{"id":8949,"date":"2012-07-11T06:32:14","date_gmt":"2012-07-11T12:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=8949"},"modified":"2012-07-11T17:56:09","modified_gmt":"2012-07-11T23:56:09","slug":"a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/","title":{"rendered":"A Rancher, A Logger, And Economic Fate In Rural Idaho"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-8949 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/justin-black-chris-black\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Justin-Black-Chris-Black-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8957\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Justin-Black-Chris-Black-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Justin-Black-Chris-Black-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Justin-Black-Chris-Black-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8957'>\n\t\t\t\tJustin and Chris Black, outside the rustic home that serves as Chris Black&#8217;s cow camp\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/chris-black-view\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-view-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8955\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-view-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-view-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-view-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8955'>\n\t\t\t\tBlack describes the lay of the land on his family&#8217;s ranch in the Owyhees.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/chris-black-gate\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-gate-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8953\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-gate-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-gate-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-gate-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8953'>\n\t\t\t\tThe Blacks walk through the corral gate on their way to catch and saddle their horses.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/horses-corral\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Horses-corral-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Horses-corral-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Horses-corral-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Horses-corral-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/chris-black-riding\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-riding-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-riding-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-riding-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-riding-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8954'>\n\t\t\t\tChris Black rides toward a small group of cattle seven miles from his cow camp.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/chris-black-cattle\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-cattle-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8952\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-cattle-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-cattle-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/Chris-Black-cattle-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8952'>\n\t\t\t\tSlowly, Black moves the cattle toward a different grazing area.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/img_0765\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0765-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0765-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0765-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0765-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8966'>\n\t\t\t\tMark Mahon explains how to tell the difference between a Douglas Fir and a Ponderosa Pine.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/img_0775\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0775-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8967\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0775-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0775-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0775-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8967'>\n\t\t\t\tMahon is a fourth generation logger.  He hopes his own son, now in eighth grade, will follow him into the business.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/img_0748\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0748-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8963\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0748-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0748-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0748-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8963'>\n\t\t\t\tFreshly cut logs line a newly cut road on the private land Mahon&#8217;s company has been hired to manage and thin.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/img_0758\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0758-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8965\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0758-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0758-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0758-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8965'>\n\t\t\t\tWhile modern logging relies on large and expensive machines, these remain the basic tools of a logger&#8217;s trade.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/img_0784\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0784-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8969\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0784-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0784-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0784-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8969'>\n\t\t\t\tAfter the Council School District lost its shop program, locals donated time, goods and services to start it up again.  \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/07\/11\/a-rancher-a-logger-and-economic-fate-in-rural-idaho\/img_0782\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0782-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0782-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0782-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_0782-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8968'>\n\t\t\t\tOn a Friday evening, Council&#8217;s small downtown bustles, but its main street is marked by vacant shop windows.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n<p>In Idaho, the timber and ag industries are heavy hitters. \u00a0They play big roles in the state\u2019s history and identity.\u00a0 But the recession has dealt them different hands, dividing rural Idaho into winners and losers.\u00a0 <em>StateImpact Idaho<\/em> takes a look at two industries, two counties, and two economic fates.<\/p>\n\n<p>Rancher Chris Black and his son, Justin, manage a thousand head of cattle on 135,000 acres in the foothills of southwest Idaho\u2019s Owyhee Mountains.\u00a0 They spend most of their time miles apart \u2013 miles from anyone, in fact \u2013 working cattle.\u00a0 But this day is a little different.\u00a0 They\u2019re walking to the corral not far from the small solar and propane-fueled house where Chris Black lives on and off from April through November.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Are you going to catch a horse?&#8221; Chris Black asks his son.\u00a0 &#8220;I&#8217;ll ride Happy,&#8221; he says.\u00a0 They&#8217;re saddling up so they can move a group of cattle, grazing a few miles away.