IDL tracks and monitors news coverage of our activities and significant events that may impact our operations, recapping the coverage in this newsletter.
This publication also details IDL's social media posts for the week, keeping stakeholders and our front-line customer service staff apprised of our public-facing communications.
Idaho Power reportedly agrees to $800,000 Valley Fire settlement
Idaho Capital Sun, 3-20-25
Subject to finalizing legal terms, Idaho Power has reportedly agreed to pay a $800,000 settlement to help the state restore winter wildlife habitat burned during October’s Valley Fire in the foothills east of Boise.
Reports of the settlement were included in budget documents provided to the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC, on Thursday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
JFAC is a powerful legislative committee that sets every budget for every state department and agency.
JFAC approved on Thursday a one-time $800,000 appropriation to the Idaho Department of Fish and Games wildlife program to allow the department to accept the settlement money and spend it on restoring burned areas within the Boise River Wildlife Management Area.
Trump wants to log more trees. He’ll need states’ help.
Stateline, 3-20-25
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders to increase logging in national forests and on other federal lands.
Trump’s orders direct federal agencies to set aggressive targets for timber harvests and to circumvent environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act that protect critical habitats.
State officials and forestry experts say Trump’s plan relies heavily on state land management agencies to carry it out. Most states say they’ll cooperate to some extent — especially to boost wildfire prevention projects. But most states also are concerned that federal workforce cuts will undermine their goals, and some worry about loosening environmental standards.
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In Idaho, state forestry officials conduct projects on about 5,000 acres of federal lands each year, including 3,000 acres of timber harvesting. The state views federal lands as critical for its timber industry and aims to support Trump’s efforts to increase logging, said Jon Songster, federal lands bureau chief with the Idaho Department of Lands.
BONNERS FERRY – At a Saturday town hall, North Idaho lawmakers voiced their concerns over state lawmakers’ rush to secure short-term political wins through tax cuts, funding shifts, and program overhauls — moves they say lack a long-term strategy for Idaho’s future stability and growth.
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As Senate vice-chair of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, Woodward said he favored a less significant tax cut of up to 0.3% because the state could avoid deficit spending on about $170 million for the fire suppression fund, the Public Education Stabilization Fund and the Budget Stabilization Fund.
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Spending cuts
Community members expressed how federal spending cuts have impeded local public agencies, particularly the water and fire districts, that rely on federally financed state grants.
Skin Creek Water Association, for example, received a $25,000 water infrastructure study grant from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality that is currently being held up.
Similarly, area volunteer fire districts use grant funds for operational expenses — provisions and supplies — from the Idaho Department of Lands. These rural districts also field EMS calls, unpaid, at an increasing rate as the population rises. Reimbursement delays can be extremely harmful, said Kennon McClintock, a member of the Curley Creek Volunteer Fire District and the Skin Creek Water Association, at the town hall.
“You look at the fires that are going on around the country, with Texas, Oklahoma right now, New York, North Carolina, L.A., we’re not immune up here,” he said. “We can count on Idaho Department of Lands, but our rural fire districts are being tapped out. We live on grants through the year.”
2025 Arbor Day Grants offered to Idaho Communities
Clearwater Tribune, 3-19-25
The Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association (INLA), in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), Avista, Rocky Mountain Power, and Idaho Power, is pleased to announce a program intended to help communities celebrate Arbor Day, plant appropriate trees for energy conservation and foster a stronger relationship between Idaho communities and the Green Industry.
This year 45 Arbor Day grants will be awarded to Idaho communities in the amount of $350 each for “Planting Idaho”.
Funding for this program is provided by the generous contribution of Idaho utilities that have a large interest in healthy urban forests and having the right tree planted in the right place.
Bill to improve fire suppression on federal lands passes Idaho House
KIVI, 3-19-25
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at improving fire suppression measures on federal lands within the state.
House Bill 389 seeks to amend current provisions related to uncontrolled fires and establish new guidelines for the use of state resources in firefighting efforts on federal land. Specifically, it reclassifies any forest or range fire burning out of control as a public nuisance — individuals responsible for starting such fires would be held liable for any costs.
One of the key additions in the legislation clarifies the state's policy on forest fires on federal lands. If passed, the governor would have the authority to direct state resources to combat any of these fires, and the state controller would be able to pull money from the general fund to cover firefighting costs.
Idaho lawmakers advance bill to allow state intervention on federal land fires
KTVB, 3-18-35
BOISE, Idaho — A new bill advancing through the Idaho statehouse would give the state authority to fight wildfires on federal lands without waiting for permission from the Bureau of Land Management, a response to what many see as a preventable disaster in last year's devastating Wapiti Fire.
The Wapiti Fire, Idaho's largest of 2024, burned for more than three months and scorched nearly 130,000 acres. The blaze, sparked by lightning in late July, burned mostly on federal lands around Stanley, but lawmakers believe the extensive damage could have been prevented or minimized with earlier intervention.
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"When there is a lightning strike in one tree, instead of sitting around for five or six days until the fire grows and grows and grows, before they go to put it out, we can just send IDL (Idaho Department of Lands) out to put the fire out while it's still burning the one tree," explained Rep. Judy Boyle, the bill sponsor.
The proposed legislation would allow Idaho to intervene on federal lands where a fire is "burning out of control" or without "adequate precautions," according to bill language.
