Legislative Update
IDL tracks and reports on legislative actions that may impact our operations. We publish this information in the IDL Legislative Update newsletter each Wednesday and meet as a team to discuss the legislative session on Thursdays. Archived copies of this newsletter are available on our One Team, One Voice webpage.
Wildland Firefighter Differential Pay HB588
IDL Budget Scheduled to be Set on Feb. 28
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee will convene to set IDL's budget on Monday, Feb. 28.
On Feb. 17 Director Miller met with Sen. Crabtree, IDL's budget bill sponsor, to ensure the JFAC budget working group's remaining questions were answered. Later that same day he met with Sen. Agenbroad and Rep. Youngblood, JFAC co-chairmen. During these meetings, points of concern that were clarified included:
- Condensing multiple years of budget requests into one
- While the Land Board did direct IDL to condense what the agency otherwise planned to seek over multiple years into a one-year request, the totality of the request is based on immediate needs, per the Star Fire analysis. Additionally, IDL is only asking for decision units it has the capacity to implement immediately.
- Perceived overlap between positions requested by IDL and the TPAs
- For FY2023 IDL has requested 10 engine bosses (@.83 FTEs each) and 3 fire management officers. Concurrently, CPTPA and SITPA have requested funding for another 4 engine bosses, totaling $218,000. For IDL and the TPAs, these positions extremely important and all are needed.
- Some have expressed concerns about creating overhead that goes unused during years of low fire activity in Idaho. If Idaho isn’t burning, these new positions are destined to be deployed to other states that are on fire – and those jurisdictions will pay the costs associate with this increased staffing. Moreover, investing in experienced fireline leadership saves money in the long run. It is also crucial for safety. Experienced personnel are better prepared to call in the right level of suppression resources without waste and safely suppress fires more quickly.
- The need for an electronic fire business system
- The Gold’s Fire Business System is vital for IDL’s operations. It’s more than just a “billing system.” Beyond improving the turnaround time for receiving payments due from the federal government (currently it takes 3 years or more, with Gold’s payment will occur within 1 year), it will ensure IDL can continue to pay local, Idaho-based cooperators quickly. Last year IDL paid local cooperators like rural fire departments nearly $6 million; they cannot afford to wait for delayed payments. Also, the Fire Business System’s advanced analytics will enable IDL to better estimate future costs, provide for improved transaction auditing, and increase fire cost transparency. For this request, IDL is seeking spending authority for dedicated funds.
New BLM Idaho State Director Named
Karen Kelleher has been selected as the BLM’s Idaho State Director.
Kelleher’s career in federal service began more than two decades ago with the BLM, serving as planner, environmental coordinator, district manager, field manager and monument manager. She has held several key leadership positions in recent years including Senior Advisor to Assistant Secretary-Land and Minerals Management, Deputy Assistant Director for Resources and Planning in Washington, DC, and most recently served as the Associate State Director for BLM’s Arizona State Office since 2018.
Letter to Cottage Site Lessees
In the November Land Board Meeting, IDL received approval to begin outreach to existing cottage site lessees to gauge the interest in various leasing options for the future of the cottage site leases.
This week a letter was sent to the 59 remaining cottage site lessees to outline the options the department has developed for the future of the cottage site leasing program and to solicit their feedback on a preferred option or other feedback.
Based on the feedback received from the existing lessees, the Department will present a plan to the Land Board in August 2022.
Woolf Sightings Across Idaho: One Day, Three IDL Offices!
Last week while traveling to North Idaho, State Controller Brandon Woolf visited three IDL offices. The reason behind his visits to the Payette Lakes, Craig Mountain and Mica offices is simple - to meet our team and express his appreciation for the work we do for endowment beneficiaries and people of Idaho.
Pictured below is State Controller Woolf with Scott Corkill, the Payette Lakes Supervisory Area manager.
Board members and their staff have standing invitations to visit IDL's offices while traveling across Idaho. With 10 supervisory area offices, 4 satellite offices and 2 staff offices, there's nearly always an IDL office nearby! Please coordinate visits through Scott Phillips.
Stay Tuned: IDL to Launch New Wildfire Training Webpages for Industry
Loggers and foresters have long been valuable resources during wildfire season because of their heavy equipment skills and forest knowledge. Landowners and contractors are also relied upon when needed. This month IDL will launch a new online portal that provides access to training resources and online training for industry professionals, qualifying them to assist IDL in wildfire suppression.
The launch of this new portal will be supported by a traditional and social media campaign, and through collaboration with the Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho.
Northwest Natural Resources articles
IDL’s Private Forestry Specialist program and No Boundaries Forestry will be featured in upcoming editions of the Northwest Natural Resource quarterly magazine. The quarterly insert is carried in the Coeur d’Alene Press, Shoshone News Press, and the Bonner County Daily Bee.
Reporter Sholeh Patrick interviewed North Idaho Private Forestry Supervisor Ken Homik, Idaho’s Shared Stewardship Coordinator Ara Andrea and North Idaho Shared Stewardship Coordinator Jeff Lau. The articles should give readers a better understanding of resources available to private forestland owners and how they can participate in No Boundaries Forestry.
One Team, One Voice
With multiple communication channels at our disposal – our website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, newsletters and individual conversations – sharing stories broadly has never been easier. However, given this abundance of communication channels, it’s crucial for our team speak with one voice. Otherwise, important messages we’re trying to communicate can be lost.
The One Team, One Voice webpage features the following resources:
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