Celebrate Arbor Day with Free Seedlings
With Arbor Day just around the corner on April 28, here’s a reminder about the lineup of events planned:
- Official State Arbor Day Celebration - 10 am MT, Idaho State Museum, Boise
- Free seedlings available at IDL offices - 9am to 4 pm local time
The plan for distributing seedlings at IDL offices was covered in the April 7 edition of this newsletter.
In case you haven’t seen it, the Idaho Forest Products Commission published a fantastic Arbor Day story about how Boise kindergarten teacher Wendy Peppersack brings her love of the outdoors inside her classroom.
Critchfield Visit to IDL Area Offices a Success
On Wednesday Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield visited IDL's Ponderosa Supervisory Area office in Deary and the St. Joe Supervisory Area office in St. Maries. Additionally, she toured endowment land near Santa, ID, included in the Benewah County Land Exchange.
In thanking IDL for organizing the tour, Superintendent Critchfield noted that the time spent visiting our offices was "extremely valuable and well spent," and that she learned much.
What the Heck is a Lek?
Early Monday morning Director Miller joined Josh Uriarte, the Species Program Manager for Idaho's Office of Species Conservation, on a trek to monitor leks in the Owyhees near Oreana, ID.
Two of the leks were on endowment land.
In case you're wondering, a lek is an area where sage grouse gather for competitive courtship displays and breeding. The males strut and fan their spiky tails, create a popping sound from the air sacks on their chests and compete for breeding rights, while females watch the dance from the sidelines.
As part of Idaho’s commitment to conserving sage grouse, IDL developed conservation measures for state endowment land and IDL regulatory programs that complement the Sage Grouse Plan for federal land management in Idaho. Learn more about this important effort on IDL's website.
Undeterred by lacking a camera outfitted with strong telephoto lens, Director Miller improvised and captured this great shot of a male sage grouse strutting his stuff using a phone and binoculars!
IDL Receives Grant for Roadside Fuel Breaks in Clark County
It is not uncommon to see fires along busy roads and highways during summer. Often fires can be started by dragging safety chains on trailers, blown tires, and hot exhaust from vehicles that pull to the side of the road, parking on dry, fine fuels. This creates a wildfire hazard that can threaten communities in the Wildland Urban Interface.
IDL applied for a grant through the federal Community Wildfire Defense Grant program to assist with roadside fuel breaks in Clark County. A $690,000 grant was awarded in March and will allow IDL and its partners to create right-of-way fuel breaks for approximately 53 miles, helping to decrease the threat of wildfire and protect about 700 homes and structures in Dubois, Kilgore, Spencer, and Medicine Lodge.
Clark County has regular fire occurrences along roadways and the goal of the project is to support firefighting efforts to minimize the number of acres burned by compartmentalizing the landscape.
Re-creating Public Land Recreation
On Tuesday Director Miller joined Governor Little and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Tracy-Stone Manning, at a conference hosted by Boise State's Andrus Center for Public Policy.
During the conference, Re-creating Public Land Recreation, speakers representing federal and tribal land managers, state and local governments, and business leaders with expertise in recreation discussed:
- Collaboration - working across jurisdictional proximities
- Funding - overcoming infrastructure and operational shortfalls
- Policy - shortfalls of current laws and policies.
IDL is certainly feeling the pressure of a growing population and increasing recreational demands. As such, we continue to look for ways to provide opportunities for the public and monetizing those opportunities, while protecting our ability to generate revenue for the endowments.
Controller Woolf Highlighted Endowment Successes at IFG Contractors' Meeting in Moscow
On Monday, April 10, under the soaring mass timber roof of the University of Idaho's new ICCU Arena, Land Board member and State Controller Brandon Woolf spoke at Idaho Forest Group’s annual contractors’ meeting. He followed presentations by IDL’s Fire Management Chief Josh Harvey, Good Neighbor Authority Bureau Chief Jon Songster, and Lands Section Manager for Timber Sales and Contract Administration Jeremy Shawver.
Controller Woolf explained that one million acres of endowment timberland may only comprise 6.2% of Idaho’s productive timberland resource, but produces 32% of the state's fiber and sawlogs. Endowment land plays a crucial role in driving Idaho's $2.5 billion forest products industry.
Because an IDL Team Member Asked for It...
