Boise city garden to be named for Mary Grunewald McGown. Who was she?
Julia Davis. Esther Simplot. Ann Morrison. Kathryn Albertson. Kristin Armstrong. Cherie Buckner-Webb. Marianne Williams.
You can now add the name Mary Grunewald McGown to the long list of prominent women whose names grace Boise city parks.
The Mary Grunewald McGown Pollinator Garden is scheduled to be dedicated in a ceremony at 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 29, in Warm Springs Park.
But who was Mary Grunewald McGown?
McGown, who died in 2020 at the age of 70, was an environmentalist and public servant who worked for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, the city of Boise, Idaho Rivers United and the Idaho Department of Water Resources, where she retired in 2013 as the state floodplain coordinator.
McGown sat on the Boise Parks and Recreation Commission from 2002 to 2012, serving as president from 2003 to 2004. She also volunteered at the pollinator garden that will bear her name. She was a strong proponent for the use of native plants, many of which can be found today at the garden.
“She probably was one of the most active conservationists we have in this community,” Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway told me in a phone interview. “Her advocacy for environmental health was just something that is off the charts. She was — I’m trying to think of the right term to describe her — an environmental influencer.”
McGown’s civic engagement was extensive.
She was a member of the League of Women Voters, serving as co-president of LWV Idaho and as president of the Boise LWV chapter; Idaho representative to the Northwest Energy Coalition; and chair of the Idaho Rivers United Board of Directors.
Her community involvement included the Audubon Society, Great Old Broads, Idaho Conservation League, Girl Scouts, Sierra Club, Idaho Master Naturalist Program, Idaho Native Plant Society and more. She also taught Sunday school.
“People like her … do it because they have a heart for their community,” Holloway said. “She’s not getting anything out of it, not only pay wise, but also no recognition.”
McGown earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Northern Colorado, a master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Colorado at Denver and a doctorate in forest, wildlife and range management from the University of Idaho.
She somehow found time to earn her doctorate while having two children, Erin and Brenna.
“She had a lot of integrity, she was a warm person, an excellent parent, occasionally stubborn, and a good cook,” her husband John McGown Jr. told me in a phone interview. “And she enjoyed the outdoors. That was key for us.”
As an illustration of just how key the outdoors were, McGown recalled their 15-month RV tour of the U.S. and Canada, not long after they were married in 1978, during which they rafted the Middle and Main Forks of the Salmon River back to back. John turned 30 on the Middle Fork, and Mary turned 30 four days later on the Main.
Mary McGown was an avid hiker and traveler. In addition to exploring the mountains of the West, she completed 10 walks in Great Britain and is one of a few to walk the whole length of Wales, according to her obituary. John and Mary also hiked in New Zealand, Bulgaria, the Republic of Georgia and Ireland. Their most recent trip was a family “trip of a lifetime” to South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
So it’s fitting that an outdoor space meant to be enjoyed by others would be named after her.
“I think there’s pride in how I look at it,” John McGown said. “It’s an appropriate way to honor her legacy and her life.”
Support for naming the garden after McGown came from such places as the Idaho Community Foundation, the Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, the League of Women Voters, the Northwest Energy Coalition and more.
“Boise is a better place because of Mary’s efforts, and Boise is a lesser place since her passing,” Justin Hayes, executive director of the Idaho Conservation League, wrote in a letter of support. “Naming the Pollinator garden after Mary is a fitting honor for a person who gave so much to so many. And, (bestowing) her name on the garden is the right thing to do for the garden itself, for it is wonderful to name a city asset after a person that inspires others.”
Scott McIntosh is the opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman. You can email him at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com or call him at 208-377-6202. Sign up for the free weekly email newsletter The Idaho Way.
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
