ANNOUNCER: IDAHO EXPERIENCE IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM THE JAMESAND BARBARA CIMINO FOUNDATION DEVOTED TO PRESERVING THE SPIRIT OF IDAHO.

FROM ANNE VOILLEQUÉ AND LOUISE NELSON.

FROM JUDY AND STEVE MEYER.

WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE J.A.

AND KATHRYN ALBERTSON FAMILY FOUNDATION, THE FRIENDS OF IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION, THE IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION ENDOWMENT AND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.

[WINTER WIND SOUNDS] NANCY ARMSTRONG, HOMESTEAD OWNER: IT WOULD BE DEADLY IF YOU TRIED TO WALK IN ONE OF THESE BLIZZARDS FOR A MILE OR SOMETHING SO PEOPLE HAD TO BE PREPARED.

NARRATOR: MOST OF THEM WEREN'T PREPARED.

THEY WEREN'T PREPARED FOR THE ABUNDANCE OF WINTER.

FOR THE LACK OF WATER.

OR FOR THE HARDSHIPS OF THE WILD WEST.

HANNALORE HEIN, IDAHO STATE HISTORIAN: IT WAS INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING.

HOMESTEADING WAS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

BRIAN ALLEN, ALLEN LAND SURVEYING OWNER: THEY LEFT EVERYTHING THEY HAD AND EVERYTHING THEY KNEW BEHIND ON THIS DREAM OF OWNING THEIR OWN LAND AND FARMING.

I DON'T KNOW IF I'D BEEN BRAVE ENOUGH TO DO THAT.

NARRATOR: HOMESTEADERS CHOOSING IDAHO AS THEIR HOME PLACE CHANGED THE LAND.

THEY ALSO CHANGED THEIR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF THOSE HERE BEFORE THEM.

NATHAN SMALL, SHOSHONE-BANNOCK TRIBAL MEMBER: A NEW WAY OF LIFE FOR SOME WAS THE ENDING OF AN OLD WAY OF LIFE FOR OTHERS.

NARRATOR: FROM CHANGING NATURAL LANDSCAPES TO ALTERING TREATIES WITH INDIGENOUS TRIBES, HOW HOMESTEADERS SHAPED IDAHO BY PROVING UP ON IDAHO EXPERIENCE.

[CHISEL SOUNDS] BRIAN ALLEN: IDAHO IS GROWING FAST.

EVERYBODY IS BUSY.

IT'S PROBABLY TRIPLE I WOULD GUESS THAN WHAT IT WAS FIVE YEARS AGO, THE DEMAND.

NARRATOR: IDAHO IS KNOWN TRADITIONALLY FOR POTATOES, BUT MORE RECENTLY FOR GROWTH.

IT RANKED NUMBER 1 AS THE FASTEST GROWING STATE IN THE NATION FOR FIVE YEARS IN A ROW, FROM 2017 THROUGH 2021.

THE GEM STATE IS ON THE VERGE OF HOUSING 2 MILLION PEOPLE.

THOSE PEOPLE WANT PLOTS.

SURVEYORS MAP THE PLOTS.

THEIR WORK ALLOWS THE REST OF US TO BUY, SELL AND BUILD OUR HOMES AND FARMS.

BRIAN ALLEN: IT'S WHATEVER IS AVAILABLE, PEOPLE ARE TAKING.

NARRATOR: BUT THIS ISN'T IDAHO'S FIRST LAND RUSH.

AND THIS ISN'T THE LOCALS' FIRST STRUGGLE WITH OUTSIDERS.

CREATING BOUNDARIES IN THIS TERRITORY HAS GONE ON SINCE BEFORE IDAHO BECAME A STATE.

BRIAN ALLEN: THE MONUMENTATION SOMETIMES LACKED.

AS YOU CAN IMAGINE A WOOD POST PUT IN THE GROUND IN 1872 TO FIND IT NOW IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE.

NARRATOR: TODAY, SURVEY TOOLS ARE MORE ADVANCED, BUT THE PURPOSE OF DRAWING LINES ON THE LANDSCAPE REMAINS BASIC, UNCHANGED: GRID THE LANDSCAPE THEN DIVIDE THE LAND BY WAY OF MARK.

OR MONUMENT.

BRIAN ALLEN: WE'RE NOT GOING TO RUN OUT OF SURVEY WORK ANY TIME SOON.

