Idaho is blessed with more than 5 million acres of cropland, although there is now 16% less than there was 35 years ago.
Much of the decline was due to conversion to pastureland or other rural land use categories, such as the Conservation Reserve Program. The rest was due to population-driven urban development. Idaho is experiencing the most rapid population growth of any state in the country, driving the urban sprawl that, decade after decade, steadily nibbles away at this precious, irreplaceable resource.
Idaho lost over 370,000 acres (582 square miles) of rural and agricultural lands from 1982-2017, mostly due to Idaho’s rapidly growing population; no state in the country is growing faster.
The American Farmland Trust projects more than 100,000 additional acres will be lost by 2040 unless the status quo changes. Idahoans are committed to protecting those lands.
More than three-quarters of Idaho’s 582 square miles of lost open space, rural and agricultural lands since 1982 has been due to Idaho’s population growth.
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