IDL Loses a Family Member
This past weekend we lost a member of our IDL family. Terri Newby, the AA1 at the Pend Oreille Lakes Supervisory Area passed away suddenly. Terri had been with IDL since August of 2021.
According to retired Area Manager Tom Fleer, Terri’s introduction to IDL was the Pioneer Fire, and she decided to stay anyway. He said she had a gift with plants and could grow anything and somehow revived the sickly plants in the office, making them healthy once again.
Her daughter Ziggy tells us that Terri looked forward to going to work at IDL every day. She enjoyed that her job challenged her and tested her limits. She loved that there was always something to do at her job no matter how challenging.
In her free time Terri loved to care for her many plants or playing with her bird named "Bird", a rescue crow she saved as an orphaned baby.
Terri's favorite hobby was kayaking, and she loved to spend time out on the lake. She also loved to attend concerts and festivals, and especially enjoyed 60's rock and roll. She was a huge fan of the band the Grateful Dead.
Terri was the mother of six adult children. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.
New Safety Program Employee Award
Employee safety is a priority at IDL! Employees who go above and beyond to identify safety issues, take action to mitigate safety issues, and follow through to ensure actions needed, are taken are now eligible for the new Safety Program Employee Award. The award is presented annually in conjunction with the Employee of the Year Awards during the Spring Leadership Meeting.
To be eligible for nomination, an employee must:
- Demonstrate commitment to the health and safety of employees by identifying safety issues within their home office or for all IDL employees.
- Take action and make recommendations to prevent employee injuries or illness.
- Recognize unsafe conditions or practices and work to resolve issues.
- Consistently make safety a priority.
Nominations and the recipient selection for this new award will mirror the process used for recognizing IDL's Employees of the Year. Operations Chiefs, Area Managers, Bureau Chiefs and Executive Staff submit the nominations. Employees are welcome to suggest nominees to their Operations Chief, Area Manager or Bureau Chief.
Governor Little Tours the Coeur d'Alene Interagency Fire Cache
Governor Brad Little toured Idaho Department of Land’s Coeur d’Alene Interagency Fire Cache Tuesday, June 14, 2022, as part of a wildfire preparedness review. The Governor thanked the wildland firefighters and IDL staff for preparing for what that lies ahead. Dustin Miller declared IDL and the TPAs prepared for the wildfire season.
While there the Governor also announced a new web based Wildfire Alert System that allows the public to sign up for text or email alerts about wildfires on land protected by IDL in their area.
IDL Launches New Wildfire Alert Notification System
In prior years, the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) heavily relied on social media and its website to share information about wildfires with the public. Now, Idahoans have another way to obtain timely information. They can sign up for text or email alerts about wildfires on land protected by IDL by visiting www.idl.idaho.gov/alerts.
The new alert system supports the Governor's Leading Idaho initiative to enhance public safety. The system covers all 6.3 million acres in IDL's 12 forest protective districts.
When a fire under IDL protection exceeds 10 acres in size or threatens structures, IDL typically sends timely updates about the incident to local officials, fire agencies and the media. The new alert system leverages work already undertaken by IDL's Fire Information Duty Officers by using the agency's GovDelivery email system to automatically distribute incident updates to a broader list of public subscribers. For this reason, it's crucial that District Duty Officers reach out to the on-call Fire Information Duty Officer when an incident exceeds ten acres in size, threatens structures, or is likely to generate media or public interest.
When announcing the Wildfire Alert system at a press conference in Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday, Governor Little explained: "Not everyone uses social media, so it is important to provide the public with additional options to stay apprised of wildfires that may affect them. The new Wildfire Alert System allows Idahoans, especially those who live in the wildland urban interface, a new and convenient option for obtaining timely and relevant information about wildfires."
Printable Resources for IDL Offices
Please print the Wildfire Alerts poster and display it in your area office for walk-in customers to see, and use the the flyer as a handout at public events.
Abuse Results in Closure of Popular Recreation Area
The popular East Fork of Rock Creek recreation area will be closed by IDL beginning next Wednesday, June 15, due to abuse by people recreating on the parcel.
This area is managed by the Idaho Department of Lands to generate funding for the Public School Endowment. It is located four miles east of Rockland.
IDL staff discovered on Tuesday 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 are in the area.
Last year IDL experienced similar problems in the East Fork of Rock Creek area and launched an educational media campaign, letting visitors know there would be not restroom or trash service and that the popular area was at risk of closing due to abuse of the land. Signs asking users to respect the land were also posted in the area last year and again this spring when it opened.
IDL Article for IGPA Magazine
Director Miller wrote an article for the Idaho Grain Producers Association Summer edition magazine that hit mailboxes on Monday. The article is titled Idaho Department of Lands, Ag Producers, Have Much in Common. It explains the endowment mission and provides information on grain growing on endowment land. IDL fire protection was mentioned with the 2020's Bedrock Fire used as an example.
Director Miller Attends ICA Summer Round Up, UI CNR Board Meeting
Last week Director Miller attended the Idaho Cattle Association's Summer Round Up in Pocatello. The event included discussions about the history and future of Idaho's fencing laws, public lands, and how our state's growing population is changing Idaho's political landscape. He also participated in a University of Idaho College of Natural Resources board meeting in Kellogg. IDL's director serves as an ex officio member of the college's board.
Earlier this week he joined a tour of the Stibnite Gold Project hosted by Perpetua Resources. The Stibnite site is located about three hours northeast of Cascade, near Yellow Pine. The tour included a review of reclamation and closure, the tails storage facility, 401 Water Quality Certification, IPDES-Permits, and the stream and wetlands conceptual mitigation plan.
In Case You Missed It
Here's a recap of other recent IDL newsletters you may find interesting:
One Team One Voice Webpage
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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