Governor Brad Little, elected to serve the State of Idaho in November, surprised attendees of the Idaho Environmental Forum with his response to a question on climate change.
“Climate is changing, there’s no question about it,” he said. “Sometimes what you do from a regulatory standpoint might be counter to what the right thing to do is, but you’ve got to recognize it. It’s here. We’ve just got to figure out how we’re going to cope with it. And we’ve got to slow it down. Now, reversing it is going to be a big darn job.” He reflected about the amount of snow that used to fall during winter, while highlighting cooperative efforts between the state and programs at the U.S. Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture. “They appreciate what’s taking place in Idaho. We’ve got a long way to go but I like the trajectory about what’s taking place.”
In both his inaugural and first State of the State addresses, Little said he wanted to “create an environment for our kids to stay here…I know if they’re going to stay here, they’re going to want to maintain the quality of life.”