Recent IDL News Releases
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Current News Coverage
Annual road closure Begins Nov. 3
Clearwater Tribune, 10-25-23
Roads accessing the South Grangemont block of state endowment trust land will close to vehicle traffic beginning Friday, Nov. 3, but will remain open to ATVs (under 50 inches) and motorcycles.
The area involved is south of the Grangemont Road between Rudo Road and Cow Creek Road. The closure will remain in effect until May 24, the Friday before Memorial weekend.
This is an annual closure by Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and is designed to reduce erosion and sedimentation, minimize road maintenance expenses, and minimize wildlife disturbance.
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Lampert presented with prestigious, statewide award
St. Maries Gazette Record, 10-25-23
Short said the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) was still waiting to hear on an easement for ground Benewah County owns along the railroad grade in Shoshone County. Roletto said he had looked at the area with IDL, but then things stalled so he could talk to the commissioners in Shoshone County about taking over the piece of property as an official road. However, he said they still do not seem interested. Attorney Mariah Dunham said she’s drafted and reviewed the proposed easement, and it just needs final approval. Short asked for the item to be on the agenda Nov. 13 as an action item to move forward with the easement for IDL.
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Tree identification, wreath-making classes announced
Bonner County Daily Bee, 10-25-23
Because the area has such a varied range of latitudes, altitudes, soils, and precipitation patterns, Idaho has a wider variety of native trees than most other Rocky Mountain states. The first step in caring for these trees, whether they be in a forest or in a landscape, is to correctly identify the species.
Distinguishing between Idaho’s trees can be a daunting task for beginners. Through a combination of images and live samples, a three-hour workshop titled Identifying Idaho’s Trees will help participants quickly identify Idaho’s most common native trees, including: lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, western white pine, western larch, Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, grand fir, subalpine fir, western redcedar, western hemlock, pacific yew, black cottonwood, quaking aspen, paper birch, and red alder. Participants will also learn about the ecology, silviculture, and history of these species.
"Identifying Idaho’s Trees" will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the University of Idaho Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center (located at 10881 N Boyer Road in Sandpoint).
Another class titled "Turning Idaho Trees into Wreaths" will be held at the same site from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. the same day.
...
This program is co-sponsored by University of Idaho Extension and the Idaho Department of Lands.
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IDL pushes back decision on proposed Trestle Creek development to Oct. 30
Sandpoint Reader, 10-25-23
The Idaho Office of Administrative Hearings received testimony Sept. 6 from the Idaho Department of Lands, developers and the public about the proposed Idaho Club North Lake community dock, with 105 boat slips, near the mouth of Trestle Creek.
At that meeting, Deputy Chief Administrative Hearing Officer Leslie Hayes stated that the IDL director would issue the final ruling no later than Oct. 23; however, that date has been pushed back to Monday, Oct. 30. The IDL did not indicate a reason for the postponement, nor did the agency respond to a request for comment by press time.
If approved, the project will involve excavating an island and dredging an existing boat basin — both of which are man-made.
Hayes issued her official recommendation to the director on Oct. 19, which stated that the IDL should grant the Idaho Club’s encroachment permit, provided that the developers meet five additional conditions to protect and enhance the riparian zone. Those mandates include using spill containment kits during construction, and operation and diverting the North Branch of Trestle Creek — as was already planned — before dredging and filling the area.
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Legislation Aims to Regulate Wind and Solar Projects on Public Lands in Idaho
Big Country News, 10-25-23
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch with Senator Mike Crapo, Congressman Mike Simpson, and Congressman Russ Fulcher (all R-Idaho), today introduced the Don’t Develop Obstructive Infrastructure on our Terrain (Don’t DO IT) Act. The Don’t DO IT Act would require the Secretary of the Interior to deny any wind or solar energy project proposed on public land that is disapproved of by the State legislature.
