Long Time Area Manager, Pat Brown, Retiring
After a career that spanned more than 35 years with IDL, Eastern Supervisory Area Manager Pat Brown is retiring. His career spanned eight administrations, from Governor John Evans back in the late 80's to the present Governor Brad Little. About 50 friends, family, fire cooperators, lessees and co-workers convened in Idaho Falls last week to bid him farewell.
Pat spent his entire tenure in Eastern, most of it as the Area Manager. He nicknamed it Area 51 as Eastern covers 51% the state and he was known for providing Area 51 buttons to visitors. Being responsible for endowment lands on more than half the state is a huge responsibility he seemed to handle with ease.
Pat was presented with a number of unique gifts in recognition of his dedication and service to IDL and to his community. They included an Area 51 plaque adorned by Pulaskis, an engraved knife, a remote control forklift and a signed historical photo of IDL's old forestry logo that was in a barn wood frame.
The celebration included a BBQ lunch, a number of games, and the opportunity to spray water out of a fire truck. Director Miller is seen below taking advantage of that opportunity.
IDL greatly appreciates all that Pat has done for the State of Idaho and the Eastern Supervisory Area. He is well liked and respected by his fellow managers, employees, and the local fire departments that received equipment thanks to Pat's hard work and dedication. He will be missed.
 
Idaho Land Leaders' Summit
The Idaho Land Leaders' Summit was held in northern Idaho this week. State and local elected officials along with Idaho forest products industry representatives, were immersed in forestry and fire issues important to Idaho, local governments and industry. This event presents a rare opportunity to see public policy in action and discuss its impact on Idaho’s economy and citizens.
The Idaho Land Leaders’ Summit was cohosted by the Idaho Department of Lands and the state’s forest products industry.
The tour featured an industry-sponsored tour and panel discussion about economic trends, and visits to a number of locations for in-depth discussion of issues:
The Albeni Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) Project began with a timber sale purchased by Stimson Lumber, who went above and beyond with additional mastication work that was not required by the contract. Later, when the Mercy Fire started in this area, Stimson's fuel treatment played a pivotal role in helping IDL suppress the fire quickly before it could spread. This tour stop provided an overview of the GNA timber sale and explain how Stimson’s good stewardship dovetails with other work across GNA Scattered Lands in Idaho.
Sheep Springs Timber Sale
Idaho’s forest products industry contributes $2.5 billion to Idaho’s economy annually. IDL’s Sheep Springs Timber Sale is one example of how IDL helps supply nearly a third of the fiber and sawlogs that Idaho’s forest products industry uses. This tour stop provided an overview of IDL’s original intent for the Sheep Springs Timber Sale, explained the impact of a devastating wind event and gave a status update about regeneration on the parcel. From this location tour participants saw the Clagstone Meadows Forest Legacy Project. Other topics of discussion included endowment land management and endowment land timber harvest levels.
On August 15, 2023, the Sarah Loop Fire started near Athol among homes built in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). IDL’s aggressive response and saved many homes from certain destruction. This tour stop recapped the fire from its point of ignition through containment and encouraged discussions about the challenges of fighting fire in the WUI, the impact of maintained vs. unmaintained properties on fire behavior and the crucial need for air support for fire suppression. There was also discussion about how IDL’s Shared Stewardship Program helps forest landowners conduct fuel treatments, and how the agency's fire prevention efforts help promote personal responsibility for those who live in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).
Stimson Cabin at Clagstone Meadows
IDL's Forest Legacy Program was discussed over box lunches at the Stimson Cabin at Clagstone Meadows. Participants learned about Clagstone Meadows, why Stimson opted to enroll their property in the program, and the perpetual harvests of sawlogs and fiber the property will produce.
Idaho's forest products industry currently requires approximately 1 billion board feet of fiber annually. Two-thirds of this fiber supply is not assured for the long term and may be threatened by federal policy changes or development in the future.
IDL understands that endowment timberland produces revenue because the industrial infrastructure to manufacture endowment-grown trees into value-added products exists in here in Idaho. If the fiber supply is threatened and mill capacity shrinks, revenue from endowment timber harvests will diminish.
Within the next five years officials anticipate that private industrial forestland voluntarily enrolled in Forest Legacy will increase from the current 100,000 acres to more than 350,000 acres. At this increased level, it is estimated that between 10 to 15 percent of Idaho's fiber supply will be secured for use now and into the future. This secured supply, along with the 33% of fiber supplied from endowment land, will help ensure Idaho's forest products industry can continue to operate well into the future - providing citizens with good jobs and purchasing endowment timber sales.
Idaho Forest Group, Chilco Mill
Idaho Forest Group’s Chilco Mill is a 248-acre facility located just north of Coeur d’Alene. During this tour stop participants toured the facility and learned how this technologically advanced mill produces up to 280 million board feet of lumber per year with dimensions ranging from 2×4 through 2×12 up to 20-foot long. The customers of products produced at this mill include major home centers, construction suppliers and retailers across North America and the globe.
Because an IDL Team Member Asked for It...
This joke about fall is so bad you'll still be cringing when winter arrives...
Director Miller's Favorite Dad Joke This Week:
Q: What do fashionable farmers wear in autumn?
A. A harv-vest.
|
Director Miller Meets New Idaho Panhandle National Forest Supervisor
On Thursday Director Miller and team members from IDL's Coeur d'Alene Staff Office met with the new Idaho Panhandle National Forest Supervisor Tim Giloon and Deputy Regional Forester for USFS Region 1Tim Garcia.
The group discussed issues important to both Idaho and the Forest Service including Good Neighbor Authority projects, fire suppression and the Forest Legacy Program. The federal Wildfire Crisis Strategy was also discussed with the conversation focusing on how to increase fuels treatments on USFS land in Region 1.
IDL Participates in Capital for a Day at Carmen
Carmen, Idaho, located about four miles north of Salmon, became Idaho's Capital for a Day on Thursday, September 28. Director Miller joined Governor Little for the event.
IDL manages 34,125 surface acres in Lemhi County, 100% are rangeland assets. In FY23 the trust distributed $232,698 to the local school districts. Lemhi county has 3,818 AUMs with a total revenue from grazing of $27,795.00.
Many questions centered around forest health and fuels mitigation on the Salmon-Challis National Forest. There was a lot of interest in the newly signed GNA agreement between IDL and the Salmon-Challis NF.
Currently IDL has contractors doing mastication work on the Salmon-Challis NF. Wade Kaufman with Ambient Green from Driggs is completing the work on the project and is a Salmon native. The funding was provided by the USFS. Additional work and fuels reduction is expected to continue next year but available funding and IDL capacity will be important factors.
 
