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Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Department Report
Timber
- Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) performance:
- $81 million in timber receipts so far
- $7 million ahead of last year's timber revenue at this time
- 103% of FY24 sales plan volume sold or in process
- 50 million board feet in advertisement or review phase
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Market conditions:
- Finished FY24 at 106% of three-year average for timber receipts
- Finished FY24 at 180% of three-year average volume
- Inflation and high interest rates affecting stumpage pricing
- Despite challenges, timber program performed well in FY24
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Concerns and questions:
- Reappraisal and future revenue forecast
- Impact of mills' financial struggles on future timber sales
- Continuous dialogue with mills to monitor market conditions
Fire Season Report
- Attachment: Fire Season Report
- Publicly expressed Contracted aircraft crash in Montana; pilot Juliana Torchetti killed
- NTSB investigation completed; report expected in 10-14 days
- No similar aircraft grounded
- Fire management response:
- Josh Harvey, Chief Fire Management, Idaho, commends support from Montana and Washington
- Fire suppression expenditures as of July 8: $14 million
- Estimated $655,000 recoverable costs; net obligation $13.3 million
- New incident on July 8: Texas Ridge fire, 1500 acres, 50-60 homes threatened
- Fire statistics:
- 117 fires to date, total 4800 acres
- Above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation expected
- Significant wildfire potential for southern Idaho, extending into northern Idaho
- Fire restrictions and resources:
- Stage 1 restrictions in Sawtooth National Forest and Central Idaho
- Resources include water scoopers, Type 1 helicopter, and Type 6 engines
- Suppression operations:
- $4.3 million for suppression
- Cache refurbishment and restocking
- Total cost estimate $14 million, excluding cost-share fires
Land Bank Aging Report
- Attachment: Land Bank Aging Report
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Land bank cash balances:
- Total with interest: $73.6 million
- $8.2 million set to expire in the first and second quarters of the next fiscal year
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Department actions:
- Exploring possible acquisitions to meet or exceed hurdle rates for timber or other land transactions
- Working with the Real Estate Bureau on potential transactions
- Will report to the board if any transactions materialize
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Financial decisions:
- Can move expiring funds to the permanent fund preemptively or by board decision
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Specific allocation:
- $17 million from Canyon County sale earmarked for CAFE in Rupert
- $23.25 million available for CAFE, with $7.2 million remaining for expansion
Endowment Fund Investment Board
- June fund performance: up 1.1%, fiscal year return nearly 12%
- Early July performance: up 2.28%, market rally
- Fiscal year highlights:
- Large cap equities: up 31%
- Manager change: William Blair replaced Sand's Capital
- Mid cap stocks: up 14.3%
- Small cap stocks: up 11.4%
- Fixed income: up 3%
- Real estate performance:
- Down 10% in the first calendar quarter
- Expected 1-2% increase in the current quarter
- Equity themes:
- AI-driven gains: Nvidia up 149%, Google up 30%, Microsoft up 20%
- Eli Lilly up 56% with new drug for obesity
- Banks, finance, and energy stocks performed well
- Q&A session:
- Real estate strategy: considering adding to the allocation, despite recent declines
- Office sector impacting overall real estate performance
- Positive return expected in the coming quarter
Regular Agenda
None
Information Agenda
Forest Asset Management Plan and Timber Program Update
- Summary of Forest Asset Management Plan (FAMP) goals, history, and improvements
- Discussed modeling outcomes, long-term impacts, and future recommendations
- Emphasized sustainability and risk management (e.g., biological factors, wildfires)
- Historical focus on reducing standing volume of over 10 billion board feet
- Advances in milling technology favoring smaller diameter logs
- Management strategies include shorter rotations and improved silvicultural practices
- Land exchanges and acquisitions totaling approximately 60,000 acres since 2009
- Importance of leasing policies and land classification discussions
- Original FAMP aimed to provide predictable timber supply and maintain industry/local economies
- Alternatives explored economic and biological values; aimed to balance financial goals with sustainability
- Increased annual harvest from 182 million to 247 million board feet in 2009
- Use of Continuous Forest Inventory (CFI) data for modeling
- 2019 FAMP update increased harvest to 328 million board feet
- Emphasis on acquiring small tree data and improving growth models
- Current update incorporates advanced modeling and focuses on forest regulation
- Recommendation to maintain 328 million board feet harvest level for next five years
- Emphasis on delivered product sales program and improved seed development
- Implementation to result in more visible harvest impacts, particularly around Priest Lake and McCall
- Addressed fire resiliency and collaboration with private sector for Lidar data acquisition
- Q&A session covered tree maturity, species development, inventory modeling, and fire management strategies
Executive Session
Heyburn State Park
Heyburn State Park Idaho Code § 74-206(1)(f) – to communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated. The mere presence of legal counsel at an executive session does not satisfy this requirement.
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