AS DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS, LAND GETS BROKE UP, WE HAVE TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT.

NARRATOR: IDAHO'S FIRST SURVEY MONUMENT IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE STATE'S FIRST GENERAL SURVEYOR.

THIS MAN, LAFAYETTE CARTEE.

IN 1866, CARTE CHOSE A MOUND OF DIRT NEAR KUNA AS IDAHO'S INITIAL POINT.

HANNALORE HEIN: THE ESTABLISHING OF THAT POINT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACTIONS THAT ANY PIONEER TOOK IN IDAHO HISTORY.

NARRATOR: THE INITIAL POINT COULDN'T COME SOON ENOUGH.

THE HOMESTEAD ACT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW IN 1862, FOUR YEARS BEFORE IDAHO'S INITIAL POINT WAS ESTABLISHED AND NEARLY 30 YEARS BEFORE IDAHO BECAME A STATE.

WITH GOLD DISCOVERED IN THE CLERWATER REGION, THE RUSH TO STAKE A CLAIM OF ANY KIND IN IDAHO, EXPLODED.

MINERS FIRST THEN HOMESTEADERS.

THE LAW ALLOWED HOMESTEADERS TO STAKE THEIR CLAIMS ON 160 ACRES OF FREE LAND.

AS LONG AS THE OCCUPANTS PROVED UP.ADDING A BUILDING, FARMING THE GROUND AND STAYING FOR FIVE YEARS.

HANNALORE HEIN: THE HOMESTEAD ACT REQUIRED PIONEERS TO PROVE UP.

WHICH MEANT THEY HAD TO TAKE THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT THAT THEY FOUND, WHICH IN IDAHO INCLUDED A LOT OF HIGH DESERT PLATEAU SAGEBRUSH LAND, AND TURN THAT INTO RICH AGRICULTURAL HIGH YIELD PRODUCING CROP FIELDS.

NARRATOR: THE GOAL WAS PROPERTY OWNERSHIP LEADING TO NATIONWIDE PROSPERITY.

THIS COUNTRY MANIFESTING ITS OWN DESTINY ACROSS THE WEST.

[MILITARY DRUMS] AT THE SAME TIME, THE COUNTRY WAS DIVIDED AND PREPARING FOR WAR.

HANNALORE HEIN: WHEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN SIGNED THIS LAW, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CIVIL WAR.

THE NUMBER OF WIDOWS THAT RESULTED FROM THAT MOMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY WAS REALLY STAGGERING.

IT WAS TIMELY TO KNOW THAT THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY IN PLACE FOR WIDOWS TO BE ABLE TO PICK UP THEIR LIVES IN A WAY THAT THEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OTHERWISE.

NARRATOR: FACTORY OWNERS IN THE NORTH DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE THEIR WORKERS.

NEITHER DID THE PLANTATIONS IN THE SOUTH SO THEY RESISTED ANYTHING THAT LOOKED LIKE THE HOMESTEAD ACT UNTIL THE CIVIL WAR STARTED.

WHEN THE COUNTRY WAS DISTRACTED LINCOLN STRUCK, SIGNING THE HOMESTEAD ACT INTO LAW MAY 20 1862.

HANNALORE HEIN: IT IMMEDIATELY HAD IMPACT FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF INDIVIDUALS AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE SEE THE IMPACT OF THE LAW OVER THE LONG RUN.

IT WASN'T AN ELITE OPPORTUNITY.

IT PROVIDED ACCESS TO LAND FOR MEN, FOR WOMEN, FOR SINGLE WOMEN, FOR WIDOWS, FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS.

NARRATOR: BECAUSE OF THE HOMESTEAD ACT, WOMEN COULD OWN PROPERTY BEFORE THEY COULD VOTE.

AND THEY COULD OWN THAT PROPERTY EVEN BEFORE IDAHO WAS A STATE.

HANNALORE HEIN: THE HOMESTEAD ACT ITSELF WAS ON THE BOOKS FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS.

PEOPLE COULD APPLY FOR A HOMESTEAD WELL INTO THE 20TH CENTURY.

NARRATOR: ONCE A PARCEL WAS STAKED AND INTENT FILED, HOMESTEADERS HAD TO STAY ON THE LAND FOR FIVE YEARS, AND THE PLACE NEEDED STRUCTURE.

