2022 Annual Accident and Injury Report
Each year, the Safety Officer reviews all workplace accident and injury reports and near misses. This information is gathered from workers' comp claims, near miss reports, and vehicle accidents reported to Risk Management. All of this information is consolidated into the Annual Accident and Injury Report.
This report identifies trends, recommends mitigation solutions such as PPE needs, and is used to develop safety messages and micro learning sessions based on the findings.
Historically, the report has only been presented only to the Safety Committee and Executive Team. New this year, it was sent to all employees via the latest edition of the IDL Safety News. By sharing this report with all team members, IDL hopes to increase awareness about safety trends and other safety issues across the agency.
IDL Fire Investigators Seek Help Identifying the Cause of the Kidd Island Fire
Because Independence Day sparked more than national pride at Kidd Island this year, in a July 6 news release IDL fire investigators asked the public to help identify the cause of a fire. IDL also reached out on social media asking for help.
Fire Danger Ratings Rising Quickly in Northern Idaho
Late last week Fire Wardens in northern Idaho were concerned about the rapid change in fire conditions and the sudden increase in the number of wildfires. In response, IDL published a news release on Friday, July 7, to get the word out to the public.
Nearly 40 wildfires were fought in northern Idaho during the last week of June and the first week of July. IDL crews were dispatched to 16 fires and the Forest Service fought 13 wildfires. Unfortunately, many of the fires under IDL protection were human caused.
“Drier conditions in the higher elevations of the mountains have resulted in the fire rating increasing to Very High, with a forest-wide fire danger of High,” noted Brian Hicks, Fire Warden for the Pend Oreille Forest Protective District.
Fire officials asked the public and industry to increase their caution as a spark in dry conditions can start and carry a fire a long distance very quickly.
ATV Training in Clearwater Area
As Keith Brink, Resource Supervisor for the Clearwater Area, was arranging for ATV/UTV training for the summer seasonal employees in his area, he discovered many local permanent staff had not received training in some time.
Keith reached out to Ethan Mahakam from Idaho Parks and Recreation for help. Ethan led two separate three-hour training sessions covering proper transportation and driving techniques over different course layouts.
The training was informative and well received by more than 25 permanent and seasonal employees. In fact, it went so well the decision was made to implement this class each summer, especially for new seasonal help as they often operate the machines. This class was especially beneficial for employees who had never been exposed to ATVs and UTVs.
IDL extends a special thanks to the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation who provided the training at no cost!
 
Because an IDL Team Member Asked for It...
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, when used as directed, sunscreen decreases your risk of skin cancers and skin precancers. Regular daily use of SPF 15 sunscreen can reduce your risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) by about 40 percent, and lower your melanoma risk by 50 percent.
Hopefully this humorous joke will help you remember to apply sunscreen when you're working in the field or enjoying Idaho's great outdoors.
Director Miller's Favorite Dad Joke This Week:
Q: What do you do if you get rejected for a job at the sunscreen company?
A: Reapply.
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NWCG Incident Performance and Training Modernization Initiative
This week members of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) met at IDL's Boise staff office to work on the group's Incident Performance and Training Modernization initiative.
The modernization of NWCG’s training systems is part of its larger Systems Improvement effort intended to support the organization's core mission of enabling interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners. The Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort is a key component of Systems Improvement and covers:
- Incident position management
- Next Generation position task books
- Streamlined training
IDL is represented on NWCG's Executive Board by Jim Karels through the agency's membership in the National Association of State Foresters.
Teakean/CDA Helitack Cross Training
The Teakean Crew, Ponderosa Forest Protective District, and the IDL helitack program recently trained together.
The following day they all went out and worked on a line construction project, preparing a GNA timber sale for a prescribed burn this coming fall.
    
IDL Launches New Online Wildfire Report
Last week IDL upgraded it's popular online Fire News Feed to include near real time reporting about wildfire activity on the land we protect.
IRWIN, the nationwide Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information system, provides the data that drives this new dashboard. Idaho's dispatch centers update IRWIN with incident information as it is available.
IDL's new wildfire report is also displayed on digital signage at select offices.
VIEW IDL'S FIRE NEWS FEED
Doubling Down on Dad Jokes
Just when you thought the jokes couldn't get worse...
Q: Why do bananas use sunscreen?
A: So they don’t peel.
Sustainable Timber Harvests Hits New High, Benefiting Idaho’s Public Schools
IDL shared the good news of increased, sustainable timber harvests thanks to a more robust Forest Asset Management Plan. This fiscal year will have the largest recommended sales volume in IDL history.
IDL is headed into the fifth year of the plan that increased recommended sales volume by 81 million board feet over five years. It incrementally took the recommended sales volume from 247 million board feet in 2019 up to 328 million board feet this year.
IDL manages about one million acres of endowment timberlands, which make up about six percent Idaho’s productive forestlands. However, given the agency’s long-term approach to sustainable forestry, endowment land supplies nearly one-third of the sawlogs that feed Idaho’s lumber mills.
IDL can sustainably increase harvest levels thanks to better data and new technology that paints a more realistic picture of the stands of trees on endowment land. The agency targets mature timber and over-crowded stands, resulting in better forest management and increased tree growth.
Team IDL Participates in NASTL Summer Conference
This week IDL staff including Director Miller, Scott Phillips, Mick Thomas, Jason Laney and Mike Murphy attended the National Association of State Trust Lands summer conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The New Mexico State Land Office hosted this year's conference and developed the event's agenda around the theme Diversify the Trust.
The agenda included discussions about managing tribal land exchanges, innovative approaches for generating revenue from the carbon market, and renewable energy leasing.
The agenda also included tour stops at endowment trust land in Albuquerque, spotlighting the host state's diverse approaches to monetizing trust land.
Participants visited a $25 million low income housing project built on endowment trust land by a local non-profit. Prior to the redevelopment, the blighted conditions of the property were both an eyesore to the community and magnet for criminal activity. Now the 1.8 tract, which is under a 60 year lease, supplies 91 low income housing units (with veteran preferences) for elderly residents.
They also met with Albuquerque entrepreneur Steve Chavez, the developer behind Mesa del Sol, a 13,000 acre master planned community being built on a mix of private and endowment trust land in southeast Albuquerque.
Netflix's Albuquerque Studios recently expanded its footprint at Mesa del Sol from 30 acres to 300. Netflix now leases 130 acres endowment trust land at the development. New Mexico land officials expect the Netflix lease will contribute $24 million to the University of New Mexico over the next 40 years.
A highlight of every summer NASTL meeting is the State Roll Call. This summer was no different, and during the two-hour segment member states, including Idaho, shared details of their successes over past year.
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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