Zoom Meeting
Topic: Non-Motorized Trails Legislation Update
Time: Apr 24, 2025 10:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
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Full Text of Bill PDF – IHB – 0487 
(Washington, D.C., April 4, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued a Secretarial Memo (PDF, 2.9 MB) to establish an “Emergency Situation Determination” on 112,646,000 acres of National Forestry System (NFS) land (PDF, 19.8 MB). This Memo comes on the heels of President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order to expand American timber production by 25%, and it will empower the U.S. Forest Service to expedite work on the ground and carry out authorized emergency actions to reduce wildfire risk and save American lives and communities.
“Healthy forests require work, and right now, we’re facing a national forest emergency. We have an abundance of timber at high risk of wildfires in our National Forests,” said Secretary Rollins. “I am proud to follow the bold leadership of President Trump by empowering forest managers to reduce constraints and minimize the risks of fire, insects, and disease so that we can strengthen American timber industry and further enrich our forests with the resources they need to thrive.”
The Memo issued by Secretary Rollins is part of a larger effort to ensure American resources are properly managed for generations to come. This work will support rural economies, reduce wildfire risk, and build capacity through workforce alignment and expanded partnerships.
This Memo will also spur immediate action (PDF, 285 KB) from the U.S. Forest Service directing field leadership to increase timber outputs, simplify permitting, remove National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes, reduce implementation and contracting burdens, and to work directly with states, local government, and forest product producers to ensure that the Forest Service delivers a reliable and consistent supply of timber.
This action builds on Secretary Rollins’ announcement last month to unleash American energy by directing the USDA Forest Service to take action to remove burdensome Biden-era regulations that have stifled energy and mineral development on Forest Service land. As part of these decisive actions, the agency also canceled two mineral leasing withdrawals on Forest Service land that will help boost production of critical minerals.
USDA Secretarial Memo April 3, 2025 (PDF)
Drew Dodson writes: Work to repair damage from a landslide on U.S. 95 between New Meadows and Council will begin on Monday, and with it a complete closure of the roadway, the Idaho Transportation Department announced today.
The closure is set to begin on Sunday night at 8 p.m. and will not be lifted until repairs are completed in late April or early May, according to ITD.
There are no local detours around the closure zone due to heavy snowpack remaining in the mountains.
“ITD is working with emergency responders to ensure uninterrupted service for all areas,” the agency said in a news release. “ITD is also working with local jurisdictions to identify potential alternatives for local workers to get past the US-95 closure.”
Repairs will begin by digging about 10 feet down along a 200-foot-long section of the roadway that was damaged by the landslide on March 16 just north of the northern outlet of the Fruitvale Glendale Road.
Crews will then drive steel piles into stable rock to support a retaining wall that will be built to support the roadway.
The roadway was damaged on March 16 when steady rains and warm temperatures led to a steep bank along the Weiser River sliding away from beneath the roadway, causing asphalt to crumble away with it.
Days later, ITD re-opened one lane of the roadway to passenger cars between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Those hours will continue through Sunday night. Commercial traffic, including semi-trucks, will continue being detoured onto Idaho 55 for the duration of the closure, ITD said.
Idaho 55 is normally closed to most semi-trucks due to “narrow and winding” conditions, including at the Rainbow Bridge south of Cascade, where truck drivers have been instructed to slow down or stop to yield to oncoming traffic on the bridge.
(Part of U.S. 95 between Council and New Meadows crumbled away following a March 16 landslide. Photos: Courtesy Idaho Transportation Department)
MISSOULA, Mont. — Kristin Bail is being named acting regional forester for the Northern Region on March 31.
Bail will temporarily succeed Regional Forester Leanne Marten who has planned to retire after 34 years of service.
In her role, Bail will oversee management of nine national forests and one national grassland within Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.
The USDA Forest Service sent out the following:
USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz today announced Kristin Bail will serve as acting regional forester for the Northern Region, effective March 31, 2025.Bail will temporarily succeed Regional Forester Leanne Marten as she reaches her long-planned retirement date after 34 years of service.
“I would like to thank Leanne for her dedication and exemplary leadership. She leaves a legacy of successful partnerships and collaboration,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz.
As acting regional forester, Bail will oversee management of nine national forests and one national grassland within Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.
“Kristin’s understanding of the importance of field work and collaboration with state and local decision-makers perfectly positions her to serve in this leadership role for the Northern Region. As the agency focuses on safety, active forest management, fire management and recreation, Bail will work with our partners to advance the agency’s mission critical work,” said Chief Schultz.
