Governor's Trail Ride
This year’s Governor’s Trail Ride was hosted by Aslett Ranches in Three Creek, ID, at their Flying Spear Outfitters camp. The camp is approximately 50 miles from Twin Falls, located west of Salmon Falls Reservoir near the Idaho and Nevada border.
Director Miller and Addie Faust, a Lands Resource Manager who works with grazing leases, joined officials from other state and federal natural resource agencies, as well as local ranchers.
For IDL, the issues discussion which occurred Thursday afternoon presented an important opportunity to talk about fire suppression, RFPAs, sage grouse, grazing and work underway to address recreation’s impact on endowment land. IDL's grazing lessees have been impacted by recent increases in recreation upon the land they lease, particularly regarding public disregard for gates.
Our agency also benefited by reconnecting with our colleagues and customers on the range, where many of the land management decisions we make play out.
Recreation Rulemaking Update
During the last legislative session, a group of stakeholders including the Idaho State ATV Association, Idaho Recreation Council, Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association and Idaho Sportsmen sponsored legislation to help curb destructive behavior on endowment land.
Governor Little signed Senate Bill 1049 into law on March 20.
The new law provides an alternative to heavy handed misdemeanor or felony criminal trespass changes for those who damage endowment land. Instead, it allows POST certified law enforcement officers to issue warnings and simple citations.
Rulemaking is required to implement the new law.
Earlier this month IDL sent notices about negotiated rulemaking for IDAPA 20.05.01 to 2,458 interested parties via email or SMS/text messaging, promoted the rulemaking on social media, launched a new rulemaking webpage, published notice of the rulemaking in the Administrative Bulletin, and held the first of two public meetings.
On Thursday night 17 people, including the stakeholders behind SB1049, agency staff from IDL, Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Office of the Attorney General, and other members of the public, attended the meeting either in-person or via Zoom.
After reviewing the first draft of the rule, IDL listened carefully to the suggestions and ideas offered by participants. Many of the comments IDL received will likely be incorporated into a future draft of the rule.
The next meeting is scheduled for July 10 in Coeur d'Alene for in-person or Zoom attendance. Public comments for the negotiated phase of this rulemaking will be accepted until July 19.
Because an IDL Team Member Asked for It...
You will definitely want to read the next story following this horrendous dad joke...
Director Miller's Favorite Dad Joke This Week:
Q: Did you hear what happened to the robber who stole a calendar?
A: He got 12 months!
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IDL Fire Staff Attend Land Board Hearing, Rob Bank and Escape
Team members from IDL's Fire Bureau convened in Boise last week and attended Tuesday's Land Board meeting to support the bureau's presentation of the annual Pre-Season Forecast and Fire Update.
You can read about the pre-season report in the latest edition of the Land Board Recap newsletter or view the material presented to the Board during the meeting, starting on page 19 of the briefing book.
The team visited the Idaho Firewise demonstration garden located in the College of Western Idaho's installation at the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise. A horticulturist explained to team members how Firewise helps Idahoans learn how to live on the edge of wildlands more safely and beautifully. As Idaho's population grows and the wildland urban interface continues to expand, resilient residential landscaping and fire-hardened homes will become even more crucial for preventing catastrophic wildfires.
Before catching the first train out of Boise the team robbed a bank and escaped, kind of. Here's the full story - after hours they visited a bank robbery themed escape room!
 
Governor Little Appoints Mary Pat Thompson to the Endowment Fund Investment Board
Last week Governor Brad Little announced his appointment of Mary Pat Thompson to the Endowment Fund Investment Board.
The Endowment Fund Investment Board was created by the Idaho Legislature in 1969 and is charged with administration and investment management responsibilities for the Land Grant Endowment Fund according to policies established by the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners. The board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.
Mary Pat Thompson served as the Senior Vice President of Finance for MWI Animal Health and as a Consultant with Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. She serves on the boards of AAA Oregon/Idaho and Regence Blue Shield of Idaho and is a member of the Board of Advisors for Zions Bank. Thompson graduated from the University of Idaho with a B.S. in Accounting.
Thompson replaces Richelle Sugiyama who served on the board for the last seventeen years. Sugiyama was named the Chief Investment Officer of the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho in 2022. She serves on the Treasurer’s Investment Advisory Board, the State of Board Education’s Investment Advisory Board, the Boise State University Foundation and the Idaho Community Foundation.
“We are excited to have Mary Pat Thompson join the Board and are extremely grateful for the outstanding service Richelle Sugiyama has provided,” said Chris Anton, Manager of Investments. “Sugiyama has played an instrumental role in the success of our organization.”