Because it's breeding season for the greater sage grouse...
Director Miller's Favorite Dad Joke This Week:
Q: Why did the sage grouse cross the road?
A: Because he leked it better on the other side.
|
Buy It Where You Burn It Forest Health Education Campaign
With winter finally departing, many will begin to enjoy Idaho’s wondrous outdoors and sit around campfires. It is important to know that firewood moved from another area to where you are camping poses a risk to the health of our forests.
That's a key message IDL seeks to deliver in a new forest health education campaign.
Invasive insects and diseases can hitch rides on and in firewood, spreading infection from where the wood was cut to where you camp. Even if you don’t see any pests with your naked eye, that doesn’t mean their tiny eggs or disease microbes aren’t there. By transporting firewood long distances, we may unintentionally be giving an invasive pest a free ride to a new area.
In recent news coverage Idaho State Forester Craig Foss explained “native trees have evolved defenses against the insects and diseases that they’ve been living with for thousands of years. Likewise, native predators eat native insects, and that can help keep their numbers in check. Sometimes, non-native insects and diseases arrive in a new area and have no predators in their new homes, and the trees have not evolved effective defenses against them.”
Read the news stories:
HELP SHARE THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Master Fire Agreement Update - Success!
IDL is pleased to report negotiations on the Master Fire Agreement with its federal partners have concluded successfully. The department signed the new agreement yesterday.
The agency appreciates the Land Board's unwavering support through the negotiations, Governor Little's extraordinary outreach to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, and the strong support of Idaho's congressional delegation and Idaho's forest products industry.
Emerald Ash Borer Detection & Reporting
Early during the summer of 2022, an invasive pest known as the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis, EAB) was discovered in Forest Grove Oregon, just west of Portland. Prior to this discovery, the furthest west this pest had been detected was Colorado Springs, CO.
This discovery suggests the bug will soon arrive in Idaho, if it isn't already here.
While Idaho has no native stands of ash, the tree makes up a large percentage of urban canopies for many Gem State cities.
EAB is native to Asia and first discovered in the US in Michigan in 2002. Ash species in Asia that evolved alongside this pest developed natural resistance, and are not commonly killed by it. Because native ash trees in North America previously never encountered the bug, they are highly susceptible. Hundreds of thousands of native ash trees across America have already died.
IDL is working on a preparedness plan that will be shared with communities across the state. This plan seeks to limit the amount of damage that urban forests in Idaho's communities will sustain.
Doubling Down on Dad Jokes
Just when you thought the jokes couldn't get worse...
Q: How can you identify a dogwood tree?
A: By its bark.
Take Your Kid to Work at IDL
The Executive Team, in collaboration with Governor Little and the Division of Human Resources, invite you to bring your children to work with you on April 27th.
This is a fantastic new initiative that the IDL is proud to support, and we are committed to providing earlier communication in the future to ensure our staff have ample time to plan accordingly.
For any questions, feel free to reach out to your Division Administrator who will be more than happy to assist you.
Oil and Gas Town Hall Meeting
On Wednesday, April 12, The IDL held a town hall meeting in Fruitland, Idaho, to answer questions from local residents regarding the revised Oil & Gas Act, as well as general questions about oil and gas operations, property rights, and future of the industry in Payette County. There was strong interest in updates on the field and new operator.
Administrator Mick Thomas and Program Manager James Thum hosted the meeting to a full room of over 55 attendees, the majority of whom were local residents. Topics discussed were broad including:
- How the changes to the Oil & Gas Act impact local residents and their surface rights
- Applicability of the state’s oil and gas lease as a template for local mineral interest owners
- Operational questions about well development and construction as well as site selection
- Precautions taken to protect drinking water
- Revenue to the city of Fruitland, Payette County, and individual mineral interest owners
The town hall was well received by those both for and against development. Local residents and city officials in the room expressed thanks for the meeting being specifically for Payette County residents.
News Coverage:
Employees Leaving IDL
We wish departing team members the very best in their new endeavors.
- Ray Shaw, Coeur d'Alene Staff Office
- Derek Kraft, Southwest Supervisory Area
In Case You Missed It
Here's a recap of other recent IDL newsletters you may find interesting:
One Team One Voice Newsletter Archive
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:
|
