the city’s widest selection of tequila and a spacious outdoor patio during the summer months.

215 N. 8th St., Boise, (208) 342-9988

steak & seafood

Barbacoa Upscale South American steak house featuring tableside guacamole, fresh seafood, chicken mole and certified Angus beef steak served on Argentina ironwood.

Specialty crafted cocktails, from margaritas to mojitos, and an extensive wine list complement every meal.

276 Bobwhite Ct., Boise, (208) 338-5000

Prime cuts of beef and fresh caught fish, combined with local homegrown ingredients and an extensive wine list, are served in a swanky, hip setting. The Lounge at Chandlers features live jazz nightly and a martini bar— home of the Ten Minute Martini. Social Hour is Monday-Friday, 4-6 p.m.

981 W. Grove St., Boise, (208) 383-4300

Fresh Off the Hook A little slice of Seattle mixed with a dash of San Francisco, add a pinch of Alaska and toss it together with the flavors of Key West and you’ll enjoy an incredible seafood experience—right here in Boise. Bright and cheery, soaked in the colors of the ocean, Fresh Off the Hook owner David Bassiri is committed to delivering service and freshness. Guaranteed!

507 N. Milwaukee St., Boise, (208) 322-9224 401 S. 8th St., Boise, (208) 343-0220

Lucky Fins Seafood Grill Welcome to a new way to experience seafood—where great quality and affordability come together! Daily chalkboard specials are innovative and creative, complemented by a menu of diverse flavors influenced by Asian, Mexican and Northwest cuisines. And don’t miss sushi prepared by one of the best sushi chefs in the Treasure Valley!

801 W. Main St., Boise, (208) 888-3467 1441 N. Eagle Rd., Meridian, (208) 888-3467

1109 Main St., Boise, (208) 639-0440

Stagecoach Inn Stagecoach Inn opened in 1959. A Treasure Valley favorite dinner restaurant and bar famous for its hand-breaded bar prawns, prime rib and banana cream pie. Folks near and far make the historic Stagecoach their favorite destination restaurant.

3132 Chinden Blvd., Garden City, (208) 342-4161

Ruth’s Chris Steak House Featuring Ruth’s special 500˚ sizzling plates and an award-winning wine list perfect for a romantic dinner, business meeting or private party. Happy Hour, seven days a week, from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

800 W. Main St., Boise, (208) 426-8000

The BrickYard Touted as a steak house, The BrickYard has other notable features that are bound to pique your epicurean interest, such as our tableside salad service and our wide range of entrée selections from Idaho Wagyu Kobe beef to crab and scallop topped halibut.

Open for lunch and dinner. Happy Hour, 3-6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10-11 p.m.

Dueling Piano Show, Friday and Saturday, 10 p.m. – close.

601 Main St., Boise, (208) 287-2121 FALL 2019

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

69

S EP • OC T • NOV

19

CA LENDA R

Arts & Culture SEPT. 6-8 — Art in the Park This open-air festival provides visitors of all ages and interests with the opportunity to meet more than 200 artists and purchase their works. During the three-day event, Boise Art Museum presents a variety of contemporary

Cecilia Violetta López stars as Manon in Opera Idaho's production

arts and crafts along with wonderful food and hands-on activities for children. Julia Davis Park, 570 Julia Davis Dr., Boise. boiseartmuseum.org/art-in-the-park SEPT. 25-26 —

Women and Leadership Conference Women and Leadership is a unique professional development experience. Our goal is to highlight women in leadership positions of all kinds and to encourage both genders to foster growth in themselves and others. Boise State University Student Union Building, 1700 University Dr., Boise.

7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. boisestate.edu/sps-andruscenter/

SEPT. 27, 29 — ‘Manon’ Opera Idaho favorite Cecilia Violetta López stars in the title role of Jules Massenet’s romantic opera, one of the great tragic tales in literature and music. The Egyptian Theatre, 700 W. Main St., Boise. 7:30 p.m. egyptiantheatre.net OCT. 7 — Ta-Nehisi Coates The Cabin presents a Readings and Conversations evening between Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of “The Beautiful Struggle,” “We Were Eight Years in Power,” “Between the World and Me,” and the forthcoming “The Water Dancer,” and Mitchell S. Jackson, author of “The Residue Years” and “Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family.”

Morrison Center, 2201 W. Cesar Chavez Ln., Boise. 8 p.m. morrisoncenter.com

Courtesy Opera Idaho

70

OCT. 10 — Boise Metro Chamber Join the 136th Annual Gala featuring television host and travel guru, Samantha Brown. This

Gabriella Demczuk

20

Ta-Nehisi Coates

annual gala also features live and silent auctions. 850 W. Front St., Boise. 6 p.m.

