Recent IDL News Releases
VIEW ALL NEWS RELEASES ON IDL'S WEBSITE
Current News Coverage
Eastern Idaho fire safety nonprofit says it hasn’t been paid through state grants in months
Idaho Capital Sun, 11-16-23
An Eastern Idaho nonprofit organization that helps residents of Island Park protect their homes from fire says the state is months behind making payments for work the organization completed and invoiced through state grants.
Loy Schroeder, treasurer of the Island Park Sustainable Fire Community, said that because the state is months behind on its payments, the organization had to seek out lines of credit totaling $120,000 to sustain itself. As a result, Schroeder said the sustainable fire community organization incurred interest charges totaling $800 a month that the grant won’t cover.
“There is nothing to pull from because we are a nonprofit,” Schroeder said in a telephone interview. “The result of this was in September, when we normally start our slash program (to remove dead tree branches and shrubs), we were out of money.”
Schroeder said part of the delays have been attributed to the state transitioning to the Luma business system that all state agencies and employees are now tied into. Luma is designed to increase security and transparency, but it has been subject to process and data entry errors since launching July 1.
READ MORE
Avoid common hunting violations
Coeur d'Alene Press,11-16-23
Hunting season is well underway, and Fish and Game wants to continue to remind hunters to review their regulations before heading out in the field. In a video available at idfg.idaho.gov, Conservation Officer Will Fuller provides an overview of the three most common violations that officers see in the field during this time of year. These include:
1. Possession/transportation of big game without evidence of sex/species
Make sure to leave evidence of sex and species naturally attached to any big game carcass until it reaches final place of consumption or meat processing facility.
2. Violation of road/area closures
U.S. Forest Service, Large Tract properties (PotlatchDeltic), Bureau of Land Management, and Idaho Department of Lands establish designated motorized routes. Please pay attention to the current motorized vehicle use maps for the areas of a hunt.
READ MORE
Woodrat Mountain roads close Nov. 20
Idaho County Free Press, 11-15-23
The Maggie Creek Supervisory Area of the Idaho Department of Lands in Kamiah will be closing roads accessing the Woodrat Mountain block of state land on Nov. 20. Entrance roads will be closed at Suttler Creek, Wilson Creek, Harris Ridge, Kidder Ridge, Glenwood Meadows, and Woodrat Mountain.
Closures will remain in effect through May 26, 2024.
This is an annual closure designed to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation, minimize road damage and maintenance expenses, and protect wildlife wintering in the area. Restrictions pertain only to unauthorized vehicles wider than 50 inches. Access by ATV, motorcycle, or any nonmotorized means is permitted. The roads may also be used for purposes of authorized resource management or accessed by parties with authorized permits.
This closure is a cooperative effort between the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG). The agencies appreciate public cooperating in the matter, and to report any unauthorized use to IDL or IDFG.
For information, call IDL at 208-935-2141.
READ MORE
New kiosks enhance winter access information in Boundary County
KIFI, 11-14-23
IDL's recreation program manager, IDPR's North Idaho trails specialist and the trail cat operator collaborated on the kiosks that were installed in the Fall Creek and Ruby Creek areas of Boundary County.
Providing clear guidance to winter recreationists in this region is challenging given its checkerboard of land ownerships. The area includes endowment land and private timber land managed by Stimson Lumber and Manulife Forest Management.
Some blazes contained, more help coming from out of state as Kentucky wildfires
Lexington Herald Leader, 11-13-23
Crews continued to battle wildfires in Eastern Kentucky over the weekend as more resources from around the country responded to the area to help, according to the Kentucky Division of Forestry.
Over the weekend, teams from the Idaho Department of Lands arrived in Kentucky to assist with containing the fires. The first arriving Idaho crew was sent to the Pine Mountain area, near the border of Virginia in southeast Kentucky.
Later in the weekend, four bulldozers from the Texas A&M Forest Service showed up, according to the Division of Forestry.
READ MORE
Are Payette County residents safe near gas facilities?
Argus Observer, 11-12-23
PAYETTE COUNTY — Leaders of the nonprofit Citizens Allied for Integrity and Accountability are turning their attention back toward the Highway 30 Gas Processing Facility south of New Plymouth, after a state official raised concerns about its operations. During an inspection conducted by James Thum of the Idaho Department of Lands’ Boise office, multiple issues of concern were identified for correction by the facility’s owners, Snake River Oil and Gas.
