Idaho has no national park to truly call its own.
    Most of Yellowstone lies within Wyoming's borders, Craters of the Moon is a national monument and preserve, Nez Perce is a national historical park Idaho shares with Montana, Washington and Oregon, Hagerman Fossil Beds is a national monument, Minidoka Internment is a national monument, and City of Rocks is a national reserve.
    And some Idahoans take exception to being without a full-fledged national park. Back in 1992 the state drafted a list of prospective park sites and shipped it off to the Interior Department, where it's wallowed. The problem, according to NPS officials, is that none of the sites has grassroots support.
    Among the sites on the list were Craters of the Moon, the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
    While I'd love to see the Sawtooth NRA with its jagged range of mountains, thick forests, many lakes, and sweeping bottom lands gain park status, there are some conflicting uses that would have to be addressed: logging, mining, hunting, and ranching.
    That actually might not be too big of a hurdle, as some national parks carry the additional "preserve" designation that allows hunting and in some cases oil and gas exploration.