Bail’s land management career spans more than 40 years where she served in a variety of field positions and leadership roles at the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Most recently, Bail served as the deputy regional forester for the Southwestern Region and previously as forest supervisor for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington State.She also served at the executive level as assistant director for the Bureau of Land Management’s Resources and Planning Directorate.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the Northern Regionas we steward the health and productivity of our nation’s forests and grasslands,” said Bail. “I look forward to building relationships across the region as we focus on delivering on the agency’s priorities.”
For more information about the Forest Service visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/.
A company owned by Texas billionaires Dan and Faris Wilks is selling 73 ranch sites carved from about 2,000 acres south of Cascade.
Plans for Legacy Creek Ranch, as dubbed by DF Development, look like subdivisions across Valley County, but are not subject to the same rules and review process because the ranch sites were created by a series of lot line adjustments and original parcel splits.
That, Valley County Planning and Zoning Administrator Cynda Herrick said, is the difference between selling raw land and being required to follow the county’s subdivision laws.
“I’ve been talking with (DF) and they understand that this isn’t the preferred method,” Herrick told Valley Lookout. “But it’s what they’re entitled to by law.”
The method used by DF enables Legacy Creek Ranch to avoid the county’s subdivision requirements, which include plans for drainage, irrigation, drinking water, septic systems, utilities, and streets. It also means that the company is not required to create a fire protection plan covering things like water supply, emergency access, and vegetation management.
The plan also avoids review by the Valley County Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as several state agencies, including the Idaho Transportation Department, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and the Idaho Department of Water Resources.
How were the ranch sites created?
Most of the ranch sites have been created by lot line adjustments, which require administrative approval. County law allows landowners to adjust the boundaries of existing parcels into different shapes and sizes if no new parcels are created.
For Legacy Creek Ranch, that has enabled DF to reconfigure existing parcels to include road access along Clear Creek Road, also known as Forest Service Road 409.
The company was also able to create 18 new parcels by splitting parcels that have not been subdivided since Valley County’s subdivision regulations were adopted in 1970. Those parcels, known as “original parcels,” may be split one time without triggering a review.
“We allow original parcels to be split one time without going through a platting process,” Herrick said. “So they took their parcels and did their free splits.”
The result of the splits and reconfiguring is 73 parcels, which Herrick emphasized do not qualify as “lots” because they were not created through the subdivision process.
Marketing
Advertisements for Legacy Creek Ranch have shown up on billboards on State Street in Boise, in The Star-News, and on social media.
In The Star-News, McCall’s weekly newspaper, the ranch sites are advertised as “lots,” despite not coming with any of the certainties or amenities associated with true subdivision lots.
“This is not a subdivision, these are not lots,” Herrick said. “This is a marketing tactic.”
Unlike typical subdivision lots, the parcels DF advertised by DF do not include any utilities and are not guaranteed to be able to meet standards for septic systems and water wells.
Any buyer of the lots would be required to seek a building permit from the county and receive approval for construction plans. It is unclear if any of the lots have been sold so far.
Advertising paints Legacy Creek Ranch as “the perfect place to connect with the wilderness and start building your legacy.”
“Our early Phase-1 release at Legacy Creek Ranch ensures plenty of open space,” according to DF’s website. “Our lifestyle plan for the community is simple: build green, clean, and sustainable spaces filled with the natural wonders of mountain wildlife.”
DF Development representatives did not respond to requests for comment by Valley Lookout.
Other DF Developments Horsethief Ridge Red Ridge Village
BOISE, Idaho — Hundreds of concerned citizens gathered at the Idaho Capitol on Saturday to celebrate and defend public lands amid growing concerns over potential privatization efforts.
“We’re here today to celebrate and defend our National Public Lands,” said Alexis Pickering, Executive Director for Conservation Voters for Idaho. “We know that there’s been talks at the federal government, and special interests are eyeing our public lands as a cash cow and to sell them off.”
Attendees came from across the state, including distant communities like Driggs and Moscow, demonstrating the widespread concern about public land access.
Pickering expressed alarm about recent developments.
She cited the Wilks brothers as an example of privatization concerns.
“Privatization, we’ve already seen the impacts of what privatization has done. Most folks know about the Texas billionaire brothers, the Wilks brothers. They purchased a ton of land in Valley County in that neck of the woods, and they essentially shut off, you know, decades, centuries of access to pristine hunting grounds and recreational access,” Pickering said.
Conservationists argue that a combination of environmental challenges, resource constraints, and political agendas creates a perfect storm that puts the future of public lands at greater risk than ever before.
According to Pickering, the consequences could be far-reaching for average citizens,
“That’s what we can expect with privatization,” she said. “Is folks no longer allowing regular Idahoans like you or me to recreate, to pick huckleberries, to hunt or fish. That would no longer be an option for a majority of the state.”