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Black was up before daylight, and now the sun is blazing overhead.\u00a0 Ranching is hard work and not for everyone.\u00a0 He admits that.\u00a0 But lately, business has been good.\u00a0 &#8220;We\u2019ve fared well in the last two to three years,&#8221; he says.\u00a0 &#8220;We\u2019ve fared quite well.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Cattle prices are up.\u00a0 That means he can breathe easy for now, and put money back into his operation.\u00a0 &#8220;For instance, I bought a new tractor,&#8221; Black continues.\u00a0 &#8220;My tractors were really old and in poor shape and \u2013 the older one was a \u201870s model.\u00a0 And I traded it off for a brand new.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Farming and ranching are known for their hard luck and slim profit margins, but for the last few years high commodity prices have buoyed the farm economy.\u00a0 For the most part, the Idaho counties associated with agriculture have seen their unemployment rates remain low throughout the recession.\u00a0 Take Owyhee County, where Chris Black\u2019s family has ranched for generations.\u00a0 Here, unemployment has seldom crept above six percent since the downturn began.<\/p>\n<p>Four hours north, in Adams County, the story is different. \u00a0The appliance store in Council broadcasts a steady stream of old country hits onto the main street.\u00a0 A 1960s Buck Owens classic\u00a0 blares as trucks pass by.\u00a0 But the town\u2019s reality is less cheerful than its soundtrack.\u00a0 In this county, unemployment has soared from pre-recession lows of three and four percent to more than 19 percent last fall.\u00a0 That\u2019s one reason I reached out to Mark Mahon, a fourth generation logger, born and raised in Council.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So do you know what loggers call our work pick-ups?&#8221; Mahon asks, as we jump in his truck.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No\u2026&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Crummies,&#8221; he replies, deadpan.\u00a0 &#8220;Because they\u2019re crummy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He drives out to a nearby logging site.\u00a0 Owyhee County is known for its vast acres of grazing land, but here in Adams County, timber is the legacy industry.<\/p>\n<p>Along with his parents and brother, Mahon runs a logging company with fourteen full-time employees.\u00a0 They have one of the largest private payrolls in the area.\u00a0 Still, this is an anxious moment for their business.\u00a0 &#8220;Our company is stable,&#8221; Mahon says.\u00a0 &#8220;We\u2019ve got good equipment and good employees, and they\u2019ve been with us a long time.\u00a0 But I\u2019m constantly stressed and worried about work.\u00a0 Right now, we don\u2019t have enough work to finish this logging season.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the end of a long day.\u00a0 Mahon sits on the ground, surrounded by tall Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine.\u00a0 The air is sharp with the smell of freshly cut timber.<\/p>\n<p>Mahon\u2019s company was hired to manage and thin this forest.\u00a0 It\u2019s a small job \u2013 1,000 acres of private timber land \u2013 and it\u2019s one of four contracts they have right now.\u00a0 They need to line up more.\u00a0 &#8220;The biggest concern I have is the men that work for us,&#8221; he explains.\u00a0 &#8220;Am I going to be able to provide the jobs for them so that they can support their families?\u00a0 And if I can\u2019t provide for them, that\u2019s almost like I\u2019ve failed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mahon says he\u2019ll feel he\u2019s failed not only those workers, but also his hometown.\u00a0 In rural places like this, every job counts.<\/p>\n<p>The meltdown in the housing market is the most immediate problem for loggers like Mahon.\u00a0 Fewer homes being built means less demand for lumber.\u00a0 But the housing downturn caps a long period of contraction for Idaho\u2019s timber industry.\u00a0 Jay O\u2019Laughlin directs the policy analysis group at the University of Idaho\u2019s College of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;During the 1980s, the forest products industry in Idaho was twice as big as it is now,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not easy to pinpoint the defining differences between agriculture and the timber industry that contribute to the differing economic fates of Idaho\u2019s rural areas.\u00a0 But O\u2019Laughlin says land ownership is a big factor.\u00a0 Idaho\u2019s agricultural production happens mainly on private land. \u00a0The timber industry faces a separate set of circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Seventy-five percent of the timber resources in the State of Idaho are on federal lands,&#8221; he explains.\u00a0 &#8220;And that\u2019s an entirely different situation than agriculture, with the one exception of grazing.&#8221;\u00a0 And ranchers have so far not faced the same regulatory pressures as the timber industry.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Laughlin says national forests used to provide at least half of Idaho\u2019s timber harvest.\u00a0 Today, they provide less than 10 percent.\u00a0 Underlying that shift is the decades-old push by conservation-minded groups to demand greater environmental analysis ahead of timber sales.\u00a0 In short: the timber wars.<\/p>\n<p>Mahon says this hard economic moment is spurring consolidation.\u00a0 Loggers with better equipment and access to timber will pull through.\u00a0 It\u2019s similar to the process that\u2019s ongoing in farming and ranching: fewer people work ever larger swaths of land.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Black and Mark Mahon both want to be survivors.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is the ideal,&#8221; Black says.\u00a0 He&#8217;s standing next to his horse, miles from cell phone service, or the nearest home.\u00a0 &#8220;For me, anyway.\u00a0 Is being out here and doing the things that I have grown up and love to do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mark Mahon feels that same love of work, and tradition.\u00a0 &#8220;Some of the greatest things about logging is every day you get a picnic lunch,&#8221; he says.\u00a0 &#8220;You get a moonlit ride and a picnic lunch.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t trade that for anything.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He wouldn\u2019t trade it, and he hopes he never has to.<\/p>\n<p><em>Credit where credit is due: this story was inspired by a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ridenbaugh.com\/index.php\/2012\/06\/03\/different-places-different-economies\/\" target=\"_blank\">blog post<\/a> we read last month on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ridenbaugh.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ridenbaugh Press\/Northwest<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Idaho, the timber and ag industries are heavy hitters. \u00a0They play big roles in the state\u2019s history and identity.\u00a0 But the recession has dealt them different hands, dividing rural Idaho into winners and losers.\u00a0 StateImpact Idaho takes a look at two industries, two counties, and two economic fates. Rancher Chris Black and his son, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":8957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[49,52,133],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8949"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}