HOWEVER PRIMITIVE IT WAS.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: I SOMETIMES GO OUT HERE IN A DAY LIKE THIS WHEN IT'S BLIZZARDING TO GET SOMETHING OUT OF ADA'S OLD HOUSE THAT SHE HOMESTEADED IN, I WALK IN THERE AND I'M THINKING WOW, THEY LIVED IN HERE.

THERE'S NO INSULATION IN THAT HOUSE.

THEY WOULD WAKE UP WITH SNOW ON THE QUILT IN THE MORNING.

NARRATOR: DUDLEY AND ADA ARMSTRONG HOMESTEADED NEAR MCCAMMON IN 1897.

DUDLEY CAME FIRST FROM VIRGINIA.

ADA AND TWO OF THEIR EVENTUAL 12 CHILDREN FOLLOWED SOON AFTER BY TRAIN.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: IT WAS PROBABLY A DAY LIKE THIS WHERE THERE WAS JUST SNOW BLOWING.

SHE GOT OFF THE TRAIN AND THERE WAS NO STATION.

IT WAS JUST A LITTLE HUT IN THE DIRT LIKE A DUGOUT.

SHE JUST SAT DOWN IN THE SNOW AND CRIED.

ALLIE AND LULA JUST HELD HER HAND LIKE WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO HERE IN THIS GODFORSAKEN PLACE.

NARRATOR: THE ARMSTRONGS LIVED IN THIS 16X20 SHACK ON PROPERTY THEIR GRANDDAUGHTER NANCY OWNS TODAY.

THEY STAKED THEIR CLAIM IN 1897, BUT THE PROVING UP PROCESS WAS TIME CONSUMING.

THEIR DEED, SIGNED BY PRESIDENT TAFT, IS DATED 1910.

THE HOMESTEAD IS STILL A FAMILY FARM, BUT NO ONE ACTUALLY LIVES IN THE OUTBUILDING WHERE ADA LIVED AS A WIDOW FOR DECADES AFTER DUDLEY DIED OF A STROKE.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: I THINK SHE WAS REALLY SCARED.

SHE LEFT ALL HER FAMILY AND EVERYTHING SHE KNEW AND CAME OUT HERE TRUSTING THIS WAS GOING TO BE A NEW LIFE FOR HER.

NARRATOR: THIS BUBBLING SPRING, WHICH MADE ARID, DESERT LAND MORE VALUABLE , PROBABLY ENTICED DUDLEY TO CHOOSE THE PARCEL.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: THEY HAD FRESH WATER, ALWAYS, AND IT'S STILL THERE BUBBLING UP OUT OF THE QUICK SAND.

NARRATOR: NANCY KNOWS THE SPRING, BUT SHE NEVER SAW THE OLD OUTHOUSE.

OR THE TOILET PAPE MADE OF SEARS CATALOG PAGES.OR THE UNDERWEAR MADE OF FLOUR SACKS.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: AUNT HATTIE SHOWED ME WHERE THE OUTHOUSE USED TO BE AND HOW SHE ONLY HAD TWO PAIR OF UNDERWEAR MADE OF FLOUR SACKS AND SHE WAS SO SICK OF THEM SHE BURIED ONE OF THEM OVER HERE.

SHE SHOWED ME WHERE SHE BURIED IT.

NARRATOR: BEFORE HIS DEATH, DUDLEY WAS THE COMMUNITY'S DESIGNATED ERRAND BOY.

HE KEPT A LEATHER LOGBOOK, A SHOPPING LIST FOR HIS NEIGHBORS.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: DUDLEY HAD A MARKET WAGON.

HE WENT TO POCATELLO.

HE WOULD TAKE ORDERS FROM EVERYBODY AND THEN HE WOULD BRING BACK STUFF FROM TOWN.

MATT LUCIA, SAGEBRUSH STEPPE LAND TRUST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: SOCKS.

SOCKS WERE IN HIGH DEMAND APPARENTLY.

NARRATOR: IN 1902, THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE, NOW KNOWN AS THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, OPENED THE SOUTHERN END OF THE FORT HALL INDIAN RESERVATION FOR SETTLEMENT.

THE HISTORIC POCATELLO LAND RUSH WAS ON.