OCT. 16 – NOV. 9

BCT’s “The Wolves”

—

A girls indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent wolves. 854 Fulton St., Boise. bctheater.org NOV. 7-9 — ‘Waitress’ Inspired by the beloved film, “Waitress” tells the story of Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. 2201 W. Cesar Chavez Ln. morrisoncenter.com

Music The Marshall Tucker Band

Knitting Factory Concert House, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. 8 p.m. bo.knittingfactory.com

SEPT. 12

SEPT. 12

The Olympic, 1009 Main St., Boise. 8 p.m. theolympicboise.com

The Olympic, 1009 Main St., Boise. 8 p.m. theolympicboise.com

Horse Feathers

Red Shahan

SEPT. 14

Coyote Kings

The Sapphire Room, 2900 W. Chinden TERRITORY–MAG.COM

FALL 2019

Blvd., Boise. 7:30 p.m. riversideboise.com/ sapphire-room.

SEPT. 16

Art D’Ecco

Neurolux Lounge, 111 N. 11th St., Boise. 7:30 p.m. neurolux.com

SEPT. 24

Noah Gundersen Neurolux Lounge, 111 N. 11th St., Boise. 7:30 p.m. neurolux.com Michael Porter

SEPT. 8

Noah Gunderson

Calendar

SEPT. 28 — FitOne Race St. Luke’s FitOne race is about living healthier, inspiring each other, and being part of a greater purpose. It’s more than a race. It’s a community. Races include 5k, 10k, and a half marathon. Downtown Boise (Cecil D. Andrus Park to Ann Morrison Park). fitoneboise.org

Walkabout Boise, on Saturdays

OCT. 11-FEB. 8, 2020

—

Idaho Steelheads Enjoy the fast-paced minor league ice hockey action at CenturyLink Arena. The Steelheads play in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. CenturyLink Arena, 233 S. Capitol Blvd. idahosteelheads.com

Food and Drink Sports & Outdoors SEPT. 7 – OCT. 12 — Walkabout Boise Join every Saturday for an approximately 1.5 hour guided walking tour through 150 years of history and architecture. Let guides introduce you to the built environment that makes downtown Boise like no other place. Meet at the bench in front of the Basque Museum, 611 W. Grove St., Boise. 11 a.m. preservationidaho.org SEPT. 7 – APRIL 8, 2020

Boise Scavenger Hunt

SEPT. 7 - OCT. —

Boise Farmers Market At the Boise Farmers Market you will find fresh local seasonal vegetables and fruit, many types of locally raised protein, breads and pastries, honey, jams and sauces, freshroasted coffee, and a delicious selection

of ready-to-eat foods. 1500 Shoreline Dr. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. theboisefarmersmarket.com SEPT. 7 – NOV.

—

Capital City Market At the Capital City Public Market you’ll meet Treasure Valley farmers who can tell you the best way to choose a ripe ear of corn, skilled artists who burn the midnight oil in their studios yet rise with the sun to display their handiwork, and talented bakers who can create the most robust of bread loaves yet coax a fine, flaky crust from each handmade pastry. 8th and Idaho streets. Every Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. capitalcitypublicmarket.com.

SEPT. 7 – OCT. 5 —

Eagle Saturday Market The Eagle Saturday Market is a handmade market located in the heart of downtown Eagle in Heritage Park. Stroll through the park and find an array of arts and crafts along with local produce, herbs and flowers, woodwork, specialty food items and freshly prepared food. Heritage Park, 185 E. State St., Eagle.

Every Saturday, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. cityofeagle.org/170/Eagle-Saturday-Market.

71

—

Looking for small group activities that take you beyond the four walls of your local watering hole? Sign up for a Boise scavenger hunt and seek out the national treasures hidden in Boise. Explore the cultural, historical, artistic, and zany Boise sights as you and your team contend for scavenger hunt glory. 700 West Jefferson Street, Boise. All day. support@letsroam.com

The Band Camino

Daddy Long Legs

OCT. 4

OCT. 9

Knitting Factory Concert House, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. 8 p.m. bo.knittingfactory.com

Neurolux Lounge, 111 N. 11th St., Boise. 7:30 p.m. neurolux.com

The Egyptian Theatre, 700 W. Main St., Boise. 7 p.m. egyptiantheatre.net

OCT. 2

OCT. 5

Boy Harsher Neurolux Lounge, 111 N. 11th St., Boise.

8:30 p.m. neurolux.com

Keb’ Mo’ Solo

OCT. 10

Mike Barriatua & Friends

The Sapphire Room, 2900 W. Chinden Blvd., Boise. 7:30 p.m. riversideboise.com/ sapphire-room

OCT. 18

OCT. 25

The Sapphire Room, 2900 W. Chinden Blvd., Boise. 7:30 p.m. riversideboise.com/ sapphire-room

Revolution Concert House and Event Center, 4983 N. Glenwood St., Garden City.

7 p.m.