Governor Declares July 2 Idaho Wildland Firefighter Day, IDL Participates in National Wildland Firefighter Day at NIFC
Governor Little proclaimed July 2 as Idaho Wildland Firefighter Day. The proclamation recognizes the highly dangerous work Idaho wildland firefighters accomplish in the protection of the more than 9 million acres of private, state and federal land.
Related, on Tuesday IDL joined agencies from across the nation at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise to honor and remember wildland firefighters. IDL's Southwest Supervisory Area sent an engine to the the National Wildland Firefighters Day celebration, along with a crew of firefighters from the area. IDL's team members were featured in local news coverage.
View coverage of National Wildland Firefighter Day on KTVB
Idaho Transportation, Lands Officials Look to the Past to Help Prevent Roadside Wildfires in the Future
In preparation for the upcoming holiday weekend, IDL and the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) collaborated on a joint news release designed to help prevent roadside wildfires. The agencies urged Idahoans and Gem State visitors to make sure the safety chains attached to their trailers won’t drag and spark fires, and that tires are road worthy so they don’t blow out.
The collaborative release reminded readers that those who start a fire and are found negligent could be on the hook for covering suppression costs and economic damages.
The story also highlighted several cases where blown tires, dragging chains, or a vehicles parked over dry fuels started wildfires. One example recounted how in 1992 a negligent motorist drove for miles with a flat tire on the car he was towing behind his motorhome. The driver's negligence started a 6,258 acre fire along Highway 55 near Banks, ID, that resulted in a $1.3 million bill for the cost of fighting the blaze.
IDL anticipates launching additional joint news releases with ITD later this summer.
A Near Miss at Windy Acres
Meribeth Lomkin, a Resource Specialist Senior out of IDL's Jerome office told a tale of a near miss in a recent edition of IDL's Safety News.
Her story described a frightening moment while traveling on a rain-soaked interstate when an oncoming vehicle that was traveling too fast given road conditions hydroplaned and spun across the median.
If you haven't read Maribeth's story, you should. It contains important advice we all should follow when driving for work and on our own time.
Meribeth, we're glad you were safe and thank you for sharing your story!
Director Miller Joins Cattlemen at Annual Summer Meeting
Earlier this week Director Miller and Addie Faust represented IDL at the Idaho Cattle Association's annual summer meeting. Senate Bill 1049 and rulemaking underway to implement this new law that helps protect endowment land from recreational damage was a hot topic.
IDL's grazing lessees have long expressed frustration when recreationists on endowment land fail to close gates. The new law, coupled with rulemaking, provide IDL with tools to curb such damaging behaviors and to educate the public about recreating responsibly on endowment land.
Other topics of discussion at the event included the University of Idaho's sage grouse and grazing study, virtual livestock fencing and, no pun intended, efforts underway at the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to rebrand its range program.
 
Benton Butte Timber Salvage Update
In the June 2 Director's Update you received information about the Benton Butte salvage sales following the July 7, 2021 Cougar Rock Complex that included the Benton Butte Fire. IDL successfully sold six cedar salvage sales within two years of the fire with trees being planted while harvesting was taking place.
IDL sent out a news release last week to make the public aware of the hard work of IDL team members the the successful and quick turn around for the six Benton Butte cedar salvage sales.
IDL Takes Lead Role for Recreate Responsibly Idaho
Recreate Responsibly Idaho (RRI) partners have worked for several years to inform and remind recreationists statewide about best practices when it comes to putting out campfires, fire safety in general, ATV, UTV and Off-Highway vehicle use, proper etiquette at boat ramps, water and lifejacket safety, minding your wake on lakes, rivers and reservoirs, and more.
This summer, the RRI website and social media channels were going to be discontinued as the Idaho Department of Commerce stopped funding RRI marketing, the website and sponsored media content.
IDL's communications team stepped in to migrate the RRI site under our management and is keeping up the coalition's important social outreach. IDL is again the state coordinator for the agencies and effort, which includes Idaho Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service, and BLM. Other RRI partners include Idaho Sportsmen, Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission, Idaho Firewise and the Idaho State ATV Association.
This effort is important to IDL because it allows us to reach a larger audience with messaging important to our agency, mainly wildfire prevention while recreating, and the importance of not damaging the landscape, especially endowment land.
Without paid marketing, IDL will focus on earning media coverage such as this interview on KTVB last week, as well as social media outreach as seen on Instagram and Facebook.
How IDL employees can help
Recreate Responsibly Idaho’s Show and Tell Summer campaign will provide an easy way for the public to simply take a picture of an issue, use a QR code to upload the image, and provide a location. Pictures of recreating the right way are also encouraged as it helps remind people to recreate responsibly. View and download photos and videos submitted so far this week for use by the media and public:
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Doubling Down on Dad Jokes
Just when you thought the jokes couldn't get worse...
Q: What did the robber say to the baker?
A: Give me all your dough.
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:
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