Outdoors: Snowmaking starts at Bogus Basin; support Idaho trails with this local beer
Chilly fall weather helped Bogus Basin get started with its snowmaking operations over the weekend, when the Boise-area mountain pumped more than a million gallons of water onto its slopes.
Bogus began snowmaking around this time last year, too, but started out with about half a million gallons of water. It’s Bogus’ third season using its two-dozen fan guns to help prime the mountain for ski and snowboarding season.
Officials said they expect to continue snowmaking through the week. Expanded pipe lines mean the machine-made snow will cover more of the ski area’s slopes ahead of its projected Nov. 27 opening date.
Little appoints new Fish and Game commissioner
Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday appointed a former Pocatello firefighter to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission’s Clearwater Region seat more than 10 months after the previous commissioner stepped down due to an issue with his political party affiliation.
In a news release, the governor’s office announced Ron Davies, of Clayton, will serve as the new commissioner. Davies worked as a firefighter in Pocatello for more than 20 years and later founded a Custer County chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation after moving to Clayton. His appointment is effective immediately.
Davies fills the seat vacated in January by Bradley Melton, who served for only four months before resigning. Melton had applied for the commissioner position shortly after changing his political party affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated. Idaho law requires no more than four of the seven commissioners can have the same political party affiliation. Melton would have been the fifth Republican on the commission had he not changed his affiliation prior to applying.
The Fish and Game Commission is responsible for creating policies that govern the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Support Idaho trails with new local beer
The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation has partnered with a Nampa brewery to raise funds for nonmotorized trail maintenance, the latest in its initiatives to fund trail work.
A portion of the proceeds from “Forgotten Trail Ale,” a blonde ale created by Mother Earth Brewing, will go to trail maintenance, according to a news release from the brewery. The beer comes in eco-friendly 12-oz. cans sold in 12-packs exclusively in Idaho. It’s 5% alcohol by volume.
Craig Quintana, spokesman for Parks and Rec, said maintenance is a significant issue affecting Idaho trails.
“Most of Idaho’s nonmotorized trails go unmaintained and could be forever lost,” Quintana said in the news release. “Getting funding starts with all of us.”
Earlier this year, Parks and Rec debuted an Idaho Trails Supporter sticker that funds the same goal. The stickers recently became available for purchase at REI in Boise, according to nonmotorized trails director Tom Helmer.
