January Land Board Meeting Canceled
As a reminder, the January 17, 2023, meeting is cancelled. So is the staff meeting. The next regular Board meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. Meetings will be held in Boise City Council Chambers while the legislature is in session.
As always, staff meetings will continue to be held on Tuesday prior to the Board meeting.
As new Land Board staff members are named, we are available to schedule orientations and look forward to getting to know each of them. Please make sure IDL has the names and email address of Land Board staff as they are assigned and come on board.
Top of Page
Buffalo Bill's Damar Hamlin's Cardiac Arrest a Reminder that AEDs Save Lives
At 24 years old no one expected Buffalo Bill's safety Damar Hamlin to suffer a cardiac arrest on the field during Monday Night Football.
Unfortunately, Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) happens far more often than we know. However, IDL is prepared.
Our agency maintains a combined statewide total of 56 automated external defibrillators, or AEDs. These life-saving, self-contained units are available at all IDL area, field and staff offices. Many of IDL's wildland fire engines are equipped with AEDs, too.
Safety Coordinators at every office are responsible for ensuring the AEDs remain in good working order and that local staff know where to find them. IDL also has a policy that requires all employees to attend and successfully complete basic first aid, CPR and AED training every two years. We want all IDL employees to be confident and empowered to use an AED if an unfortunate situation arises that requires one to be used. They are designed for anyone to use and a shock from the AED is the only way to save someone in SCA. Every minute matters in the case of SCA so immediate recognition and action is necessary!
The agency's statewide Safety Coordinator, Vikki Snider, recently shared with staff safety training opportunities offered by the NIC Workforce Training Center in Post Falls and Safety Fest of the Great Northwest in Boise that meet IDL policy requirements. Take this time to refresh your knowledge and location of the AEDs in your area office.
In the next edition of the Director’s Update for IDL Staff, scheduled for publication on January 13, IDL team members will be reminded about first aid, CPR and AED training requirements, and informed about IDL's new Emergency Response Policy.
Because safety is everyone's responsibility, the agency also publishes IDL Safety News, a periodic newsletter for staff packed with life-saving and accident-reducing tips.
Top of Page
Leasing Program Webpages Now Sync with GIS-Enabled Leasing Opportunities and Inquiry App
At the direction of the Land Board, in 2019 IDL launched its GIS-enabled Leasing Opportunities and Inquiry Application. This online tool was designed to help advertise and increase public awareness about the process for leasing endowment land.
Until now, leasing opportunities listed on IDL's website and the GIS app were unconnected, and the app was difficult to find.
After retrofitting IDL's leasing webpages with newer technology, leasing opportunities listed online now dovetail seamlessly with and leverage the mapping power of the GIS app.
In practical terms, by replacing the old tabular format for listing leases with a new, streamlined format, individual leases offered on our website are easier for customers to understand and readily viewable in the GIS-enabled app.
Overall, the various leasing program webpages now have a consistent look and organization that is more aesthetically pleasing than the old format. As a bonus, it is almost impossible for customers to overlook the GIS app!
Other changes to the leasing webpages include:
- Streamlining the main Leasing navigation menu option from the homepage
- Creating a new Leasing Endowment Land portal webpage, connecting customers with relevant information quickly
- Embedding prominent links to the Leasing Opportunities and Inquiry Application in leases listed on the IDL website, leveraging the power of online mapping
- Eliminating the duplicate posting of leasing documents in Dropbox and in the GIS app, saving precious staff time
 
Top of Page
Director Miller Attended January Idaho Sportsmen Meeting
This week Director Miller attended the Idaho Sportsmen meeting held at Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Boise headquarters. IDL regularly participates in these monthly meetings.
The agenda included discussions about recreational impacts on land traditionally used for hunting, fishing and trapping. Over the past year Idaho Sportsmen has worked with a diverse group of stakeholders to draft legislation designed to help address recreational impacts on endowment land. This legislation is likely to be introduced this session.
Idaho Sportsmen aims to protect and advance access and opportunity to hunt, fish, trap, and recreate in Idaho through collaboration with other like-minded groups and government entities.
Top of Page
IDL Improves Accessibility with Email Policy Training for Staff
This week IDL held a microlearning training for staff covering Everything Employees Should Know About IDL's Email Signature Policy.
Microlearning is an approach to training that takes little time but reaches the goal of sharing important information with IDL team members. Sessions are organized by Human Resources and often feature subject matter experts from within the agency.
