Riggins, Idaho

Mary Lou Hirst brings a grandmotherly quality to the little town she now calls home. It is obvious between the flowers she keeps in her 1920s-era ice box so big a wall had to be stripped to studs to get it in the building, the garage neatly packed with antiques for sale, and the free events she organizes for the community.

Riggins, Idaho, is home to less than 500 residents, a small-town attitude where bartenders don’t hold credit cards for an open tab, and the Idaho Banana Company.

Riggins is in a warm-weather region called a banana belt, which is half the reason Hirst chose the name. The other half had to do with a running joke between her and her friends about absurd names for the company. To their surprise, she took the joke seriously.

As tourism is a large component of business in Riggins, Hirst said she is asked about bananas regularly. There are none.

Hirst left behind her old life and her flower shop in California when she married her late husband, a Riggins resident, in 2006. Her business has grown and diversified ever since, which is what she credits for her financial stability when other shops in town lose sales due to low tourism or fishery problems.

She said she does not cater to events in town and instead plans her own. She has organized two musical events at her shop’s gazeebo area including wine tasting, an opera singer and about $3,000 raised for a stage at Riggins City Park in the past year.

Hirst is happy to run her business and likes “bringing things to Riggins people wouldn’t normally have,” she said.

What started as a gift shop turned into what it is today. A handful of beer and wine, cigars and flowers, and a lot of antiques, the latter of which are sold at her store and increasingly online. Hirst says she tries to source all of her goods from people in town and Idaho companies.

“We try to keep it local,” Hirst said.

— Written by Stephen Springer

Volunteers have dedicated many hours to ensuring the safety of tourists and residents in the rural town of Riggins, Idaho, through the Riggins Emergency Medical Services, which is locally funded by the city.

Janeen Eggebrecht, EMS director, said the volunteers receive the same training and certification as any other EMT.

EMS has one of the top Extrication units in the county, as well as two ambulances at their disposal for emergencies, she said.

There are many people who travel to Riggins to participate in rafting, jet boat races, fishing tournaments, or to enjoy the scenery, Eggebrecht said. The tourism business in Riggins keeps them busy.

The Salmon River runs through Riggins, which is known for its fishing, beautiful scenery and snow-free winters.

The number of incidents increase with the busier seasons. Many times people don’t come prepared and it would help to dress properly and carry a flashlight, matches and a GPS, Eggebrecht said.

She said they have attended a few incidents involving wild game, wolves, and rattlesnakes.

Most of the emergencies they attend to are car wrecks, hiking accidents, and horseback riding incidents, Eggebrecht said.

She said she has been with people for about six to eight hours on top of a mountain at times before they are able to get them to a hospital or treat them for any minor injuries.

“A lot of people don’t understand that we’re volunteers, so we do get criticized sometimes by some of the tourists,” she said.

She said most of the volunteers have other jobs to uphold while they dedicate their times to serve the community.

“Everybody’s really dedicated, everyone wants to give back, and if we didn't have these volunteers we wouldn’t have a unit,” she said.

The nearest hospital is St. Luke’s, which is about an hour’s drive from Riggins in McCall, Idaho.

Jill Morris Chapman, trauma program coordinator, helped put on a class on March 16, which about nine students attended.

She said they had held a class about three years ago, this class was the first course to be taught this year.

Morris-Chapman said services like the EMS are vital to rural communities like Riggins.

Eggebrecht said St. Luke’s has put a lot of effort towards helping small communities, which has improved their services in Riggins.

“We save lives, and it's really important that we have a unit here in Riggins,” she said.

— Written by Daisy Zavala

Losing a source of income never goes without consequence. Losing a source of income in an isolated town of less than 500 residents can be dire, but every resident is in danger of losing their livelihood if the entire town loses its main source of income.

This was nearly the case for Riggins, Idaho over the winter when the steelhead fishing season was in danger of being cut short by several months.

Steelhead trout is one of Riggins’ few natural resources and a main source of financial security for residents between the months of November and March. Tourism based around fishing brings much of the business needed to keep the town afloat.

Disagreement, low fish populations and a federal government shutdown created a perfect storm that showed Riggins residents what life could be like without steelhead fishing.

Controversy started when several wildlife conservation groups declared an intent to sue the state of Idaho because of an 8-year lapse in obtaining a federal incidental catch permit. This permit regulates fishing practices and makes it possible to bag hatchery steelhead while protecting endangered wild steelhead that cohabitate the area.

In response to the conservationists’ lawsuit, The Idaho River Community Alliance made up of communities reliant on fishing as an industry in the area was created in response to the conservationists’ lawsuit that would end the steelhead fishing season early.

The groups came to an agreement the day prior to when Idaho Fish and Game officials would have been forced to cut the season short. The agreement entailed rules meant to reduce mortality of wild steelhead. These rules included river closures in areas known to contain large amounts of wild steelhead; reduced catch and release; and the use of single, barbless hooks for easy release of endangered fish.

Idaho Fish and Game officials decided to keep the steelhead season open upon an agreement between the two sides. The agreement was set to expire March 16, which was originally expected to give plenty of time to receive the permit from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The NOAA office stayed closed during the federal government shutdown early this year. This further delayed the permit process until it was finally granted on the last day of the agreement between conservationists and the IRCA.

A main worry about the permit delay was that “we’re going to take a tremendous blow and were going see it from our motels, to our restaurants to our tackle shops to our outfitters,” said Roy Akins, Riggins city councilman, fishing outfitter and local business owner.

Feelings of insecurity based on the permit process were mixed among Riggins business owners and residents.

Mary Lou Hirst, owner of the Idaho Banana Company, attributed her financial stability to the diversified income of her business. Hirst’s sales include antiques, a large selection of locally sourced beer and wine, as well as events and consignment services.

Hirst brings parties, fundraisers and artistic talent to Riggins. She said she does not rely on tourism or events around town to keep her business profitable.

Instead, Hirst said she focuses on “bringing things to Riggins people wouldn’t normally have.”

“We’ve seen a 40 percent reduction in our business,” Akins said.

Akins said news of the on-again, and possibly off-again fishing season as well as heavy snow accumulation this winter could be what kept anglers away despite Akins’ record month of revenue for his business in October.

Unfortunately, economic problems aren’t relegated to only businesses in Riggins. Fire and emergency medical services are owned by the city rather than the county, which means the tiny town must staff volunteers and fund the firehouse themselves.

Janeen Eggebrecht, emergency medical services director and 28-year volunteer EMT of the Riggins Volunteer Emergency Services said these services are vital to the local community because of the remote nature of the area.

The closest ambulance outside of the remote fishing town is about 45 minutes away in Grangeville. Then, from Riggins it is at least another hour drive to the closest hospital, Eggebrecht said.

Robert Clement, a barista at Two Rivers Coffee Roasters said he believes the incidental catch permit problems did not impact business too much due to snow buildup, which he said probably kept most tourists away.

The newly granted incidental catch permit should keep these financial worries at bay until it expires in 10 years, but some are still worried this will not be the end.

“I don’t think this is the last hurdle,” Akins said.

— Written by Stephen Springer