Dan Popkey, a columnist with the Idaho Statesman,
noted irony in the Idaho State Land Board’s decision to overturn a
grazing lease won at an auction by an environmental group. The
board returned the lease to the Ingrams, a ranching family from
Challis, Idaho, after hearing the ranchers’ emotional plea to
protect family agriculture in the West (HCN, 2/7/94). “I have to
take care of this land,” Gary Ingram told the board. “That’s what
feeds my family.” Popkey responded: “The land has been good to the
Ingrams. Their Warm Springs Ranch is for sale for $4.35 million. It
has a lighted tennis court, two houses, two mobile homes and two
hydro plants that generated $225,000 in sales in 1992.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Scratching for a living.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