Idaho’s State legislature unanimously passed a resolution in March 2023 expressing opposition to the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project in Southern Idaho, a 370-turbine project spanning 146,000 acres. Among other concerns, the proposed Lava Ridge project would visually compromise the Minidoka National Historic Site, a relocation site where more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated during World War Two.
“Idahoans have been loud and clear on Lava Ridge: Don’t DO IT! Yet, the Department of the Interior is still moving full speed ahead,” said Risch. “The Don’t DO IT Act will empower Idaho and other states to prevent the federal government from implementing unwanted, obstructive, and misaligned wind and solar energy projects on public land, like Lava Ridge.”
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Western states look to these lands for new affordable housing
Stateline, 10-26-23
In Colorado’s Eagle County, affordable housing is so scarce that school district leaders have pleaded with locals to open their spare bedrooms to teachers — citing the impossibility of hiring when employees have nowhere to live.
Home to popular ski resorts in Vail and Avon, the county has seen much of its housing snatched up for vacation homes and rentals. And it’s lacking areas suitable for new development.
But state leaders think a new approach could help, both with the crisis in Eagle County and the housing shortage throughout the state. They’re aiming to turn a 3.5-acre tract owned by the State Land Board into 80 units of affordable housing. And they’re working to identify other state lands that could be developed in regions with critical housing needs.
“Colorado has a lot of land that’s under state ownership that is either sitting completely vacant or being underutilized in really key areas that could be suitable for workforce housing development,” said state Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Democrat who represents Eagle County. “Taken in total, we’re talking about tens of thousands more units across the state.”
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Teamwork and Good Neighbor Authority helps improve forest health
Clearwater Tribune, 10-25-23
Boise, ID - On Aug. 13, 2022, lightning sparked the Four Corners wildfire on the Payette and Boise National Forests near Cascade, Idaho. The incident management team deployed by the national forests contained the fire by mid-September of 2022, but it had already burned 14,000 acres.
Given that the incident occurred in a fire shed that presented great risks to nearby communities, leaving the dead and dying trees in the wildland urban interface (WUI) would create untold future wildfire risks for those living in the area.
That’s why a diverse team of forest resource specialists from the United States Forest Service (USFS), Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and the forest products industry sprang to action. In the aftermath of the conflagration, they made plans to reduce the heavy fuel load left by dead or dying trees and restore critical portions of the forest to a healthy state. Together they identified a treatment area and quickly completed a thorough environmental analysis for salvaging dead, dying, and hazardous trees on 390 acres of the French Hazard WUI Project area.
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IDL seeks nominations for Forest Practices Advisory Committee
KIFI, 10-21-23
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (KIFI) – The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) Director is seeking nominations for two positions for the Idaho Forest Practices Advisory Committee (FPAC).
Terms for the General Public Representative At-Large and General Public Representative North positions end Dec.31, 2023. Nominations for these three-year positions (2024-2026) will close Oct. 31, 2023.
The purpose of FPAC, as established by Idaho Code, is to provide technical assistance to the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) in matters relating to the Idaho Forest Practices Act.
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Closed burning season ending for Idaho
KIFI, 10-16-23
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - “Closed fire season,” which is otherwise known as the five months of the year that burn permits are legally required in Idaho, ends Friday, Oct. 20.
Burn permits are normally required May 10 through October 20 each year and are issued by the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL).
Idaho law requires any person planning to burn outside city limits within Idaho, including crop residue burning, to obtain a state burn permit during the closed period.
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Social Media Statistics
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Have you seen the signs?
Posted October 27, 2023
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Do the "Rot Thing"
Posted October 26, 2023
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Like lawn clippings, decomposed leaves form water holding humus and add nutrients to the lawn, reducing fertilizer and water needs. When grass clippings or leaves become heavy enough to warrant removal from the lawn, compost or use them directly in your gardens and flower beds instead of sending them to the landfill. Do the “Rot Thing,” and improve your garden soils for better root growth.
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