HANNALORE HEIN: AT NOON ON JUNE 17 INDIVIDUALS ON HORSEBACK, SOME ON FOOT, STARTED OUT RUSHING RUNNING, CLAMORING, TO GO INTO THIS VAST TERRITORY THAT NOW HAD IMMENSE POTENTIAL FOR HOMESTEADING.

NARRATOR: THEY POUNDED STAKES INTO THE GROUND THEN RUSHED TO THE PATENT OFFICE IN BLACKFOOT TO FILE THEIR CLAIM, INITIATING THE PROVING UP PROCESS.

AS MORE PEOPLE MOVED IN.

MORE PROVING UP HAPPENED AND THE PROCESS WASN'T A SOLO AFFAIR.

NEIGHBORS HELPED EACH OTHER AND A SENSE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPED OVER DAILY CHORES WHILE BOOSTING LONG-TERM OPTIMISM.

HANNALORE HEIN: COMMUNITY WAS CRITICAL TO THAT SUCCESS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CLEAR 40 ACRES OF SAGEBRUSH BY HAND BY YOURSELF.

NARRATOR: THEY GATHERED DRINKING WATER TWICE A DAY.EVERY DAY.

THEY MOVED WATER FOR CROPS BY HAND, DIGGING DITCHES, TAMING WATER BY TRAPPING IT.

BRIAN ALLEN: THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS WHEN THEY FIRST MOVED OUT HERE.

THE SETTLERS PUT THOSE IN JUST SO THEY COULD SURVIVE.

NARRATOR: ROADS MADE COMMUTES QUICKER, RAILS MOVED COMMODITIES FASTER.

AND EVENTUALLY POWER.MADE LIFE MORE BEARABLE.

ALL SPARKING DRASTIC CHANGE FOR WILDLIFE AND WILD LAND.

MATT LUCIA: IN ORDER FOR THEM TO MAKE A LIVING OUT HERE THEY HAD TO CHANGE THE LANDSCAPE.

THEY HAD TO CONVERT IT FROM NATIVE VEGETATION TO CROPS OR TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT LIVESTOCK.

WITH THAT CAME FENCES, WITH THAT CAME CHANGING OF WATER COURSES AND CONVERSION OF HABITAT.

NARRATOR: WILDLIFE AND WILD LAND SHIFTED UNDER THE PLOW AS THE ARMSTRONGS STRUGGLED TO MAKE IT, BUT THEY WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES WHO STRUGGLED AND THEY WEREN'T THE FIRST.

THE ARMSTRONG HOMESTEAD IS ON TRIBAL LAND.

NATHAN SMALL: HOW WE'D BEEN LIVING, HOW WE SURVIVED, HOW WE GOVERNED OURSELVES STARTED COMING TO AN END WHEN THE MIGRATION STARTED COMING IN HERE FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE LOOKING FOR A NEW WAY OF LIFE.

HANNALORE HEIN: THIS IS WHY IT IS SO CRITICAL THAT WE STUDY THE PAST.

I BELIEVE THAT THE PIONEERS WHO CAME ACROSS IN COVERED WAGONS 160, 170 YEARS AGO DID NOT BELIEVE THEMSELVES TO BE TRESPASSERS.

AND I ALSO BELIEVE THAT TRIBAL PEOPLE WHO WITNESSED THAT CROSSING, DID.

DURING THE TREATY ERA, THE U.S. MADE A LOT OF PROMISES.

A LOT OF THOSE TREATY PROMISES WERE NOT UPHELD.

SPECIFICALLY WITH REGARD TO RESERVATION SIZE.

NARRATOR: IN THE NORTH, THE VALUABLE TIMBER AND MINERAL LAND OF THE NEZ PERCE SHRUNK TO A MERE FRACTION OF ITS ORIGINAL EXPANSE.

IN THE SOUTH, SHOSHONE BANNOCK TRIBAL LAND WAS REDUCED FROM ALL OF SOUTHERN IDAHO SOUTH OF THE SNAKE RIVER, TO A FORT HALL INDIAN RESERVATION IN SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO CONSISTING OF 1.8 MILLION ACRES THEN WAS REDUCED EVEN MORE TO THE FORT HALL OF TODAY.LESS THAN 600,000 ACRES.

NATHAN SMALL: A LOT OF LAND WAS GIVEN UP THROUGH THAT PROCESS.

