Tag Archives: Idaho

Wildfires: Budget woes to affect fuels treatments, post-fire rehab

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Summit County Voice 5/14/2013
Excerpt:        “SUMMIT COUNTY — The federal budget crunch means firefighters will have to do more with less this summer, federal officials said this week. Because of the sequester, the Forest Service will not fill 500 firefighting positions and will make do with 50 less engines on the ground.

“We are facing another dangerous wildfire season. We are prepared; we’re not as funded as we might be about 5 years from now, so teamwork is really critical to what we have to do,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, speaking Monday at a briefing at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise Idaho.   …”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/05/14/wildfires-budget-woes-to-affect-fuels-treatments-post-fire-rehab/

Feds work to remove protections from northern Rockies grizzlies

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Helena Independent Record 5/12/2013
Excerpt:        “Grizzly bears lack a reputation as a rule-following animal, but they sure inspire a lot of rule-making.

The bears of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem have a draft 158-page rulebook up for public comment this summer as they move toward possible removal from federal Endangered Species Act protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan describes how roughly 1,000 grizzlies in that area would be managed, protected and restricted. It’s up for public comment through August.  …”
Read entire article at http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/feds-work-to-remove-protections-from-northern-rockies-grizzlies/article_96f909a6-bb39-11e2-a81b-0019bb2963f4.html

Family sues U.S. Forest Service for $1 million after tree hits son

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Pasadena Star News 4/11/2013
Excerpt:      “BOISE, Idaho – An Idaho family has sued the U.S. Forest Service demanding more than $1 million after a large dead tree at a remote campsite fell and injured their young son.

Richard and Melinda Armstrong, of Caldwell, said their family was camping in the Boise National Forest in September 2010 when a gust of wind blew over the dead tree. It fell on their son, resulting in a large laceration, a compound fracture and a puncture wound in his back that impaired his breathing.   …”
Read entire story at http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/breakingnews/ci_23000054/family-sues-u-s-forest-service-1-million

Forest Service, OSHA at odds over N. Idaho firefighter’s death

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The Republic 4/5/2013
Excerpt:      “GRANGEVILLE, Idaho — The U.S. Forest Service is contesting a citation issued against it by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the death of a 20-year-old Forest Service firefighter last summer.

OSHA spokeswoman Deanne Amaden told the Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/16BAcwC) in a story published Friday that the two agencies are negotiating after each conducted investigations and reached separate conclusions.   Anne Veseth of Moscow died Aug. 12 after being struck and killed by a falling tree while fighting the Steep Corner Fire near Orofino.  ….”
Read entire article at http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/8856230f963144e38a40973ce4004604/ID–Firefighter-Death

Idaho hobbyist suction-dredge miners must obtain Clean Water permits—EPA

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Mineweb 4/5/2013
Excerpt:      “The Pacific Northwest Region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday announced that small-scale suction dredge miners must now apply for a new discharge permit to lawfully operate their dredges in Idaho’s rivers, lakes and streams.

Small dredge miners (using intake nozzles of five inches in diameter or less and 15 horsepower or fewer engines) need to apply for coverage under the new Clean Water Act general permit.  …..”
Read entire article at  http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/en/mineweb-whats-new?oid=184919&sn=Detail

Senate to feds: Give Idaho public land; chamber also approves plan to study issue this summer

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Daily Journal 4/2/2013
Excerpt:     “BOISE, Idaho — Senators voted 21-13 to approve a House-passed measure demanding the federal government cede millions of acres of public forests, backcountry and rangeland to Idaho.

Majority Republicans Tuesday argued Idaho’s economy has been stunted because 64 percent of the state is under Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management or other federal agency control.  ….”
Read entire article at http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/313aa3959b5049abadac6802d5c97ced/ID-XGR–Public-Lands-Idaho/

Judge sides with backcountry skiers in use lawsuit

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Associated Press; 4/1/2013
Excerpt:       “BOISE, Idaho (AP) – A federal judge in Idaho says the U.S. Forest Service broke the law when it didn’t craft rules to govern snowmobile travel, handing powder-loving backcountry skiers and snowshoe enthusiasts a victory that could extend to national forests nationwide.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush ruled Friday that the Forest Service must go back to work on its 2005 Travel Management Rule and draw up regulations designating areas of use and non-use by all off-road vehicles, including snowmobiles, on national forest lands.  ….”
Read entire article at http://www.njherald.com/story/21844729/in-powder-struggle-ruling-for-backcountry-skiers

Resolution demanding federal land for Idaho up for consideration in state Senate

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Oregonian 3/29/2013
Excerpt:     “BOISE — The full state Senate will consider a measure demanding that the federal government cede millions of acres of public forests, backcountry and rangeland to Idaho, on grounds the state can manage it better.

After House Republicans followed his lead, Rep. Lawerence Denney of Midvale on Thursday convinced GOP members of the Senate State Affairs Committee to pass his nonbinding resolution telling the U.S. Congress to negotiate with Idaho on returning U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other federally-managed territory to state control.   …”
Read entire article at http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2013/03/resolution_demanding_federal_l.html

Idaho delegation stops short of backing federal land transfer

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Idaho Statesman 3/26/2013
Excerpt:         “U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho said getting Congress to approve transferring federal lands to western states would be difficult but not out of the question. “Allowing states to manage federal lands would be more likely to get a positive hearing in Congress,” he said.

The Idaho Senate will decide this week whether to approve a resolution demanding that the federal government transfer all of its land to the state. The bill, based on a law approved by Utah, is based on a legal argument that the federal government promised to sell its lands and give the states 5 percent of the proceeds.   ….”
Read entire article at http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/03/26/2508058/idaho-delegation-stops-short-of.html

Idaho House Panel Agrees to Study Federal Land Transfer

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Magic Valley Times News 3/20/2013
Excerpt:         “BOISE • State lawmakers officially began their efforts Tuesday to wrest control from the federal government millions of acres of public forest, backcountry and rangelands across the state.

The House State Affairs Committee voted along party lines in support of a resolution that demands the federal government transfer ownership of about 35 million acres now overseen by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies.   ….”
Read entire article at http://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/idaho-house-panel-agrees-to-study-federal-land-transfer/article_2e7da01e-4977-5377-adc9-435a166788f4.html