Spring Leadership Meeting
IDL staff in leadership positions came together this week in Sandpoint with a field day in the Priest Lake area for the annual spring meeting.
Area managers, bureau chiefs and others were updated on GIS and IT news, the FAMP and forest management bureau news, Legislative, budget and CEC, and the IDL Strategic FY23 - FY26 Plan and more.
The field day provided an opportunity to compare modeled growth versus actual growth in a plantation. There was further discussion on recreation management and leasing.
Spring Fire Meeting
The 2024 Spring Fire Meeting was held in Coeur d'Alene last week. Director Miller, State Forester Craig Foss and Fire Bureau Chief Josh Harvey were joined by IDL staff who participate in the fire program. This meeting is vital before entering the wildfire season, bringing together the people on the ground and behind the scenes, putting everyone on the same page.
The most easily recognized are the firefighters who are on the front line and their only job is fire, but it takes so many more to make fire suppression successful. Many people from various disciplines within the agency are red carded in a variety of fire tasks including firefighting, fiscal, logistics, transportation, and public information. They all come together when there is a need and operate as One Team.
The Director and Foss discussed the Leaders Intent for the 2024 Fire Season and gave a legislative and budget update. Harvey went over the mission, vision, and values of IDL and gave an update on the Master Agreement.
The meeting was an opportunity to dive deep into the upcoming fire weather report, fire business, the bureau's strategic review, aviation and hazard rules. The fire program has a number of work groups that meet on various topics, there were updates from the warden and helitak to operations work groups.
This meeting is vital before entering the wildfire season, bringing together the people on the ground and behind the scenes, putting everyone on the same page.
 photo by Robbie Johnson
IDL Fire Honored by Alberta, Canada
Alberta, Canada sent IDL a plaque to commemorate the assistance IDL wildland firefighters provided the province during the extreme fire season they experienced in 2023. Josh Harvey shared the plaque with the team during the Spring Fire Meeting.
 photo by Robbie Johnson
41st Annual State Forestry Contest
Hundreds of students battled to be the best in log measurement, tree and plant identification, and determining timber volume on Thursday, May 9 at the 41st Annual Idaho State Forestry Contest. About 200 students, 50 coaches/chaperones and 125+ volunteers participated at the contest held at Farragut State Park in north Idaho.
The contest is for students in grades 5 through 12 to compete for scholarships and cash prizes in basic forestry and resource management. The contest is typically held the second Thursday in May and is sponsored by the Idaho Department of Lands, Bonner Soil and Water Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and hosted by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.
Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Board of Land Commissioner Debbie Critchfield helped hand out awards and addressed the competitors who may one day be Idaho foresters. “More than $60 million was distributed to Idaho public schools last year, coming from money earned from managing endowment land and investments. And the land revenue comes mainly from Idaho Department of Lands timber sales,” Critchfield said. “Where I live in the Magic Valley, we are not the ones producing the timber, it is up here. Thank you for what your communities do to contribute to the state endowment fund and a strong economy in Idaho.”
“It’s hard to measure the impact all of these student competitors have had on Idaho as we continue to grow, protect, enjoy and sustainably harvest our timber resources,” said Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller. “We want to thank the countless participants, schools and volunteers over the years for their commitment to this contest.”
 Competitor measuring a log - photo by Robbie Johnson
 IDL volunteers at the State Forestry Contest - photo by Robbie Johnson
Women in the Woods Field Day
The second annual Women in the Woods Field Day was held on Friday, May 10 in Sandpoint. It was a great success with 52 attendees and 16 instructors.
Participants worked in small groups making it easy to ask questions and gain confidence in managing family forests.
This year a number of new topics and tracks were offered including forest management and forest ecology. The plan is to offer new topics each year.
Attendees rotated through different exercises covering forest assessment and forestry work on the ground.
Participants provided very positive feedback and would like this to continue in future years.
Photos are by Maddie Goebel with University of Idaho
  
IDL Encroachment Permit Workshop
The IDL's North Ops Navigable Waterways team presented a workshop to help people understand what a complete encroachment permit requires.
This most recent workshop was held on Tuesday, May 7, at the Selkirk Association of Realtors office in Sandpoint.
The North Ops team held two dock builder application workshops in February, one at the Pend Oreille Supervisory Area, the other was at the Mica Supervisory Area.
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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