Safety Employee of the Year Award 2024
Jonathan Luhnow has been named IDL’s 2024 Safety Employee of the Year for his outstanding contributions to the IDL safety culture. This award is to recognize Jonathan for consistently making safety a priority and for his safety contributions that go above and beyond normal responsibilities.
Here are a few examples of how Jonathan’s involvement and dedication to safety have improved the quality of the IDL workplace:
- Jonathan goes above and beyond to assist with medical kits for the area fire crews. He helps order medical supplies, reviews kits checklist, and leads first aid kit inventory training in the spring. He has also facilitated fire related medical scenarios in order to expose the fire crew to potential medical incidents in a safe setting.
- He has expanded his safety knowledge outside of IDL with his local community through EMS, along with Search and Rescue. In turn, he brings that knowledge back to IDL to improve workplace safety.
- Jonathan’s approach to safety is both proactive and comprehensive. He played a key role in the purchase and carrying of soft stretchers and other appropriate first aid gear on our engines, further improving our firefighters’ capabilities during medical emergencies on an incident. He is often the first to identify potential hazards and take the appropriate steps to address them. Whether through conducting regular safety audits, leading training sessions, or improving safety protocols, John has made a tangible impact on our safety culture.
Jonathan was selected for this award from nominations submitted to the IDL Safety Committee. Be sure to keep safety your priority and notice when your fellow employees go above and beyond for workplace safety. This is an annual award, and nominations will be requested next fall for the 2025 award.
Please join me in congratulating Jonathan!
 Jonathan Luhnow and Dustin Miller, photo by Michele Andersen
Revised Fleet Management Policy
Some changes are now in effect regarding IDL's vehicle fleet. Thank you to Derrick Reeves for sharing a summary of the policy changes:
The new vehicle policy has been approved by the Director and is now live. Contrary to a popular rumor, we are not phasing out vehicles and transitioning to horseback for field staff (the price of hay was too high). No horses, but there are a couple significant changes to be aware of.
The most significant change is that we are standardizing the fleet by vehicle class. The primary impact of that on staff is that vehicles will no longer need to be spec'd when ordering vehicles. Other changes to be aware of are that some of the responsibilities associated with fleet management have been delineated and documented, and some minor changes were made to the forms that will be utilized for transferring and disposing of current fleet vehicles. In addition to the changes in the Fleet Management Policy, there are now procedures documents detailing the steps to take when transferring or disposing of vehicles. All of the forms and procedures are posted on SharePoint.
Another exciting change are the upgrades to the most excellent Capital Outlay Vehicle Replacement Order Form (Thanks Robin Dunn!). The form autoroutes users through the process and is very user friendly. Instructions for utilizing the form when ordering vehicles and a procedures document outlining the process is also available on SharePoint.
We will be hosting 2 micro-learnings (February 11 and February 25, both starting at 9:00 am PST) to go over some of the changes in the vehicle policy, changes to the forms, and using the new Capital Outlay Vehicle Replacement Order Form. The information covered in each presentation will be similar. A big thank you to the Fleet Management Working Group for getting this across the finish line.
Idaho Legislative Session
The Idaho Legislative Session began Monday, January 6, with Governor Little's State of the State address. IDL has several pending rules this session, however, we have no proposed legislation this session. The IDL Legislative Update will be available each week as we follow the session noting hearings and legislation that we will be following.
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IDL Budget
JFAC Natural Resources Maintenance Budget
For the second year JFAC is first setting maintenance budgets for categories of agencies. IDL falls under the Natural Resources Maintenance Budget which also includes DEQ, Fish & Game, EFIB, Parks & Recreation and Water Resources.
On January 17, 2025, a combined total of $513,855,000 was approved for the agencies.
IDL's Decision Units are scheduled to go before JFAC on February 11.
Rulemaking Presentations
On Wednesday, February 3, IDL will present seven sets of proposed rule changes to the Senate Resources & Environment Committee. The House Resources & Conservation Committee will take up the rules on Thursday, February 13.
