Current News Coverage
Family forest landowners conference set
Bonner County Daily Bee, 2-18-26
The Idaho Forest Owners Association and its state and federal partners will host the 2026 Family Forest Landowners & Managers Conference March 29–31 at the Best Western University Inn in Moscow, bringing forest landowners and professionals together for three days of training and discussion.
The annual conference brings together family forest landowners, forestry professionals, researchers and agency leaders to examine current issues, share practical solutions and explore opportunities in forest management. This year’s program features nationally recognized speakers, practical information and networking opportunities focused on the rapidly evolving challenges facing forest landowners.
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Following the national perspective, Monday’s sessions turn to Idaho. Hailey Frank‑Bennett of the Idaho Department of Lands will review how key landowner concerns appear at the state level.
Read Bonner County Bee article
‘It’s our children’s birthright’: Bills seek to ‘reduce pressure’ on public lands with constitutional amendments
Valley Outlook, 2-17-26
The Idaho Constitution’s requirement for profit from state endowment land, including the area around Payette Lake, could be softened if the bulk of legislators and voters get on board.
Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, brought a proposal to this year’s legislative session seeking to amend the state constitution’s mandate that state-owned endowment lands be managed for maximum financial returns. She told legislators on the House State Affairs Committee earlier this month that this requirement pushes Idaho’s State Board of Land Commissioners, which is made up of the state’s top elected officials, to sell public land.
Raybould’s proposal, House Joint Resolution 8, seeks to soften the constitutional mandate for endowment lands to focus more on ongoing revenue generation from the property and public access.
“The amendment continues to allow the sale or exchange of these lands, but reduces pressure on the state to sell them solely because of their high value,” Raybould posted on her Facebook page about the proposal. “Instead, priorities should be given to constitutionally protected activities, such as mining, grazing, timber, hunting, and fishing. It also introduces protections for recreation, as well as the ongoing revenue generation from these lands.”
Read Valley Outlook article
Budget cuts spark wildfire worries
Coeur d'Alene Press, 2-17-26
BOISE — State natural resource leadership made clear Monday the impact of proposed state budget cuts could rear themselves in the near future as the summer months bring both greater engagement in Idaho’s natural resources as well as a heightened risk of wildfire.
Directors for several of Idaho’s key natural resource agencies went before members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Friday, to provide appraisals for the respective budget landscapes of the Idaho Department of Lands and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. In both cases, agency directors said budget cuts bring statewide ramifications.
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The cuts to the Department of Lands arrive at the same time the state’s wildfire suppression fund is at a low point. As of Monday, the fund's balance sits at about $2.8 million, down from balances that repeatedly crossed $70 million in recent years, Janet Jessup, principal analyst with the Legislative Services Office, said.
This is well below both the five-year average for fire suppression costs of $47.2 million and fiscal year 2025's 10-year high of $76.2 million in suppression costs. Though the wildfire fund is able to run a deficit during the fire season, IDL would need to bring forward a supplemental funding request in the next legislative session to right the fund's bottom line, Jessup said.
Read CDA Press article
Idaho's budget cuts could hinder ability to fight wildfires, increase safety risk
Bonner County Daily Bee, 2-17-26
A new round of state budget cuts approved by the Idaho Legislature’s budget committee will likely force the state to hire fewer seasonal firefighters and cut back on fire prevention work, which increases fire risk across the state, the director leading Idaho’s state wildfire response said.
At a time when Idaho’s population is increasing, fire seasons are growing longer and more intense and more people are living next to forest lands in the wildland urban interface, Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller said the smart move would be to invest in and modernize Idaho’s wildfire response program, not cut it back.
“Everybody is concerned about fire risk in Idaho … You’ve seen the growth in the state, the expansion of the wildland urban interface and the increase in number of human-caused fires we have been experiencing in the past several years,” Miller said in an interview Wednesday night.
Read Daily Bee article
Budget cuts hinder wildfire suppression, water quality, according to natural resource directors
KTVB, 2-17-26
BOISE, Idaho — This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
State natural resource leadership made clear Monday the impact of proposed state budget cuts could rear themselves in the near future as the summer months bring both greater engagement in Idaho’s natural resources as well as a heightened risk of wildfire.
Directors for several of Idaho’s key natural resource agencies went before members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) on Monday, to provide appraisals for the respective budget landscapes of the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). In both cases, agency directors said budget cuts bring statewide ramifications.
The message comes shortly after JFAC set agency maintenance budgets on Friday to align with the committee's ongoing 5% budget reductions starting next fiscal year. This will cut most state agency resources for the years to come if the House, Senate and Gov. Brad Little pass the budgets into law.
Read KTVB Budget cut article
Legislative notebook: Budget committee sends funding cuts to full Idaho House, Senate floors
Idaho Capital Sun 2-14-26
This week, we did something a little differently than we ever have before at the Idaho Capital Sun.
After spending the last five years, day in and day out, covering as many Idaho legislative committee hearings and House and Senate floor sessions as three reporters and one editor possibly can, we stopped.
We decided, instead, to take five days and dive deep into the state budget and inform the public how funding cuts, some that are already in place, and additional cuts that will soon be before the full Legislature, will affect state agencies and public services – and the Idahoans who rely on them – for years to come.
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On Friday, Idaho Capital Sun reporting showed that a new round of state budget cuts will likely force the state to hire fewer seasonal firefighters, especially in eastern Idaho, and cut back on fire prevention work, which increases fire risk across the state.
That’s according to Dustin Miller, the director of the Idaho Department of Lands.
And here’s the ironic part: Because the Legislature is planning to cut funding available to the Idaho Department of Lands, the state will likely have to pay another agency to fight those fires.
Read Idaho Capital Sun-Lords article
Idaho Legislature’s budget committee passes maintenance budgets with new 5% cuts included
Idaho Capital Sun, 2-14-26
BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — Amid a backdrop of confusion and frustration, members of the Idaho Legislature’s powerful budget committee passed new fiscal year 2027 maintenance of operations budgets Friday that include 5% state budget cuts for most state agencies and departments.
For the last two weeks, several state agency directors and Gov. Brad Little’s budget chief Lori Wolff have warned that the additional new across-the-board cuts are unnecessary and will do lasting damage to core programs and services.
Republican Sen. Kevin Cook of Idaho Falls only needed 17 words Friday to describe the high stakes of the decision and the anxiety that some legislators and state officials are feeling about the across-the-board cuts.
“We are passing something today that has the potential to break the state, and you know that,” Cook said at the beginning of Friday’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee meeting at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
Read Idaho Capital Sun-Corbin article
New state budget cuts could hinder Idaho’s ability to fight wildfires, increase safety risk
Spokane Public Radio, 2-14-26
A new round of state budget cuts approved by the Idaho Legislature’s budget committee will likely force the state to hire fewer seasonal firefighters and cut back on fire prevention work, which increases fire risk across the state, the director leading Idaho’s state wildfire response said.
At a time when Idaho’s population is increasing, fire seasons are growing longer and more intense and more people are living next to forest lands in the wildland urban interface, Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller said the smart move would be to invest in and modernize Idaho’s wildfire response program, not cut it back.
“Everybody is concerned about fire risk in Idaho. … You’ve seen the growth in the state, the expansion of the wildland urban interface and the increase in number of human-caused fires we have been experiencing in the past several years,” Miller said in an interview Wednesday night.
Read Spokane PR article
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