Idaho Strategic’s corporate philosophy is a direct reflection of the personal motivations and individual belief systems of our employees and preferred contractors. We live, work, and raise families in the extended communities where we operate, thus we have a deep-seated desire to protect our neighborhoods and environment for future generations. We are committed to preserving the best elements of our history while remaining open to opportunities to restore and protect our environment.

At Idaho Strategic we eat our own cooking. IDR has eight father/son/daughter teams within our work force and network, thus we are vested in the protection of the environment and advancement of the company while building the next generation of responsible leaders. And while we respect and work closely with consultants on an as needed basis, we believe that some groups utilize environmental consultants as a form of risk transfer. In short, we feel that one of the best forms of built-in responsibility is gained by working where you live and putting your time and money at risk – and that building and marketing a company around the distant experience of others is a speculative business plan of the past. 

In practice, this means taking actionable steps within our respective communities. For us it began with hands-on design and construction of the New Jersey Mill, where we pioneered our innovative “Paste Tailings Disposal”, which was invented by our company co-founder. The mill received the Pollution Prevention Award by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for saving over 50 million gallons of water when in full production. At the Golden Chest Mine, it is no accident that the Golden Chest property looks better today, while in production from both an open pit and underground, than it appeared more than a century ago. Within the Murray Gold Belt, our VP of Exploration (who is also a surveyor and recognized wetlands expert) took on the task of cleaning up/remediating legacy surface mining disturbance on land we recently acquired and have no immediate plans for – other than wanting to leave it better than we found it.

From a corporate and community perspective, our CEO and largest shareholder renovated a deteriorated historic train depot that is partially used as company headquarters. Additionally, he rescued/saved and relocated a historic residence slated for demolition – this included moving the home from land, onto a barge and then back onto land again at its new home across Lake Coeur d’Alene. In addition to these and other historic building renovations, he is a former museum board member and serves on a local rehabilitation committee. Because of his restoration/renovation efforts and focus on historic preservation, he recently championed the saving of the iconic turn-of-the-century J.C. White House. After a two-year process and countless hours of work, John and his team moved the house to its new location adjacent to a popular downtown lakeside park. Throughout the last 25 years, he and his wife have assembled over 300 acres in a desirable close-in area to hopefully protect into perpetuity.

Our environmental approach embraces responsible development at the intersection of community and local business.  With a focus on the long game we believe that with care and planning we can utilize our natural resources to benefit today’s generation while leaving a valuable natural legacy – and without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same.

John Swallow - CEO/President