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Don't be fooled by rain — fire season is coming
Bonner County Daily Bee, 6-15-22
The vast majority of wildfires are caused by humans.
“I feel like I’m selling iceboxes to Eskimos, the way the weather is out there right now, but believe me, no matter how good it looks in the spring — and this is about as wet as it gets this time of year, in all my years in Idaho — but believe me, we’ll always have a fire season," Gov. Brad Little said during a visit Tuesday to Coeur d'Alene.
“A big part of Idaho is enjoying our incredible outdoors," he said. "But a big part of that is everybody’s individual responsibility to be safe so we can have a healthy forest for this generation and the next."
Little and his team toured the Coeur d'Alene Interagency Fire Cache as part of a wildfire preparedness review.
The cache, on Industrial Loop, stocks and maintains wildland firefighting equipment and supplies for a force of up to 1,500 firefighters at one time. The cache is staffed with employees from the Idaho Department of Lands and the U.S. Forest Service. Their efforts are primarily directed toward wildland fire suppression, but also support local and interagency regional efforts during natural disasters and large projects such as prescribed burning.
"I do want to thank all the wildland firefighters and IDL employees that are here,” Little said. "This is a nice time of year, because probably the next time I’ll be here it’ll be helter-skelter, trucks rolling in and out of here, and it’ll be what looks like chaos, but it’s actually very organized chaos. That’s what these people do here every day, is prepare for chaos.”
During the tour, Little announced the new web-based Wildfire Alert System.
The Department of Lands previously relied on social media and its website to share information about wildfires with the public. Now Idahoans can visit www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/alerts to sign up for text or email alerts about wildfires on department-protected lands.
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KLIX, 6-15-22
A 40-acre plot of Idaho Endowment Land in Power County is now closed off to most recreation and camping from continued abuse. The Idaho Department of Lands announced earlier this week that the East Fork Rock Creek area near Rockland will no longer be available for camping or open to all-terrain vehicles after the state agency warned it could be closed because people kept trashing the place.
IDL said it will allow walk-in recreation as long as people don't continue to abuse the area. Last year the agency issued a warning after people on all-terrain vehicles kept going off trails and tearing up the land, left trash and feces. At one time there had been trash services at East Fork Rock Creek but, it was abused and another agency that managed it decided it was cost prohibitive. Agency officials recently noticed when the area opened up for the season people kept going off road and trashing the place. Recreation on state endowment land is only a secondary money source for Idaho public schools and the abuse cut into the money made off the land.
Idaho officials close popular recreation area due to trash
KTVB, 6-14-22
A popular state-owned recreation area in southeastern Idaho will close to camping and utility terrain vehicles due to visitors leaving behind trash and human waste, state officials said Tuesday.
Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) officials also said UTV drivers have been going off trails and damaging the area, leaving it susceptible to erosion.
Department officials said the 40-acre (16-hectare) area 4 miles (6 kilometers) east of the small town of Rockland will close Wednesday to those activities.
The department said the area will remain open for walk-in use unless visitors continue to leave behind trash and human waste.
"Unfortunately, there's a few bad apples that tend to ruin things for everyone. They go out in the name of having fun, but they'll leave trash and waste and destroy the resources. And that's a real issue for us. Predominantly because we use this land to generate revenue for beneficiaries, mainly our public schools," said Scott Phillips, Policy and Communications Chief for IDL.
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Idaho Officials Close Popular Recreation Area Due to Trash
US News & World, 6-14-22
A popular state-owned recreation area in southeastern Idaho will close to camping and utility terrain vehicles due to visitors leaving behind trash and human waste, state officials said Tuesday.
Idaho Department of Lands officials also said UTV drivers have been going off trails and damaging the area, leaving it susceptible to erosion.
The department said the area will remain open for walk-in use unless visitors continue to leave behind trash and human waste.
The Lands Department manages about 3,900 square miles of state-owned land that generates money mainly for public schools. The department said abusive behavior at the southeastern Idaho site diminished its ability to produce revenue for public schools.
The Idaho Constitution requires that state officials manage the land to maximize revenue over the long term. Spending money to clean up and repair damage at the site reduced the amount of money going to public schools.
Officials last year launched an educational campaign to let visitors know the area was at risk of closing if the ongoing problems continued.
Wasden is a courageous champion of the law
Bonner County Daily Bee, 6-14-22
We six were predecessors of Lawrence Wasden as Idaho Attorney General from 1971 to 2003. We have had the opportunity to observe his handling of that important legal office during the 20 years of his tenure. It is our collective judgment that Lawrence has faithfully complied with his solemn oath to support the Constitutions of Idaho and the United States. He has served the people with honesty and courage.
Lawrence is Idaho’s longest-serving attorney general with five elected terms. He is unique in having worked his way through the office ranks, starting as a deputy in 1989, through chief of staff, to the beginning of his 20-year tenure as AG in 2003.
Throughout his career, he has shown himself to be incorruptible and scrupulously honest in providing legal advice to the State. While some would be tempted to shade their counsel for political advantage, Lawrence would have none of that. He characterized his role as honestly “calling the balls and strikes,” even when his umpire-like stance evoked howls of outrage from some legislative spectators and their supporters. Lawrence has been the consummate upholder of the rule of law.
He brought the same dedication to the law in performing his fiduciary duty as a State Land Board member. He insisted on following the constitutional mandate to obtain the maximum long-term return from endowment lands, despite entreaties or threats from land users. He successfully sued the Land Board to require compliance with the law.