The report was brought to the newspaper’s attention in a news release on Oct. 29 by Shelley Brock, president of Citizens Allied.
“Surprisingly, shortly after media reports of CAIA’s complaint surfaced, public records show that IDL conducted a prompt inspection of the H30 plant in question and documented for the first time in the agency’s posted history that the facility was ‘out of compliance’ due to hazardous emissions leaking from multiple sources,” wrote Brock.
Following are examples of concerns identified during the inspection.
READ MORE
Sand, gravel and basalt auction nets half a million for Idaho’s schools
KIFI, 11-10-23
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) - Idaho Public Schools earned more than a half a million dollars from competitive bidding on a sand, gravel and basalt lease in southwest Ada County.
An Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) public auction, held on Thursday, resulted in a $550,000 premium bid on the mineral lease. The leased parcel is located on public school endowment land south of Boise.
Six bidders registered to bid on an 89-acre parcel (Mineral Lease E600119). ASG Resources, LLC was the high bidder. ASG previously won a different endowment minerals lease, also in Ada County, last year with a high bid of $500,000.
“Resources from Idaho’s Endowment Lands continue to be in high demand across every corner of the state,” IDL Director Dustin Miller said. “Today’s bidding is a win for our public schools, Idaho’s taxpayers and our economy”.
The annual rent for the lease is $286 plus a minimum annual royalty payment of $7,500. The rent and premium bid are deposited into the Earnings Reserve Fund and royalties go directly into the Permanent Fund to be invested on behalf of the public school endowment.
READ MORE
Western firefighters arrive in Kentucky to help battle wildfires
LEX 18, 11-10-23
It's been a busy week for firefighters across Eastern Kentucky battling more than 30 wildfires.
"We can get one step ahead and then we fall two steps back," said Alexandra Blevins, a public information officer at the Kentucky Division of Forestry. "Fires that become contained, that's a great thing, but then we'll have two more fires that pop up,"
That's tough for those crews working in challenging terrain. Thankfully, they've got some help coming in. Two ten-person teams from Idaho arrived in Kentucky today. They'll join about 60 Oregon firefighters already on the fire lines. Next week, more teams from Idaho and Utah will arrive.
READ MORE
State sells Found In Space timber sale
Clearwater Tribune, 11-8-23
The Idaho Department of Lands sold a timber sale on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, at Kamiah.
Found In Space, located four (4) miles northeast of Weippe, was sold to IFG Timber LLC. The estimated 5,630 MBF was sold for an average price of $204 per M.
Proceeds will benefit the Penitentiary endowment.
READ MORE
Collaborative Efforts Yield Updated Fire Danger Operating Plan in Kamiah
Big Country News, 11-6-23
KAMIAH - A new Fire Danger Operating Plan (FDOP) was recently signed by the interagency partners of the Grangeville Dispatch Area (see attachment #1).
Agency Administrators from the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Clearwater-Potlatch Timber Protective Association (C-PTPA), Nez Perce Tribe (NPT), Private, and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) came together to update this plan that is the basis for establishing local firefighter staffing levels and communicating current wildfire fire danger to the public.
A fire danger operating plan is a guide for agency users at the local level that is revisited and updated annually by all the interagency partners in the Grangeville Dispatch Area. A fire danger operating plan documents the establishment and management of the local unit fire weather system and incorporates fire danger modeling into local unit fire management decisions. This plan also helps delineate Fire Danger Rating Areas (FDRAs) in areas with similar climate, vegetation, and topography (see attachment #2) and determine Smokey’s Adjective Fire Danger Rating scale (LOW to EXTREME) to inform public user groups of potential fire danger in each area.
Social Media Statistics
VIEW THE SOCIAL MEDIA ARCHIVE ON IDL'S WEBSITE
I Am Thankful For
Posted November 16, 2023
SHARE THIS POST NOW ON FACEBOOK
Supporting Wildfire Events
Posted November 14, 2023
SHARE THIS POST NOW ON FACEBOOK
IDL Fire program upgrades allow us to reciprocate after other states have supported us during wildfire events. All expenditures are reimbursable and the experience IDL Fire crews gain through seeing fire behavior in other states is invaluable and helps Idaho.
Facebook Account Overview
October 17 - November 14
X Account Overview
October 19 - November 16
|
IDLFrom left to right, Sean Hanley, IDPR trail cat operator, Todd Wernex, IDL Recreation Program Manger, Nate Sparks, IDPR North Idaho trails specialist with the Ruby Creek Information Kiosk, Boundary County.