WHEN THE TREATIES WEREN'T RATIFIED YOU WOULD THINK WE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THAT LAND BACK.

WE DIDN'T.

IT WAS STOLEN FROM US.

IT WAS TAKEN FROM US.

NARRATOR: TREATIES TOOK FROM THE TRIBES.

AND THEY TOOK MORE THAN LAND.

THEY TOOK IDENTITY.

DEVON BOYER, FORT HALL BUSINESS COUNCIL CHAIRMAN: THERE'S LOTS OF LOSS OF LIFE, BELIEFS, CUSTOMS, PRACTICES AND TRADITIONS.

THAT'S PART OF THE ASSIMILATION IN THE END THAT A LOT OF US INCLUDING ALL TRIBES ARE STRUGGLING TO SOMEWHAT MAINTAIN AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.

NATHAN SMALL: A LOT OF THESE WAYS IN WHICH THE WHITE MAN THOUGHT THESE INDIANS SHOULD BE WAS THEIR INTERPRETATION.

DON'T BE SPEAKING YOUR LANGUAGE.

DON'T BE SINGING YOUR SONGS.

FORGET ABOUT YOUR CEREMONIES.

FORGET ABOUT THE HEALING WAYS OF YOUR PEOPLE.

FORGET ALL OF THAT.

THINK LIKE US.

NARRATOR: BOARDING SCHOOLS SEPARATED CHILDREN FROM FAMILIES AND SCISSORS SEPARATED WARRIORS FROM STRENGTH.

NATHAN SMALL: SHOSHONE-BANNOCK TRIBAL MEMBER THOSE OF US THAT GROW LONG HAIR CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THERE IS POWER IN YOUR HAIR AND YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR HAIR JUST LIKE THE REST OF YOUR BODY.

IF YOU DON'T DO THOSE THINGS, YOU MIGHT AS WELL CUT IT OFF.

I GUESS WHAT THEY SAID BACK IN THE DAY, BACK IN THE EARLY 1800S, IS TO KILL THE INDIAN, KILL THE SAVAGE, BUT SAVE THE MAN.

THAT WAS THEIR PHILOSOPHY.

THAT WAS THEIR WAY OF THINKING.

NARRATOR: BUT THE TRIBES PERSISTED.

SO DID THE ARMSTRONGS WHILE MANY OTHER HOMESTEADERS FAILED.

HANNALORE HEIN: FOR EVERY PIONEER WHO TRIED TO HOMESTEAD AND FOR THOSE WHO TRIED AND MADE IT, THERE WERE PROBABLY AN EQUAL NUMBER OF THOSE WHO TRIED AND DIDN'T.

TRACY STONE-MANNING, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LEARN FROM THE HOMESTEADER ERA IS THAT SOME OF THESE LANDS ARE REALLY TOUGH.

RIGHT.

THESE LANDS KICKED PEOPLE OFF BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST TOO HARD TO LIVE ON.

HANNALORE HEIN: THE HOMESTEAD ACT AND HOMESTEADING IS A REALLY INTERESTING AREA AND MOMENT IN HISTORY THROUGH WHICH WE CAN LOOK AND MAYBE REANALYZE WHAT IT MEANT TO FAIL.

AND WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A VICTIM OF FAILURE OR A VICTIM OF THE SYSTEM THAT DIDN'T SUPPORT THE AMERICAN DREAM.

NARRATOR: THOSE WHO FAILED, SUFFERED.

THOSE WHO SUCCEEDED, SUFFERED.

BUT THEY LEARNED TO TOLERATE HARSH CONDITIONS.

AND FOR THE MOST PART, WILDLIFE HAD TO LEARN TO COPE WITH HARSH HOMESTEAD LIFE TOO.

STILL DOES.

WHEN MOTHER NATURE RESTS AND THE SNOW SETTLES INTO THE SOIL, WILD BIRDS STRUT.

MATT LUCIA: SHARP TAILED GROUSE ARE A SMALL GROUND NESTING NATIVE SPECIES TO IDAHO THAT ARE JUST SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN A CHICKEN AND THEY HAVE A UNIQUE COURTSHIP DISPLAY IN THE SPRINGTIME.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: THEY KIND OF LIKE DO THE LITTLE DANCE AND PUFF THEIR THROAT UP.

AND THEY MAKE THIS LITTLE LOO LOO LOO SOUND.