This week's training followed a November 2022 update to IDL's Public Information policy that ensured email signature blocks used by our team members comply with Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and are accessible to those of all abilities.
This change to the policy’s email signature template was made because the prior version of the template formatted signature blocks using tables. Adaptive technology like screen readers often cannot recognize text presented in tables. Also, not all email signature blocks used by employees after the 2021 policy update had logos that included Alt Text. Alt Text is crucial for ensuring accessibility because it enables screen readers to describe images included in electronic documents.
Top of Page
Coming Soon: Digital Signage Pilot Program
In the past, television monitors were acquired for IDL offices with the idea of displaying digital signage in the agency's local offices. A new pilot program aims to bring that idea to life.
IDL is exploring using digital signage software to remotely manage content displayed on television monitors located in the reception areas of our area, field, and staff offices.
The software IDL is evaluating, Posterbooking.com, supports displaying videos or images that are relevant agency-wide and playlists curated specifically for local offices. The technology required to implement the system is minimal: a wireless internet connection, Amazon Firestick, and a television with an HDMI port.
For many organizations digital signage has been a boon for improving external and internal communications. The types of content that IDL is considering displaying on the digital signage includes:
- Office-specific welcome messages
- Facts about endowment land
- Permanent and temporary job listings
- Season-specific messaging for topics like burn permits
- Timely IT-related notices and information
A pilot program will soon expand to three IDL offices with a goal of further evaluating Posterbooking.com. This software-as-a-service has already undergone testing in the Boise staff office over the past month.
Provided the pilot proves successful, the digital signage solution will likely be available for all interested IDL offices this spring. In the future, television monitors displaying curated IDL content could even been installed in the offices of Land Board members.
Top of Page
Upcoming FY24 Western States Fire Managers and Landscape Scale Restoration Grant Program Webinar
IDL is offering a zoom webinar on January 19, 2023, to help prepare eligible entities for upcoming grant opportunities.
The webinar is in anticipation of the opening of the Western States Fire Managers (WSFM) and Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) Request for Proposals (RFP).
The WSFM grant program aims to mitigate risk from wildland fire within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) through hazard fuel reduction, information and education, assessment and planning, and monitoring projects incorporating community and landowner actions.
Eligible entities include non-profits, local and state agencies, tribes and educational institutions.
The webinar is free and doesn't require a registration. Details and a zoom link can be found by visiting the IDL Transparency Events webpage.
Top of Page
Resources for Recruiting Seasonal Firefighters Now Available
With the next fire season just around the corner, IDL is already stepping up efforts to recruit temporary firefighters.
In addition to launching the 2023 seasonal job application on IDL's website, the following recruitment posters are available to be printed and posted in IDL and Land Board member offices, and on local community bulletin boards:
Last year's recruitment posters were date-dependent with a QR code that linked directly to the 2022 seasonal job application form. The QR code on this year's redesigned poster instead links to the seasonal employment page on IDL's website. This means the new posters can be used from year to year.
Additionally, a new and memorable vanity URL has been configured, www.idl.idaho.gov/FireJobs, which should help applicants find our recruitment webpage more easily.
The following temporary firefighter recruitment video will stream on social media and appear on screens in the reception areas of IDL offices participating in the new digital signage pilot program.
|
Top of Page
MNOG Launched New Abandoned Mine Land Webpages
Last week IDL's Minerals, Navigable Waters and Oil and Gas (MNOG) division greenlighted the launch of a refreshed Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) webpage.
The updated webpage outlines IDL's responsibility under Idaho Code to reclaim abandoned mines, clearly articulates that private landowner participation in the program is voluntary, and explains how abandoned mines are closed.
In concert with the AML webpage refresh, IDL published a new webpage explaining how and why Idaho's Abandoned Mine Program was started.
Top of Page
IDL Launches 2023 Legislative Priorities Webpage
We encourage Land Board members and staff to take a look at IDL's Legislative Priorities webpage. This page provides a quick background and the specific items IDL will present to the legislature on behalf of the Land Board.
With the 2023 Legislature convening on Monday, IDL will resume publication of its weekly Legislative Update Newsletter. The newsletter tracks IDL rules and legislation as well as proposed legislation that might affect the agency and how we conduct business on behalf of the Land Board. The first newsletter for this session is scheduled for Wednesday, January 11.
Top of Page
In Case You Missed It
Top of Page
One Team One Voice Webpage
Did you miss some important news? Are you curious about knowing what's happening across IDL? Our One Team, One Voice webpage contains an archive of IDL's newsletters covering:
Top of Page
|
