Idaho Department of Lands to give presentations, answer questions at Open House

February 20, 2016

Here is your chance to meet and talk directly with Idaho Department of Lands staff who help to manage the forests located all around us in North Idaho. The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) Pend Oreille Area will hold an open house Tuesday, February 23 at the IDL Sandpoint office and Thursday, February 25 at the IDL Bonners Ferry office. Everyone is invited to take part in this opportunity to meet and talk with staff, attend presentations, and learn about the various programs managed by the Department of Lands. Personnel in Forest Management, Fire Management, Forest Legacy, Navigable Waters, Forest Stewardship, and Log Scaling will showcase their tools of the trade and answer questions. Both open house location schedules will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Presentations will follow this schedule: 4:00 p.m. – Welcome and Introductions 4:15 – 4:30 p.m. – Forestry Assistance 4:40 – 4:55 p.m. – Navigable Waters 5:10 – 5:25 p.m. – Endowment Management 5:35 – 5:50 p.m. – Forest Assessment – what is this on your tax bill? The offices are located at: Sandpoint Meeting, Tuesday, February 23 Pend Oreille Forest Protective District 2550 Hwy 2 W Sandpoint, ID 83864 208-263-5104 Bonners Ferry Meeting, Thursday, February 25 Kootenai Valley Forest Protective District 6327 Main Bonners Ferry, ID 83805 208-267-5577 IDL’s duties are broad and diverse. IDL manages approximately 973,000 acres of timbered endowment land for long-term sustainable harvest. IDL manages a total of 2.4 million surface acres of endowment lands across the state and leases the lands for several different activities. We protect 6.3 million acres of mostly State and privately owned timbered land from fire, focusing on initial attack and suppressing fires as quickly as possible to protect lives, property, and important timber assets. IDL also manages the lands beneath Idaho’s navigable lakes and rivers. We have several regulatory responsibilities such as administering the Oil and Gas Conservation Act; the Surface Mining Act, Dredge and Placer Mining Act, and Abandoned Mine Reclamation Act; and the Forest Practices Act. IDL assists Idahoans through several Forestry Assistance programs. We work with large and small forest landowners with Forest Stewardship Plans; work to keep Idaho forests healthy, minimizing insect and disease risk; administer the Forest Legacy conservation easements; oversee grants to communities for wildfire mitigation; and engage the Forest Service on federal forest management issues in Idaho as part of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. We also house the Idaho Board of Scaling Practices. To learn more about these and other IDL issues and resources, and to participate in our discussion and have your questions answered, plan to attend our open house at the times and locations noted above. Refreshments will be served!