Over Half the Treasure Valley’s Wide Open Spaces Could Disappear by 2100

It's no surprise that Boise is getting more and more popular every year. Idaho has been the fastest growing US state for the past few years and people are continuing to move here in droves, seeking a lower cost of living and better job opportunities. The moving comes as a price however. According to a study, at the current growth rate, the Treasure Valley will soon lose over half of the remaining farmland.

In some ways, this growth is great - there's more diversity here and lots of new ideas that lead to better programs, more parks, new restaurants, new shops, and more flights out of the Boise airport. But all this development does come with a price.

Boise State University researchers recently published a study that lays out scenarios for our city's urban growth.

According to the study our current population of 885,000 is expected to grow to between 1.25 and 1.75 million people by 2100. At this rate, Boise's sprawl is set to quadruple in size in the next 80 years - taking over an estimated 220,000 acres of current farmland, wetlands, forested areas and other open range.

Even though this extent of development won't happen in my lifetime, it's hard for me to imagine the city that my kids and their kids and grand kids will see in the not to distant future. I've lived in Idaho my entire life and love the fact that you can drive outside of downtown Boise and feel like you're in the country.

What do you think about Boise's growth? Let me know at: mike.kasper@townsquaremedia.com

Read the full study here: