Bill Onweiler, June 19, 1998

In an interview with Troy Reeves on June 19, 1998, William “Bill” Onweiler discusses his involvement the creation of the Boise River Greenbelt. He describes how he ran for Boise City Council on a platform advocating for more open space, and how his interests and those of Gordon Bowen and Arlo Nelson led them to begin advocating for a greenbelt. He recounts how he sold the idea of the Greenbelt as a way to increase development and property valuation in the downtown district, and how he traded of a vote in favor of urban renewal for a vote in support of the Greenbelt. He credits Gordon Bowen, Arlo Nelson, Sherm Perry, Earl Reynolds, John Chapman, Fern Koch, and Emery Hedlund as notable early supporters of the plan and the group that worked on taking the first steps toward the Greenbelt. Bill describes how he made a promotional video in 1970 that was used to help convince people to support the project, how he began writing articles for the Idaho Statesman, and his and Sherm Perry’s visit to Washington, D.C. to ask Len Jordan and Frank Church for money to support the Greenbelt. He explains how the plan evolved from keeping development out of the flood plain to a desire for open space and then to a connected pathway. The acquisition of State Penitentiary land for the Warm Springs Golf Course is discussed as well as how Morrison-Knudsen changed the river to build what is now the MK Nature Center.