IDL tracks and monitors news coverage of our activities and significant events that may impact our operations, recapping the coverage in this newsletter.
This publication also details IDL's social media posts for the week, keeping stakeholders and our front-line customer service staff apprised of our public-facing communications.
An auction date has been set for Cougar Island in McCall.
The 14.21-acre island is the largest in Payette Lake. The Idaho Department of Lands will auction the parcel off on September 14 and 1:30 p.m.
Cougar Island can be purchased as an entire island or as five individual lots. The auction is taking place at the Water’s Edge Events Center at 287 E. Shore Drive. Bidders can also participate online.
Two non-lake front lots and another parcel on the island have cabins. IDL said the bidding at the auction is for the lots only. Any costs for improvements will be sold at a fixed price of their appraised value.
PRIEST RIVER — Bonner County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Priest River man Wednesday on multiple arson charges.
“This investigation has been a top priority for our office, due to the high fire danger, and extreme risk of death to the public. I’m very proud of the investigative work of our detectives and our partner agencies,” Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler said following the arrest.
Ryan Greene, 23, was arrested without incident Wednesday. The Priest River resident was wanted in connection to multiple area fires, past and present, according to Idaho Department of Lands fire investigator Rod Weeks.
Greene was brought into custody following a joint investigation with the Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho State Fire Marshal, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
Bonner County Sheriff’s Office arrests arson suspect
KXLY, 8-31-22
PRIEST RIVER, Idaho — Bonner County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested a man suspected of multiple counts of arson in the Priest River area.
The Sheriff’s Office claims multiple wildland fires have been set intentionally on Idaho public lands and U.S. Forest Service property in the past two years.
Investigators from multiple agencies identified 23-year-old Ryan Greene of Priest River as a possible suspect. He was arrested on Wednesday.
“This investigation has been a top priority for our office due to the high fire danger and extreme risk of death to the public,” said Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler. “I’m very proud of the investigative work of our detectives and our partner agencies.”
The Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho State Fire Marshal, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives assisted in the investigation.
IDL responds to two fires near town
St. Maries Gazette Record, 8-31-22
The Idaho Department of Lands has seen an increase of fire activity over the last several weeks.
The department has fought two fires over the last five days.
The IDL recently responded to a fire up Emerald Creek which was reported at 6 p.m., Monday, August 29.
IDL St. Joe District Fire Warden Cory Flesher said the fire was at two acres when it was reported and so far crews have gotten a fire line around the perimeter. The fire is at 50 percent contained and at the time of this report, Flesher said the fire should be contained by the morning of Wednesday, August 31 (today).
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
The IDL were assisted by local contractors and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.
The IDL also reported they finished containing the fire reported on Round Top Mountain Sunday, August 28.
Valley Co. hopes to lease lakefront land near McCall from the state for ‘community land stewardship’
BoiseDev, 8-31-22
Valley County wants to lease two large sections of endowment lands around Payette Lake.
The land includes two parcels totaling 1,218 acres. The first is around 1,051 acres along Warren Wagon Road by McCall, and the remaining 167 acres border Eastside Drive south of Lucks Point.
The lease would be between Valley County and the Idaho Department of Lands.
The request to lease the land comes after a proposal made in September 2021 from a group of local stakeholders called United Payette to IDL. The proposal suggested IDL lease or sell endowment land around Payette Lake to the city or county in an effort to preserve open space and keep it accessible to the public. The proposal came two days after Trident Holdings asked the Idaho Land Board to reconsider the denial a land swap where Trident hoped to trade timber assets in North Idaho for 26 square miles of land around Payette Lake.
New processes, upgrades in play to mitigate wildfire risk
Idaho County Free Press, 8-31-22
Providing power through North Central Idaho’s rugged and remote country is a challenge under normal circumstances, and it is made more difficult during wildfire season when many rural communities hold their collective breath at this time with each thunderstorm and red flag warning. While operational precautions during this season are nothing new, Avista Utilities has implemented new strategies, as well as millions of dollars into system and management processes to both mitigate and minimize risks of wildfire, as well as protect local communities and ensure service disruptions are as few and as limited as possible.
