Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/30034
n outDooRs ent. To understand just how incredible, yet highly contrived the environment we live in really is, I would strongly recommend the book Irrigated Eden by Mark Fiege, of the University of Washington Press. He does an excellent job of explaining all the ingenious and incredibly hard work that went into transforming our landscape from an appar- ently barren wasteland into an agricultural Mecca and a darn nice place to live. Many in Idaho Falls marvel at the won- ders of science that the engineers and scientists create out at “The Site” in the des- ert, and while their accomplishments are incredible, they pale in comparison to what the early farmers managed to do without a calculator, let alone a GPS or a computer. Harnessing the atom is one thing, but engi- neering hundreds of miles of canals using horse-drawn scrapers is truly impressive. One thing the early pioneers learned Welcome to Idaho Faux Falls n BY gRegg losInsKI Sometimes it is easy to forget that Idaho Falls is actually situated in a des- ert. As you move about the city everything is so green and beautiful, even as you head out of town in just about every direction all you can see is one green field after another. It’s not until you reach the limits of our impressive irrigation networks that reality whacks you upside the head with a big old sagebrush. Sure, maybe it’s not the Sahara sandy dune type desert, but nevertheless it’s a desert. At barely a dozen or so inches of annual precipitation, we’d be on the cusp of drying up and blowing away if anything happened to our irrigation systems. Thankfully, when our town was being settled the marketing folks were able to out- 98 Idaho Falls MagazIne MaY/JUne 2011 maneuver the honest folks who originally called the place Eagle Rock. The promoter types weren’t stupid when they decided that something more verdant-sounding like Idaho Falls would help to draw settlers from across the plains and even the oceans. While it is true the Snake River did have whitewater rapids, it wasn’t until much later that the present more dramatic faux falls were created. When it comes to scientific classifica- tion, there are lumpers and splitters. I tend toward the lumper category, that is unless the little differences are really important; then I transform into a mega-splitter. Sometimes the more things are the same, the easier it is for them to be very differ- is that the figurative concept of Manifest Destiny would only carry them so far; to get real results they knew that they would need to “improve” on what the Creator had provided. They were smart enough to know that nature could be worked and manipu- lated, but total control was out of the question. They learned you can only push Mother Nature so far before she retaliates. The Snake River flowing through down- town is a prime example of working with nature. Rather than making the mistake of trying to utterly subjugate it, the river has been manipulated to provide hydro- power, but it is still allowed to function as a river and provide all types of recreational opportunities, as well as a bounty of visual delights. The river serves as a magnet for man and wildlife alike. Earlier this spring as I was leaving my house in town I heard the unique calls of some trumpeter swans over- head. Seven of the majestic avians were flying in an impressive v-formation towards the river. I wondered to myself how many other places are there where an urban dweller could be treated to such a spectacle. While the rain may not have followed the plow as originally posited, I’m glad that Mother Nature was benevolent enough to transform what started out as a question- able sales gimmick into such a pleasant place to live. IF