Wildfire Update
As of Thursday, August 18, there had been 151 fires totaling 495 acres reported across the 6.3 million acres IDL protects. Of these unwanted fires 84 were human caused and burned 93% of the reported acreage. Overall, the number of fires reported to date is 74% of the 20 year average. The total acreage burned is 2% of the 20 year average.
IDL currently does not have any Incident Management Teams in place.
The total estimated statewide suppression costs on land protected by IDL is $10.3 million. Of this amount, $3.4 million is reimbursable, leaving IDL responsible for approximately $6.9 million. This amount reflects up front costs like aircraft contracting.
IDL has two amphibious water scoopers, two type 2 helicopters, and four single engine air tankers on contract. The pre-positioning of these resources is detailed in the attached report.
For IDL's 12 fire protective districts, 1 district has a fire danger rating of Extreme, 10 districts have a fire danger rating of Very High, 1 district is at High. With fire dangers rising, burn permits are limited to crop residue only in all but 2 districts.
Governor Little's Wildfire Conversation with the Secretary of Ag, USFS Chief
At the Western Governors' Association meeting late last month in Coeur d'Alene Governor Little invited Director Miller and State Forester Craig Foss to participate in discussion about Idaho's Master Fire Agreement with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. The Master Fire Agreement between IDL and the federal agencies (FS, BLM, NPS, FWS, BIA) defines how participating state and federal agencies cooperate concerning wildfire preparedness and suppression across Idaho.
The meeting resulted in a commitment from Secretary Vilsack for our federal partners to review IDL's proposal to continue providing protection under a modified version of statewide offset that addresses concerns raised during the 2014 California Office of Inspector General audit.
IDL and its federal partners are scheduled to meet later this month to continue negotiations with the assistance of a professional facilitator.
IDL Launches Major Upgrade to Online Fire Restrictions Finder
Last week IDL unveiled a new and improved online Fire Restrictions Finder. The enhancements to the webpages were driven by feedback from the Fire Bureau and implemented with help from IDL's GIS team.
The new webpages clarify what is permissible or prohibited during Stage1 and Stage 2 Fire Restrictions, include responses to more frequently asked questions, and provide a new "Know Before You Go" resource that makes it easy to find any restrictions enacted for popular recreation destinations.
Our GIS team also more tightly integrated the Fire Restriction Finder GIS-enabled map with the definitions of Stage 1 and Stage 2 Fire Restrictions and online fire prevention content. When a visitor clicks on a restriction zone on the map the dialog box that opens links directly to restriction information and fire prevention tips.
The changes to the Fire Restrictions Finder, along with targeted search engine optimization, have resulted in this resource ranking high in Google search. Consequently, over the past month the Fire Restrictions Finder ranked as the most visited page on our website, garnering more than 18,000 views.
IDL, DEQ Collaborate to Demystify CRB Permit Process
IDL and DEQ collaborated on a news release to try to better explain crop residue burn permits, which is currently the only burn permit allowed across most of Idaho.
IDL is responsible for fire safety burn permits, however, DEQ regulates crop residue burning, and while they incorporate the IDL burn permit, it is a much different process.
As part of the process of developing the news release, DEQ added a button to their website that more easily directs growers to the permitting process.
Work Underway to Resolve The Historic Northern Hotel Trespass
Last fall the owner of The Historic Northern Hotel, Thomas Coborn, began construction on a deck that extended beyond his property's boundary onto endowment land without IDL's permission.
As soon as the area office became aware of the trespass, staff contacted Mr. Coborn and attempted to resolve it.
The Priest Lake area endowment land at the center of this issue is strategically important. It is a 200-foot stretch of endowment waterfront that connects Priest Lake with the endowment’s upland holdings, which may in the future be offered as 5-acre build sites with lake access. Retaining the parcel upon which Mr. Coborn is trespassing in an unencumbered state is key to maximizing the value of the endowment's upland holdings.
IDL has made multiple attempts to resolve this trespass issue with Mr. Coborn to no avail. In May, the department sent a Notice of Trespass and Demand to Remove Encroaching Property on State Endowment Land to Mr. Coborn.
Since receiving our letter Mr. Coborn has made no effort to mitigate the trespass. In fact, after IDL worked with his builder last fall to identify the property line and notified Mr. Coborn that the new deck encroached on endowment land by several feet, Mr. Coborn expanded the deck even further. It now encroaches about 25 feet onto endowment land.
This matter has caught the attention of Bonner County. County planning and zoning officials have told IDL they are working to enforce the terms of his building permit and county setbacks which will require that the deck be removed from endowment land. According to planning and zoning, this matter is in the hands of the county's prosecuting attorney.
Here’s a summary of key communications with Mr. Coborn:
Nov. 4, 2021
When IDL noticed the old deck and the hotel was being demolished and replaced, IDL explained to Mr. Coborn's builder where to find the property line boundary pins and provided a record of survey map.
Apr. 29,2022
After expanding the footprint of his deck to encroach on endowment land by approximately 25 feet, Mr. Coborn declined meeting with IDL to discuss his trespass because he felt the only remedy IDL would consider is removal of the encroachment. He also told IDL he wished to purchase the endowment land his deck encroached upon.
May 4, 2022
The Bonner County Planning Department informed IDL it would enforce the terms of Mr. Coborn's building permit and the required setbacks, requiring the removal of the encroachment.
May 19, 2022
IDL sent Mr. Coborn a Notice of Trespass and Demand to Remove Encroaching Property on State Land letter.
Jul. 11, 2022
The Bonner County Planning Department informed IDL it placed a stop work order on Mr. Coborn's deck and has enlisted the county's prosecuting attorney's office in this matter.
Jul. 13, 2022
IDL emailed Mr. Coborn in follow up to the May 19 Notice of Trespass letter, expressing concern that hotel guests were using the portion of deck that encroached on endowment land.
Jul. 14, 2022
IDL notified Mr. Coborn the agency would enlist the services of its third-party contact surveyor to verify the location of the property line.
Jul. 28, 2022
IDL notified Mr. Coborn that the agency's contracted professional licensed surveyor identified the property corners and placed a survey string along the property line and under the deck. See attached photos.
Aug. 1, 2022
Mr. Coborn notified IDL that he would hire his own surveyor so he could witness the marking of the property lines.
Examples of the Trespass
More photos from the survey undertaken by IDL on July 28, 2022, are available in this document.
Click on this photo to view more photos of the trespass.
Priest Lake Auction Bids Total $14.05 Million Over Appraised Value
Ten Priest Lake lake front cottage sites were sold at auction on Saturday. The sales generated $24.5 million which is $14.05 million over the appraised value. One parcel was appraised at $1.1 million and sold for $9.8 million, a 779% upbid. Overall, there was a 134% up bid.
Three unleased sites were the only properties without competitive bidding.
This was the first auction where IDL made online bidding available. One person registered to participate online. He watched online, but his partner was there to bid in person.
Upcoming Timber Sales
Our GIS-enabled Timber Sale Advertisement app helps customers and interested members of the public locate and review information about endowment timber sales. Here's a list of our upcoming timber sales.
You can sign up to receive email and text notifications for upcoming timber sales here.
Urban and Community Forestry Launches New Virtual Library
For years IDL's Urban and Community Forestry Program published quarterly newsletters, distributing them using postal mail, MailChimp, and most recently GovDelivery. While these newsletters were chock full of valuable information, the informative articles they contained were hard to find even though the newsletters were published online.
Now, the great articles buried in the treasure trove of newsletters have been republished as individual webpages in the program's new Virtual Library. The articles cover a gamut of topics ranging from considering allergies before planting to winter tree care.
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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