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Abuse results in closure of East Fork Recreation area
KIFI, 6-13-22
A popular recreation area in Power County will close this week to camping and UTV use.
The Idaho Department of Lands said it is closing the East Fork Recreation area east of Rockland. The closure will go into effect Wed., June 15, 2022.
This comes after IDL staff discovered damage caused by UTV's going off trail and a lot of human waste and trash being left at the site.
Walk-in day use will still be allowed as long as people clean up after themselves.
A time frame for when the area will re-open to camping and UTV's was not given.
Idaho Department of Lands Closes Popular Recreation Area in Southern Idaho Indefinitely Due to Abuse of Land
Big Country News, 6-13-22
Effective Wednesday, June 15, 2022, the Idaho Department of Lands will close the endowment land at the East Fork of Rock Creek in Power County to camping and UTVs due to abuse of the land by people recreating in the area. The area is located approximately four miles east of Rockland.
According to the IDL, after moderate weekend use IDL staff discovered that recreationalists continued to leave significant amounts of human waste and trash at the site. It was also found that UTVs were going off trail, damaging the area and leading to an increased risk of erosion.
This 40-acre parcel of land managed by the IDL is used to generate funding for the Public School Endowment.
"Because abusive behavior damaged the land and diminished its ability to generate revenue for public schools, the area is now closed to camping and UTVs indefinitely," read a news release from the IDL.
This isn't the first time the IDL has had this issue. Last year, similar problems existed in the East Fork of the Rock Creek area that resulted in the closure of restrooms and trash service.
Last year, the 2.5 million acres of Endowment Land across Idaho earned a total of $54,798,000 for Idaho's public schools, according to the IDL.
Walk-in day use of the area is still permitted.
Officials close popular local recreation area to camping, UTVs because of human waste, trash, other abuses
Idaho State Journal, 6-13-22
Endowment land at the East Fork of Rock Creek in Power County will close to camping and UTVs beginning Wednesday, June 15, 2022, due to abuse by people recreating on the parcel. This 40 acre parcel is managed by the Idaho Department of Lands to generate funding for the Public School Endowment. This popular recreation site is located four miles east of Rockland.
IDL staff discovered that after moderate weekend use, users continued to leave significant amounts of human waste and trash at the site, and UTVs going off trail damaged the area, leading to an increased risk of erosion.
Because abusive behavior damaged the land and diminished its ability to generate revenue for public schools, the area is now closed to camping and UTVs indefinitely. Walk-in day use is still permitted provided people stop leaving human waste and trash in the area.
Endowment Land generates revenue from grazing and other management activities. Last year, the 2.5 million acres of Endowment Land across the state earned $54,798,000 for Idaho’s public schools. Recreational use of endowment Land is a secondary privilege allowed only if it does not cause damage or disturb management activities.
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FCC wants to fine Idaho man $34K for interfering in radio transmissions during wildfire
Idaho Statesman, 6-8-22
An Idaho man is facing a $34,000 fine after federal officials said he interfered with radio communications during a wildfire last summer.
According to a news release from the Federal Communications Commission, Jason Frawley communicated via radio with U.S. Forest Service and Idaho Department of Lands fire crews as they worked to contain the Johnson Creek Fire. The fire, which burned roughly 1,000 acres, was near Elk River, a small town in North Idaho about 40 miles northeast of Moscow.
The FCC said fire crews received eight “unauthorized transmissions” from Frawley, who identified himself to them as “comm tech,” over government radio frequencies on July 17 and 18.
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Above average precipitation in April and May quells some fire concern in Idaho
KMVT, 6-7-22
It was not long ago that fire officials in Idaho were projecting that 2022 might have a historic wildfire season.
“We went into March a bit worried,” said Mike McManus from the Idaho Department of Lands.
Since March, above-average precipitation in April and May has quelled the heightened concern and has provided a few reasons for optimism the wildfire season will be nothing out of the norm.
“We’re in green-up, we’re in spring that’s got really good fuel moisture and anything that is dead is just soaking up that ground moisture,” McManus said.
Conventional thinking says all this precipitation across southern Idaho will make things easier for firefighters with all the moisture being soaked up into the landscape.
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Forest Service faces firefighter shortage in the West. How is Idaho impacted?
Idaho Statesman, 6-7-22
As peak fire season arrives, Idaho’s wildland firefighting crews are in decent shape, officials say — but shortstaffing in other states could have ripple effects.
Despite Idaho’s seemingly stable staffing, wildland firefighting crews are interconnected, traveling to provide assistance across the region and sometimes the country.
Last month, U.S. Forest Service chief Randy Moore told Congress his agency was facing a shortage of firefighters, about 10% nationwide but as much as half the staff in some parts of the West. In Idaho, Forest Service officials as well as the Bureau of Land Management and Idaho Department of Lands say crews are fully staffed despite difficulties recruiting applicants.
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Our firefighters are prepared
Posted June 14, 2022
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"Our firefighters are prepared," said IDL Director Dustin Miller. "By the end of this week, Fire Bureau staff will have completed Wildfire Preparedness Evaluations at each of our Forest Protective Districts and Timber Protective Associations."
"I am pleased to report everything meets our high standards," he added.
Listen to Miller’s comments from Governor Brad Little’s tour of the Coeur d’Alene Interagency Fire Cache today.
Abuse results in closure of popular recreation area
Posted June 13, 2022
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