"If it affects the health, safety and lives of our citizens then it's in our power to do something," Boyle said. "The governor would be able to, if he wants—it says 'may'—the governor could declare an emergency, and order state resources to go put out a fire before it becomes catastrophic."
Former KOA Campground cleaned up, protected after costly illegal dumping
KTVB, 3-17-25
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) employees and Ada County Sheriff's work detail have completed cleanup of a 31-acre parcel of endowment trust land near Boise that had become a dumping ground.
According to the IDL, the site, located east of Boise near Highway 21 and Gowen Road, was formerly a KOA campground. It had accumulated significant debris from squatters and illegal dumping, including abandoned tires, mattresses and other garbage.
The cleanup operation cost more than $8,000 in funds that should have supported Idaho's school children. The effort took several days and required multiple dump-trailer loads to remove all waste.
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Endowment Land Cleaned Up and Now Protected
Big Country News, 3-17-25
BOISE - Employees of Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), along with an Ada County Sheriff’s work detail, recently cleaned up a 31-acre parcel of endowment trust land east of Boise near Highway 21 and Gowen Road. The site, formerly the KOA campground, had been littered with debris left behind by squatters and illegal dumping.
Abandoned tires, mattresses, and other garbage piled up on the property, forcing IDL to spend more than $8,000 on cleanup and protective measures—funds that should have supported Idaho’s school children. The cleanup effort took several days and required multiple dump-trailer loads to remove the waste.
Endowment lands generate revenue for beneficiaries, in this case, the Public School Endowment.
House panel passes bill to take over firefighting on federal lands
Idaho Reports, 3-17-25
The House Resources and Conservation Committee unanimously advanced a bill Monday that would empower the governor of Idaho to use state firefighting resources on federal lands and then seek repayment in court.
Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, presented House Bill 389 to the committee. She said the Idaho Department of Lands could better manage potentially catastrophic fires that start on federal land, rather than waiting for federal agencies to get to work.
“IDL puts the fires out. Their average is less than 10 acres,” Boyle said. “The federal government is lucky if they can put it out when it’s a hundred thousand acres.”
The state taking over initial fire responses is “the only way we’re going to be able to get rid of this craziness,” Boyle said. “When there is a lightning strike in one tree, instead of sitting around for five or six days until the fire grows and grows and grows before they go put it out, we can just send IDL out to put the fire out while it’s still burning the one tree.”
Idaho endowment land restored after illegal dumping
KIVI, 3-17-25
A collaborative cleanup effort by the Idaho Department of Lands and an Ada County Sheriff’s work detail has restored a 31-acre parcel of endowment trust land east of Boise. Located near Highway 21 and Gowen Road, the site had accumulated significant debris, including abandoned tires, mattresses, and other waste from squatters and illegal dumping.
Idaho Department of Lands / Ruth Luke
The former KOA campground required extensive cleanup that cost IDL over $8,000.
“Most Idahoans appreciate this mission, as well as the opportunity to recreate on endowment lands,” said IDL Director Dustin Miller. “When a few bad actors cause problems, we are forced to take action, and in this case, limit access.”
Over several days, multiple dump trailer loads were used to remove the debris. To prevent future issues, concrete barriers have been installed around the property to restrict vehicle access, while allowing pedestrian entry. Additionally, new signs have been posted to reinforce the bans on camping and dumping.
Idaho Legislature’s budget committee approves funding for wildfires, bonuses for firefighters
Idaho Capital Sun, 3-14-25
The Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved funding to fight wildfires and bonuses for wildland firefighters during a meeting Friday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
However, budget writers did not provide the full funding levels that Idaho Gov. Brad Little and other statewide elected officials recommended at the beginning of the annual legislative session.
On Friday, legislators set aside less money for fighting wildfires than the state spent fighting wildfires in 2024.
Late Friday afternoon Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller said the one-time $40 million transfer to fight wildfires is not enough money to cover the average cost of a fire season.
In a statement to the Idaho Capital Sun, Miller said he worried about going into debt to fight wildfires.
Amid the local response to the elimination of dozens of jobs on the Payette National Forest, you can hear a familiar undercurrent: We should just do away with the U.S. Forest Service and let the State manage our forests.
Before you jump on a stump and declare the State should take over our public lands, consider this: Dustin Miller, the director of the Idaho Department of Lands, last month told the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee of the Idaho Legislature that Idaho “couldn’t afford to pay the fire bill” if the state took over management of the 20 million acres of national forests in Idaho. It is exceedingly rare to hear an Idaho official admit that, but there it is.
Mind you, he was only talking about the fire bill. That’s not to mention the cost of road maintenance, timber administration, recreation management and all the other work that goes into managing for public access and multiple use. Miller made his remarks while asking for $100 million for IDL just to keep up with fighting wildfire on state and private lands in 2024-25.
Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), along with an Ada County Sheriff’s work detail, recently cleaned up a 31-acre parcel of endowment trust land east of Boise near Highway 21 and Gowen Road. The site, formerly the KOA campground, had been littered with debris left behind by squatters and illegal dumping.
Abandoned tires, mattresses, and other garbage piled up on the property, forcing IDL to spend more than $8,000 on cleanup and protective measures—funds that should have supporte…
Idaho Department of Lands / Ruth Luke