Rules Governing Administration of Cottage Site Leases on State Land
IDAPA 20.03.13 - Pending Rule
The Idaho Department of Lands administers IDAPA 20.03.13 Administration of Cottage Site Leases on State Lands, a residential cottage site leasing program on behalf of the Land Board for state endowment trust lands.
Rules Governing Grazing, Farming, Conservation, Noncommercial Recreation, and Communication Site Leases
IDAPA 20.03.14 - Pending Rule
The Idaho Department of Lands (Department) administers IDAPA 20.03.14 – Rules Governing Grazing, Farming, Conservation, Noncommercial Recreation, and Communication Site Leases, leasing programs on behalf of the Land Board for state endowment trust lands.
Rules Governing Geothermal Leasing on Idaho State Lands
IDAPA 20.03.15 - Pending Rule
The Idaho Department of Lands (Department) administers IDAPA 20.03.15, Rules Governing Geothermal Leasing on Idaho State Lands a geothermal leasing program on behalf of the Land Board for state endowment trust lands and lands owned by other state agencies.
Rules Governing Oil and Gas Leasing on Idaho State Lands
IDAPA 20.03.16 - Pending Rule
The Idaho Department of Lands administers IDAPA 20.03.16, Rules Governing Oil and Gas Leasing on Idaho State Lands, an oil and gas leasing program on behalf of the Land Board for state endowment trust lands and lands owned by other state agencies.
Rules Pertaining to Forest Fire Protection
IDAPA 20.04.01
The Idaho Department of Lands administers IDAPA 20.04.01, Rules Pertaining to Forest Fire Protection under the authority of the Idaho Forestry Act (Title 38, Chapter 1, Idaho Code).
Rules Pertaining to the Idaho Forestry Act and Fire Hazard Reduction Laws
IDAPA 20.04.02
The Idaho Department of Lands administers IDAPA 20.04.02, Rules Pertaining to the Idaho Forestry Act and Fire Hazard Reduction Laws under the authorities of the Idaho Forestry Act (Title 38, Chapter 1, Idaho Code) and Fire Hazard Reduction Programs (Title 38, Chapter 4, Idaho Code).
Rules Governing Conservation of Oil and Natural Gas in the State of Idaho
IDAPA 20.07.02 - Pending Rule
The Idaho Department of Lands administers IDAPA 20.07.02, Rules Governing Conservation of Oil and Natural Gas in the State of Idaho under the authority of Title 47, Chapter 3, Idaho Code.
Watch the committee hearings:
FY2024 Annual Report Now Available Online
IDL's FY2024 Annual Report is now available online. Printed copies will be delivered to Land Board members and staff soon.
The communications team greatly appreciates all who helped contribute and confirm the information published in the report, and encourage everyone to make it their go-to source for information and facts about our agency.
Forestry Day at the Legislature
Forestry Day at the Legislature was Tuesday, January 14, with a lunch for legislators held at the Boise Centre on the Grove. The Director and other IDL leadership attended the luncheon providing opportunity to meet legislators.
The theme was Fostering Resilience and Sustainability: Collaborative Solutions for Idaho' Forest Challenges, and was hosted by Intermountain and Inland Empire Society of American Foresters.
Governor's Wildfire News Conference
Governor Little held a press conference at IDL’s Southwest Office on Friday January 17, to highlight Idaho’s efforts to proactively prepare for wildfire season in light of the ongoing crisis in California.
Director Miller gave an update on IDL’s efforts to address wildfire challenges in Idaho as we implement the Governor’s Wildfire Report Recommendations.
Also joining the Governor, was Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron, Office of Energy and Mineral Resources Administrator Rick Stover, and Office of Emergency Management’s Brad Richy. IDL Fire was represented by Todd Wernex, Cameron Swisher and Kat Stother.
photos by Jane Kreller
 Dustin Miller speaking to reporters
 from left to right: Cameron Swisher, Kat Stother, Todd Wernex, Governor Little, Dean Cameron, Dustin Miller, Brad Richy and Rick Stover
In Case You Missed It
Here's a recap of other recent IDL newsletters you may find interesting:
One Team One Voice Newsletter Archive
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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