“Wildfire safety and prevention is one of Avista’s more important objectives during the summer months,” the season defined as July through the first part of October, according to David Howell, director of operations. More than 40% of Avista’s electric system is in elevated fire risk areas located through North Central Idaho, and speaking to the company’s Wildfire Resiliency Plan (WPR), they look to “mitigate the risk of being involved in wildfire and provide reliability during fire seasons when we are seeing fires in areas where we live.”
Howell was one of several speakers on a telephonic town hall meeting conducted jointly by Avista and Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) held Wednesday, Aug. 10, with its customers, elected officials and the public. This was one of several held for regions through north central and northern Idaho, and eastern Washington earlier this month, laying out summer precaution operations and implementation of more than $330 million during the next 10 years in mitigation projects to reduce the threat of wildfire.
Hunters who use July Creek Road may see increased traffic from a timber harvest
Eastern Idaho News, 8-30-22
Hunters using July Creek Road may experience increased traffic as a timber harvest gets under way. This is a popular route used by those accessing the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and other areas. Hunters should look for possible equipment and logging trucks on the road beginning this September.
The timber harvest near July Creek Road is on endowment trust land north of St. Anthony. The timber sale is removing dead and dying trees along with thinning the stand. It will also remove downed trees that can pose a fire hazard and will provide income to the Public School Endowment Fund.
Timber management plays an important role in keeping forests healthy and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires that can devastate wildlife, watersheds, and communities.
A number of online tools are available to assist those who hunt, fish and recreate on endowment or public lands.
Idaho Fish and Game offers the Idaho Hunt Planner to assist in looking for hunting spots that might avoid increased management activity.
County accepts $2 million from state, other agencies
Idaho Mountain Express, 8-30-22
The Blaine County commissioners reopened their fiscal year 2022 budget last week to accommodate nearly $2 million in unexpected money.
At their regular session meeting on Aug. 23, 2022, the commissioners approved a budget adjustment for 2022 to reflect the receipt of unscheduled revenue from the Idaho Department of Commerce (IDC), Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and various local governmental agencies.
Letters to the editor: Cougar Island, abortion laws, voting GOP and Bundy in Boise
Idaho Statesman, August 29, 2022
COUGAR ISLAND
Idaho Department of Lands has divided Cougar Island in Payette Lake into five residential lots and put them up for auction on Sept. 14. Payette Lake is the sole drinking water source for the McCall area and the sewage from these lots will harm this water.
Cougar Island’s IDL plat states that sewer is “installed and existing within the lots shown,” but this is false. Instead, IDL’s appraiser’s reports say composting or incinerator toilets must be used on most lots because of failed soil percolation tests. What a contrast.
Unlike Idaho, most states do not allow or heavily regulate composting toilets, because of contaminants in residual waste. Incinerator toilets burn the waste; however, in lakeshore areas, where temperature inversions are common, they cause serious odor problems.
Both toilets treat only human excrement and urine. Nowhere is the treatment of greywater (wastewater from sinks, showers, washing machines, etc.) considered. Greywater contains toxic chemicals, phosphorus, nitrogen, and pathogens. Its treatment necessarily requires soil absorption, which the failed percolation tests show will result in contaminants leaching into Payette Lake.
There is only one conclusion: The State Land Board must act now to stop the ill-conceived, short-sighted Cougar Island lot auctions.
Margaret Watson, McCall
Fire officials warn about the danger of drones in wildfire areas
Spokane Public Radio, 8-28-22
Idaho state officials are asking people not to fly drones in areas where wildfires are burning.
Robbie Johnson from the Department of Lands says pilots from her agency wanted to get up in the air about a week ago to check on a newly-ignited fire in Boundary County.
“We had 50 homes potentially at risk, Idaho Forest Group mill potentially at risk and we needed aircraft right away and they were available. Unfortunately, a drone was identified in the area and the aircraft couldn’t be used until the drone was out of the area," she said.
This story has a happy ending. Once the firefighting planes and helicopter were able to fly, they managed to drop water on the flames and keep them from spreading beyond a few acres.
Johnson says drones are becoming a more common problem for firefighting planes.
“They’re flying at a really low altitude, about the same altitude as drones. So that could create a situation with a mid-air collision, pilot distraction and also the drone losing communication with the operator and falling on a ground crew. It’s something that’s taken very seriously and it’s something that happens, unfortunately, more times than we’d like," she said.
