Long Time IDL Employee Passes Away
Our colleague and friend Howard Wright passed away in his sleep on Monday night. Howard was a Forest Resource Specialist Sr. in the IDL Payette Lakes Area office in McCall.
Director Miller interacted with Howard a number of times on visits to the McCall office and even got to spend a little time in the woods with him. Howard was passionate about forestry, forest management and the endowment mission. Howard had a difficult job of managing endowment timberlands around a diverse and rapidly changing community, but he did so with transparency, integrity and our mission squarely in mind.
Howard’s loss leaves a huge hole in IDL and he will be profoundly missed. These are difficult things to process and understand, but we need to come together to support each other through difficult times like these. This also serves as a reminder to hold your loved ones a bit closer tonight.
Howard’s memorial service will be this Saturday, Oct. 28, at 11 AM with a meet and greet (viewing) from 9:30-10:30 at the LDS Chapel on Elo Road in McCall.
Director Miller Testifies Before Federalism Committee
On Wednesday, October 25, Director Miller presented information about Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) to the Idaho Legislature's interim Committee on Federalism. The committee is chaired by Sen. Van Burtenshaw and Rep. Judy Boyle, who presided over the hearing.
Miller's presentation, titled Good Neighbor Authority 101, provided a detailed overview of IDL's GNA Program and the ongoing and strong support is has received from the Idaho Legislature. He also discussed the how IDL has met the three goals for the program established by the GNA Working Group, and delved into how GNA can help future proof the supply of fiber Idaho's mills depend on.
WATCH THE COMMITTEE ON FEDERALISM HEARING
Teamwork and Good Neighbor Authority Helps Improve Forest Health
On August 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 fireshed 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.
In July of 2023 IDL offered 4.49 million board feet of salvage timber from the Hazard Salvage GNA timber sale to the highest bidder at public auction.
Idaho Forest Group (IFG) placed the high bid as the gavel dropped, purchasing the Hazard Salvage GNA timber sale for $165,227.50. The mill hired High Country Logging from Council, Idaho, to harvest the dead and dying trees. Within a week High Country was hard at work and delivering sawlogs to IFG’s mill in Grangeville, Idaho.
Approximately 40% of the Hazard Salvage GNA timber sale has been harvested to date. The salvage operation will likely to be completed by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
GNA Improves Forest Health, Mitigates Wildfire Risks, and Improves Ski Runs!
As winter quickly approaches, staff from IDL and Bogus Basin, a non-profit mountain recreation area near Boise, have been busy brush-cutting for the upcoming ski season. IDL's GNA Program continues to clear additional areas of thick undergrowth around Shafer Butte and Mores Mountain which helps mitigate wildfire risk and improve ski runs!
Photo by Cassidy Carter
Capital for a Day- Montpelier
On Monday, Oct. 25, IDL's Michele Andersen, Division Administrator - Operations, joined Governor Little for his Capital for a Day event in Montpelier.
Montpelier is located in Bear Lake County.
IDL manages 14,827 surface acres and 16,349 subsurface mineral acres in the county. In FY23 the endowment trust distributed $283,933 to the local school district. Bear Lake County includes 24 IDL grazing leases that generate a total $72,420.00 for the endowment beneficiaries.
Questions for IDL centered around Bear Lake and vehicle travel on the exposed lake bed. Since the Land Board signed the order and the MOU with the county in July, the county has not returned a signed the MOU. The county has in fact changed their position on the order (due to lack of public support) and is working with Senator Harris to sponsor legislation to address their concerns regarding management of vehicular travel on the lakebed and funding for enforcement.
Montpelier, which was first settled in 1864, wasn’t always known by this name. First, it was called Clover Creek by Oregon Trail travelers and later it became Belmont, before being given its final name by Brigham Young. In 1896, the infamous Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch associates robbed a bank in Montpelier while allegedly trying to get enough money to bail out another gang member.
Buckets of Prevention
This fire season IDL gained an extremely useful and popular fire prevention tool. IDL’s “Fire Prevention Jen” purchased IDL logoed collapsible buckets complete with a storage cover and a campfire safety message.
These buckets meet the requirements for the tools needed by the public for safely having a campfire and extinguishing it once done. They have been very popular at community events with people coming specifically to our booths to ask for them. We usually run out of buckets before the end of the event.
The new swag was a hit with our partners for community events. Representatives from County Emergency Management, the Idaho Prescribed Fire Council, multiple local fire departments, community groups and the University of Idaho all applauded the new buckets and asked for more if we had them.
IDL has regularly given out Smokey Bear items for fire prevention, the new IDL buckets are a refreshing change of pace and are extremely well received. They also make for great candy buckets for the upcoming Halloween or at parades!
Upcoming Events: Wool Growers and Natural Resources Interim Committee Meetings
On Friday, Nov. 3, Scott Phillips will represent IDL at the 2023 West Central States Wool Growers Convention hosted by the Idaho Wool Growers Association in Boise. During the Idaho breakout session he'll discuss recreation on endowment land and IDL's fire modernization initiative.
On Monday, Nov. 6, Director Miller will appear before the Idaho Legislature's Natural Resources Interim Committee which is chaired by Sen. Van Burtenshaw and Rep. Britt Raybould. He'll discuss IDL's Good Neighbor Authority Program, the recently signed Idaho Master Fire Agreement, and the agency's work to modernize its Fire Program.
IDL Seeks Nominations for Forest Practices Advisory Committee
Director Miller 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 December 31, 2023. Nominations for these three-year positions (2024-2026) will close October 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.
Applicants must be Idaho residents qualified through experience or training to provide technical advice on forest practices. A candidate must send a short biography and description of the nominee’s forest practices related experience/training to Jeanne Bradley at jbradley@idl.idaho.gov.
Secretary McGrane Visits Fire Cache, Sarah Loop Fire
On Thursday, October 19, Secretary of State and Land Board member Phil McGrane visited IDL's fire cache in Coeur d'Alene and toured the site of the Sarah Loop Fire near Athol.
While in the field, IDL Fire Warden Terry Zufelt explained how 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. The air attack on the fire proved essential for its rapid suppression.
Zufelt recapped the fire from its point of ignition through containment, highlighted the challenges of fighting fire in the WUI, and discussed the impact of maintained vs. unmaintained properties on fire behavior.
Secretary McGrane has strongly supported IDL's fire program and also holds a Red Card which qualifies him to fight wildland fires.
Bjorn Jordan gives Secretary McGrane a tour of the cache
Terry Zufelt in field with Secretary McGrane touring Sarah Loop Fire
Employees Leaving IDL
We wish departing team members the very best in their new endeavors.
- Mark McMinn, Boise Staff Office
Winter is Coming. Are you Ready?
In the latest edition of the IDL Safety News, Safety Officer Vikki Snider offers practical advice for wintertime safety. In the article you'll learn about the risks of inadequate staff coverage at offices, traversing icy sidewalks and parking lots, and safely driving on snow and ice.
In Case You Missed It
Here's a recap of other recent IDL newsletters you may find interesting:
One Team One Voice Webpage
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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