IT'S PRETTY COOL.

NARRATOR: 65 PERCENT OF THE COLUMBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE IN THE UNITED STATES ARE IN SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO.

70 PERCENT OF THOSE BIRDS RELY ON PRIVATE LANDS, LIKE THE ARMSTRONG HOMESTEAD, FOR NESTING AND RAISING YOUNG.

MATT LUCIA: THEY'RE COMING BACK TO THE SAME AREA YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR UNLESS SOMETHING LIKE A HOUSE GOES UP.

OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE GOING TO MOVE.

NARRATOR: SHARP-TAILED GROUSE ARE DOING SO WELL HERE, A FEW HAVE MOVED OUT OF STATE TO REBUILD A DECLINING POPULATION IN NEVADA.

THE REBUILD STARTS ON LEKS.

THAT'S WHAT GROUSE MATING GROUNDS ARE CALLED.

AND THERE'S A LEK ON THE ARMSTRONG PROPERTY.

THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY NANCY PROTECTED THE PROPERTY IN PERPETUITY THROUGH A CONSESRVATION EASEMENT.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: ENVIRONMENT IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

THAT'S WHAT PUSHED US TO DO THE EASEMENT.

THIS IS ERODIBLE LAND AND WE DON'T WANT IT DEVELOPED.

NARRATOR: HER REASONS ARE TWO FOLD.

SHE DOESN'T WANT A SUBDIVISION HERE OUT OF RESPECT FOR HER GRANDMA.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: I'M NOT GONNA MAKE A SUBDEVELOPMENT OUT OF THIS, OUT OF ADA'S SWEAT AND TEARS.

NARRATOR: AND SHE DOESN'T WANT MORE HOUSES HERE OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE TRIBES.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: WE'RE JUST PLACE KEEPERS HERE AND I'M THE CURRENT PLACE KEEPER.

NARRATOR: WITH AN EASEMENT, OWNERS GET PAID AND GET TO KEEP FARMING AS LONG AS THEY AGREE TO NEVER DEVELOP THE LAND.

MATT LUCIA: IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO AND THROUGHOUT THE WEST AND IN A LOT OF PLACES, WILDLIFE AND AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, WHEN DONE SUSTAINABLY AND WHEN DONE RIGHT, ARE COMPLEMENTARY.

THEY CAN WORK TOGETHER AND THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT.

NARRATOR: THE LAND IS HELD IN TRUST AND EASEMENTS GO WITH THE DEED, FROM OWNER TO OWNER IN PERPETUITY, MEANING WHERE THESE BIRDS DANCE NOW WON'T EVER BE DEVELOPED, REGARLDESS OF HOW ENTICING THE OFFER.

MATT LUCIA: FOR LANDOWNERS THAT WANT TO ENHANCE WILDLIFE HABITAT ON THEIR PROPERTY, THERE ARE OPTIONS FOR THEM.

NARRATOR: THE TRIBES WANT OPTIONS TOO.

THE SHOSHONE-BANNOCK CLING TO WHAT'S LEFT OF THEIR LAND ON THEIR RESERVATION IN SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO.

THEY ALSO NURTURE THEIR TRADITIONS.

NATHAN SMALL: THERE'S ALWAYS THIS ATTEMPT TO TAKE THINGS AWAY FROM US.

YOUR LAND, OUR IDENTITY, OUR CULTURE, OUR LANGUAGE.

EVERYTHING.

BUT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HANG ON TO THOSE THINGS AND WE CONTINUE TO HANG ON TO THOSE THINGS.

THERE'S A LOT OF PLACES WE HAVEN'T LEFT.

THROUGH THE TREATY IT ONLY TELLS YOU TO LIVE HERE, BUT YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING ELSE OUT THERE.

YOU CAN STILL CONTINUE TO HUNT.

YOU CAN STILL CONTINUE TO FISH.

YOU CAN STILL CONTINUE TO GATHER.

YOU CAN STILL CONTINUE TO GO OUT THERE AND OUR PEOPLE ARE DOING THAT.

NARRATOR: BY 1934, MORE THAN 270 MILLION ACRES OF PUBLIC LAND NATIONWIDE HAD TRANSFERRED INTO PRIVATE HANDS THROUGH 1.6 MILLION INDIVIDUAL CLAIMS.