Johnson says drones do have beneficial uses for firefighters, helping them sense heat from fires and finding precise locations. But they’re more often nuisances.
Suzie Creek Fire Near Kamiah Now 100% Contained
Daily Fly, 8-27-22
KAMIAH – The Suzie Creek Fire, which started Thursday, approximately four miles west of Kamiah, Idaho, on land protected by the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) burned 209 acres but is now 100% contained.
IDL appreciated the assistance provided by the Nez Perce Country Rural Fire Department. Air support from Grangeville was crucial for the safe and efficient containment of this fire.
209 Acre Fire Near Kamiah 100 Percent Contained on Friday
Big Country News, 8-27-22
KAMIAH - The Suzie Creek Fire, which started on Thursday approximately four miles west of Kamiah, on land protected by the Idaho Department of Lands burned 209 acres before being declared 100% contained on Friday evening.
IDL expressed appreciation for assistance provided by the Nez Perce County Rural Fire Department. "Air support from Grangeville was crucial for the safe and efficient containment of this fire," says IDL.
IDL has not released details on how the fire was started.
Inability to fight small battles for endowment land carries big risk
Star-News, 8-25-22
In activism, you win some battles, lose some and receive setbacks, but you keep fighting the forces that refuse to stand up for people in our community, the land, our watershed, and wildlife.
Valley County commissioners denied the two recommendations the McCall City Council voted on to protect Cougar Island.
I watched the commissioners’ meeting in disbelief, felt heartbreak, and was disappointed at their decision to deny the City of McCall’s bold and courageous action at their Aug. 11 meeting to protect Cougar Island.
The commissioner’s arguments for denial were weak. The fear of a lawsuit by the state by complicating the auction was an assumption based on no facts. McCall City Attorney Bill Nichols and two expert land use attorneys I spoke with agreed a lawsuit would be unlikely” because it would not prevent development.”
Alternative toilets cannot be used on Cougar Island lots
Star-News, 8-25-22
The Idaho Department of Lands has divided Cougar Island in Payette Lake into five residential lots and put them up for auction on Sept. 14. Payette Lake is the sole drinking water source for the McCall area and the sewage from theese lots will harm this water.
Cougar Island’s IDL plat states sewer is “installed and existing within the lots shown,” but this is false. Instead, IDL’s appraiser’s reports say composting or incinerator toilets must be used on most lots because of failed soil percolation tests. What a contrast.
Unlike Idaho, most states do not allow or heavily regulate composting toilets, because of contaminants in residual waste. Incinerator toilets burn the waste; however, in lakeshore areas, where temperature inversions are common, they cause serious odor problems.
Cougar Island bidders do not know what they would be getting
Star-News, 8-25-22
As 30-year McCall homeowners, we are very interested in the Sept. 14 auction of the Cougar Island lots in Payette Lake. After undertaking due diligence, we’ve determined it’s impossible to know if a winning bid will secure a buildable lot or a lawsuit.
The Idaho Department of Lands recorded a plat showing Cougar Island divided into five residential lots. On the plat, IDL says each owner must comply with all local laws and obtain every required permit related to use. IDL also says it makes no representation whether these permits may be obtained.
The source of conflict and confusion is that Cougar Island is zoned by Valley County and the City of McCall for only one residential lot. Can IDL ignore local ordinances and create any number of lots for any use? Given IDL’s plat language requiring compliance, did IDL even intend to circumvent local planning laws?
Reducing the risk of human caused wildfires starting in Idaho’s forests and state parks is important. That's why we partnered with Idaho Parks and Recreation to launch a new and easy-to-use online fire restrictions finder tailored to Idaho’s state parks.
Idaho Department of Lands will auction several properties around Payette Lake on September 14. The auction includes Cougar Island, which may be purchased as an entire island or as five individual lots, which ever brings in more to the endowment beneficiary. Two non-lake front lots will also be auctioned.
The auction will be held at the Water’s Edge Event Center at 287 E. Shore Drive in Eagle at 1:30 pm (MT). Bidders may also participate remotely through online bidding.
Day 4 of 5 days of forestry. Tussock moth, devastated forests, grants, baby trees. We handle it all at the Idaho Department of Lands. See it in today’s video.