The Mystics

FALL 2019

Jon Pardi

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

Ca le nda r

NOV. 2 — Veterans Day Parade This year's theme: Letters From Home, A Tribute to the Support Given to the Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines While They Were Away From Home. The parade begins on 10th Street and travels east on Jefferson to 4th St. where it turns south to Bannock, then proceeds west, ending on 11th St.. 10:15 a.m. boiseveteransdayparade.org NOV. 30 — Small Business Saturday Kick off the holiday shopping season on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30, by supporting small businesses in Downtown Boise. Visit a minimum of eight small businesses for a chance to win one of six $50 Downtown Boise Gift Cards. downtownboise.org/events/smallbusiness-saturday.

Dine DowntownFestival Boise IdahoOut Shakespeare Oct. 25 - Nov. 3

OCT. 12 —

SEPT. 13-15 — Hyde Park Street Fair

Attracting over 2,000 thirsty patrons each year, Hoptober Freshtival is the largest fresh hop beer festival in Idaho. 6th and Broad, Boise. 12 - 8 p.m. hoptoberfreshtival.com

This annual fundraising event held in Boise’s Camel's Back Park features vendor booths, activities for the kids, and live music. Camel’s Back Park, 13th & Heron streets, Boise. northendboise.org/hyde-park-street-fair-2019

Hoptober Freshtival

— Dine Out Downtown Boise Week

OCT. 25 – NOV. 3

Festivals and Events SEPT. 12 — Foreigner in Concert One of the best-selling bands of all time is playing at Outlaw Field. 7 - 9:30 p.m. idahobotanicalgarden.org/event/foreigner/

SEPT. 27 — ‘We Will Rock You’ We Will Rock You, the musical by Queen and Ben Elton, will be at CenturyLink Arena featuring 24 of Queen’s greatest hits! Seen by over 16 million people in 19 countries, “We Will Rock You” is a captivating and fun event that you won’t want to miss! CenturyLink Arena, 233 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise. 6:30 p.m. centurylinkarenaboise.com/events/we-will-rock-you/ OCT. 10 — Samantha Brown Join us for our 136 th Annual Gala featuring television host and travel guru, Samantha Brown. This annual Gala also features live and silent auctions. Boise Centre, 850 W. Front St., 6 p.m. boisechamber.org/

Samantha Brown visiting a Malaysian village

Music continued OCT. 25

Dropkick Murphys and Clutch Idaho Botanical Garden, Outlaw Field, 2355 N. Old Penitentiary Rd., Boise. 5:45 p.m. idahobotanical garden.org

TERRITORY–MAG.COM

NOV. 3

Madeon

Knitting Factory Concert House, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. 8 p.m. knittingfactory.com NOV. 9 —

Smooth Avenue

The Sapphire Room, 2900 W. Chinden FALL 2019

Blvd., Boise. 7:30 p.m. riversideboise. com/sapphire-room NOV. 14

Hippo Campus

Knitting Factory Concert House, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. 8 p.m. knittingfactory.com

NOV. 19

NOV. 23

Revolution Concert House and Event Center, 4983 N. Glenwood St., Garden City. 8 p.m.

Revolution Concert House and Event Center, 4983 N. Glenwood St., Garden City. 8 p.m.

Melanie Martinez

Hippo Campus

Pooneh Ghana

72

Dine Out Downtown Boise Restaurant Week gives us a chance to taste, sip, crunch, munch, and simply be delighted by a huge variety of delicious creations from Boise’s amazing talented local chefs. Downtown restaurants. downtownboise.org/events/dine-out-2019-menus

NOV. 30 – DEC. 21 — City Santa Come tell Santa your Christmas wishes and get your picture taken with Old St. Nick!

Donations benefiting Women's & Children's Alliance. D.L. Evans Bank, Ninth and Main streets, every Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Ministry

Planning to buy, refinance, or build a home?

We have the products and experience you need! ✓New Construction ✓Purchase ✓Refinance ✓Reverse Mortgage ✓Lot Loans We’ll make sure you get the best options available to you. Then our team will do everything they can to make your loan quick and easy!

Mike Kirby

Lending Manager, Loan Officer NMLS#400377

Doug Cook

Reverse Mortgage Specialist NMLS#487433

Blake Fischer Mortgage Loan Officer

Tom Stilinovich

NMLS#1651054

Gary Karnes VP/Business Banking Officer

Mortgage Loan Officer

Micki Wardle Loan Officer

NMLS#528922

NMLS#16961

Kyle Jones

Business Banking Officer

Brady Wilhite Business Banking Officer

Clay Haylett Business Banking Officer

Let our full range of commercial products and lending services take your business to the next level. ✓Commercial Loans ✓Commercial Real Estate ✓Lines of Credit

Experience the difference!

Call today or apply online!

208-985-2555

1880 S. Eagle Road, Meridian

www.MortgageFirstFed.com *All credit products are subject to approval. Institution NMLS#402963

YOUR H T I W S S E ™ AMEN S F O A E S A

!

R E W O P E L I M S T IN U O D N A T S

A healthy smile can make all the difference.

Protect yours with dental benefits backed by the nation’s largest network of dentists.

DeltaDentalID.com