Salmon River Forest Products Tour
On Thursday, September 28, before Capital for a Day, Director Miller joined Governor Little at a tour of the Salmon River Forest Products sawmill. This is a small facility owned and operated Ron Parmenter and Britt McFarland, both long time Salmon residents.
The operation is primarily post and poles as the mill doesn't have kiln capacity for larger products.
The mill has struggled to source adequately sized timber sales for their smaller operation because they can only buy and store so much timber at once. Federal federal timber sales are usually larger than they can handle.
Currently, their main source of timber is through Montana timber harvests. The company is very interested in IDL's new GNA agreements with the Salmon-Challis National Forest and Caribou-Targhee National Forests.
 
Quagga Mussel Town Hall Meeting
On Sunday, October 30, staff from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture hosted a townhall meeting in Twin Falls to discuss plans to treat a six-mile stretch of the Snake River near Twin Falls.
The agency designed a plan rooted in science to safely and effectively eradicate highly invasive quagga mussels from the river.
ISDA has worked quickly to implement an aggressive response and this townhall meeting provided stakeholders an opportunity to ask questions about the plan. About 60 citizens and officials attended the meeting and 560 watched the livestream.
The treatment protocol began on Tuesday and will continue for 10 days.
WATCH THE ISDA TOWNHALL MEETING TO LEARN MORE
Doubling Down on Dad Jokes
Just when you thought the jokes couldn't get worse...
Q: Why are leaves so gullible in October?
A. Because they'll fall for anything.
Miller Meets with East Idaho Legislators, Discusses Recreation
Last week Director Miller and Eastern Area Resource Supervisor Heath Hancock met with Sen. Van Burtenshaw, Rep. Jerald Raymond and Rep. Rod Furniss to discuss the the impacts of dispersed camping on endowment land and IDL's effort to earn revenue for the beneficiaries through commercial recreation leasing. A number of area residents participated in the meeting, too.
As Idaho's population continues to grow, the ever-expanding use of endowment land by the public impacts those who currently lease endowment land for activities like grazing. This increased use also damages the resource and creates angst for citizens who live in areas subject to high recreation pressure.
Participants also discussed how legislative action could further address recreational impacts on endowment land and communities.
Director Miller reminded the meeting participants of IDL’s and the Land Board's constitutional mandate to maximize long-term revenue on state endowment lands.
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:
|
