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Plentiful sunshine. Near record high temperatures. High 88F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Clear skies. Low 53F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

Serving Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue and Carey

Farms need farmers. Ranches need ranchers. Kids needs parents. Businesses need managers. All need investment, attention and care. So does the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, which just celebrated its 50th birthday.

It is tempting to think that a place protected by federal law that has reached the solid half-century mark will last forever.

It is tempting to assume that wildlands have some innate ability to take care of themselves. After all, they survived untouched for millennia. But that was before human populations burgeoned and before nature-starved city dwellers discovered the respite and personal restoration to be found in wild spaces.

Residents of towns that lie near the SNRA don’t need metrics to tell them that people love, love, love it. They don’t need traffic counters to know that the SNRA is more popular now than ever before.

They saw what happened when people pressured by a worldwide pandemic caused by an airborne virus rushed to the outdoor safety of the SNRA’s trails, peaks, lakes and the Salmon River.

Instead of finding one or two other vehicles parked at their favorite trailhead, they found dozens. When they went to fish, boat or paddle their favorite lake they found themselves hard-pressed to find a spot on the shore or had to wait in line to launch a boat. Campgrounds were jammed.

Instead of solitude on mountain trails, they ran into hikers in greater numbers than they had ever seen. They found that their private Idaho had been discovered.

With the influx of visitors and the fact that Idaho is growing fast, this was probably inevitable. The SNRA is going to need more money and attention than it has gotten in recent years to keep the state’s crown jewel from being loved to death.

Without federal protection and the millions of dollars expended to end development at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains, the grandeur of the view from Galena Summit north instead would be a view of subdivisions, quickie marts, motels and gas stations. The headwaters of the Salmon River would have been lined with “No Trespassing” signs.

Idahoans love to say that we love our public lands heritage. Yet, too many state and national lawmakers take that heritage for granted and refuse to defend it.

Case in point: Three of four members of Idaho’s congressional delegation opposed the Great American Outdoors Act and the provision that made funding permanent for the Land, Water and Conservation Fund in 2020. The act is now securing long-needed improvements within the SNRA. President Trump signed it into law.

Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, and Rep. Russ Fulcher, all Republicans, voted against it. The sole supporter from Idaho was Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

The radical right wing of the Idaho Republican Party regularly launches attacks on public lands, seeming to prefer that they come to reside in private hands.

The SNRA can’t protect itself. It needs the help of activists, voters and lawmakers who refuse to take it for granted and insist on adequate funding. Like other public lands, it needs defenders, not detractors, to keep it safe from the political and private forces that could shred it.

“Our View” represents the opinion of the newspaper editorial board, which is made up of members of its board of directors. Remarks may be directed to editorialboard@mtexpress.com.

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