THE HOMESTEAD ACT CONTINUED TO DEVELOP THE WEST THROUGH THE 20TH CENTURY WITH THE LAST OFFICIAL HOMESTEAD PATENT IN THE COUNTRY COMPLETED IN ALASKA IN 1988.

HANNALORE HEIN: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS OF COURSE SHIFTED ITS STANCE ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A STEWARD OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COUNTRY.

IT'S STANCE IS NO LONGER ONE OF DISPOSAL.

IT'S ONE OF MULTIPLE USE AND THAT IS A HARD MANDATE TO FOLLOW.

TRACY STONE-MANNING: THE MISSION REMAINS THE SAME WHICH IS TO SUSTAIN THESE LANDS FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

TO ENSURE THAT WE PROVIDE MULTIPLE USES FOR THE AMERICAN PUBLIC IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY.

THAT MISSION STAYS THE SAME.

HOW WE IMPLEMENT THAT MISSION CHANGES ACROSS TIME.

NARRATOR: THREE VALUES ARE WORTH CONSIDERING WHEN VISITING A HOMESTEAD.

FIRST, THE AGRICULTURAL VALUE.

OPEN SPACE NOT YET SUBDIVIDED.

NANCY ARMSTRONG: I FEEL REALLY BLESSED AND PRIVILEGED THAT I'M THE DESCENDENT THAT ENDED UP HERE WITH IT.

I FEEL THIS STEWARDSHIP TOO.

ALL THESE PEOPLE ALL THEY SEE IS DOLLAR SIGNS.

THEY DON'T SEE THE KIND OF SWEAT AND TEARS THAT SHE MUST HAVE WENT THROUGH TO SURVIVE HERE.

NARRATOR: THEN THERE'S THE CULTURAL VALUE.

HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE HOMESTEADERS, SOMEONE ELSE LIVED HERE.

NATHAN SMALL: ALL OF THIS LAND IS OURS.

WE CONTINUE TO CLAIM ALL OF THIS LAND REGARDLESS OF WHO IS ON IT OR NOT ON IT.

DEVON BOYER: I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO SEE SHOSHONE-BANNOCK TRIBES WITHOUT WHAT WE HAVE TODAY AT THE VERY LEAST.

IT WOULD LEAVE ME BLANK IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE WHAT LITTLE THEY HAVE NOW.

NARRATOR: AND LASTLY, THE HISTORICAL VALUE.

A CENTURY FROM NOW, SOMEONE ELSE WILL WEATHER A BLIZZARD IN THE SAME WAY HOMESTEADERS DID A CENTURY AGO.

HANNALORE HEIN: WE HAVE LEARNED THAT SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE.

IF YOU WERE TO ASK PEOPLE WHY THEY ARE MOVING HERE TODAY, I THINK THE ANSWERS WOULD BE THE SAME.

I'M MOVING HERE FOR A NEW OPPORTUNITY.

I WANT AN ADVENTURE.

I WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AMAZING THINGS THAT THIS STATE HAS TO OFFER.

I'M SEEKING A NEW COMMUNITY.

THOSE ARE A LOT OF THE ANSWERS THAT PIONEERS MAY HAVE GIVEN 150 YEARS AGO.

THAT IDEA OF OPPORTUNITY.

IT'S STILL STRONG.

MATT LUCIA: SOME OF THE STRUCTURES ARE STILL HERE AND SOME OF THAT HISTORY IS STILL HERE THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM.

WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR FUTURE AND THAT RESPONSIBILITY HOPEFULLY IS GAINED FROM EXPERIENCE NOT ONLY FROM OURSELVES BUT FROM THE GENERATIONS THAT CAME BEFORE US.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO BE AWARE OF AND HAVE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IF WE WANT A FUTURE FOR ANYONE TO ENJOY THE SAME THINGS THAT WE DO NOW.

ANNOUNCER: IDAHO EXPERIENCE IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM THE JAMESAND BARBARA CIMINO FOUNDATION DEVOTED TO PRESERVING THE SPIRIT OF IDAHO.

FROM ANNE VOILLEQUÉ AND LOUISE NELSON.

FROM JUDY AND STEVE MEYER.

WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE J.A.

AND KATHRYN ALBERTSON FAMILY FOUNDATION, THE FRIENDS OF IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION, THE IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION ENDOWMENT AND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.