Organizers are urging citizens to contact their federal representatives to support Montana Representative Ryan Zinke’s “Public Lands in Public Hands Act,” which would protect federal lands from being transferred to state ownership.
“I think we’ll just have to get bigger and louder and stronger,” Pickering said. “We’ll have to – this is not the first time they’ve come for our public lands, and we’ve beat it back before.”
The rally included multiple conservation organizations working together, reflecting what Pickering described as “a huge intrinsic value and a uniting force amongst Idahoans of all types.”
The country’s national parks have never been more popular. Though visitation to the U.S. National Park System has been steadily increasing for many years, 2024 set a new record for annual visitors. A whopping 331.9 million visits were recorded in 2024 — the most people since record-keeping began in 1904, the National Park Service reported.
That marks a 2% increase over 2023, which saw 6.36 million fewer visits, and beats the previous record set in 2016. The National Park Service (NPS) celebrated its centennial that year, racking up 330 million visits.
In past years, the news would likely be greeted with celebration. This year, however, the visitation statistics arrive at a critical moment for the nation’s public lands. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have fired thousands of parks workers at both the NPS and the U.S. Forest Service. They’ve also delayed seasonal hires and instituted a spending freeze for both the NPS and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Those actions have led to widespread protests, and former parks officials have warned of serious consequences for an understaffed park system about to enter the busy summer.
“The National Park Service just reported the highest visitation in its history, as the administration conducts massive firings and threatens to close visitor centers and public safety facilities,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association. “It’s a slap in the face to the hundreds of millions of people who explored our parks last year and want to keep going back.”
Closures, Reduced Services
Usage of the parks in 2024 trended upward by several different metrics. Overnight stays, both in NPS facilities and privately owned lodging, increased compared to 2023. Also, 28 individual parks set new records for visitation, and another 38 experienced visitation above the 10-year average in every month of the year.
And while national parks may receive the lion’s share of attention, they only represent 28% of park visits in 2024. The rest are spread among national recreation areas (16%), national memorials (12%), and other categories like national monuments and national seashores.
All of those are managed by the NPS, and every category has been impacted by Trump laying off 9% of the total workforce, according to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Several parks have already announced closed facilities, as well as reduced hours and services.
As the summer approaches — when visitation to the country’s parks is at its highest — former parks officials like Don Neubacher worry how parks will fare when a skeleton crew of workers must manage millions of visitors.
“Overall, between the funding and staff cuts and this freeze it makes it almost catastrophic for parks,” Neubacher, a former superintendent at Yosemite National Park, told Gear Junkie last week. “A lot of these people want to do good for the American public, and it’s almost impossible for that to be accomplished in this context.”
‘Dismantling of the NPS’
The moves by the Trump administration have affected the entire federal government, but the moves against the agencies in charge of public lands represent the “dismantling of the National Park Service as we know it,” said the NPCA’s Brengel.
After the firings, spending freezes, and hiring delays, the NPS got even more bad news last week from the Trump administration, according to the NPCA. The White House is now calling for the cancellation of 34 building leases that house visitor centers, law enforcement offices, museums, and hubs for critical programs.
The 34 locations were part of a larger list of hundreds of federal properties the Trump administration is looking to give up or sell, The Washington Post reported.
That includes nine visitor centers and visitor contact stations. Examples include the Klondike Gold Rush Historical Site in downtown Seattle and the San Antonio Missions law enforcement facility.
“They’re attacking from every side,” Chandra Rosenthal, the director of the Rocky Mountain division of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told GearJunkie. “It’s just a crisis moment right now.”
From: John Bengtson <john@cvidaho.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 11:08:14 AM
To: Daniel Waugh <Dan.p.waugh@gmail.com>
Subject: Public Lands Day of Action
Good to chat with you, as always. Here’s the quick version of the Public Lands Day of Action:
So far, we have commitments from ITA, Selway Bitterroot Foundation, IBO, ICL, and others, and we’re in conversations with several MTB groups, environmental education organizations, and more.
TU, IWF, TRCP, IOGA, the Wilderness Society, BHA, and others are a part of the larger coalition, though there is some hesitation about the timeline for this event. Candidly, I think that if we can get a commitment from IRC, that will go a long way toward convincing them to jump in fully.
| Civic Engagement Coordinator |
| Conservation Voters for Idaho & Conservation Voters for Idaho Education Fund |
| Cell: 208.342.1264 ext.707 |
| Mail: PO Box 2802, Boise, ID 83701 |
| Website: cvidaho.org Email: john@cvidaho.org |
FROM DAN:
Forwarding this along. The list of groups forming a coalition to preserve public lands. This is tying into our push for NM trial funding. I was asked to see about Representation from Horseman as well as groups looking to keep public lands open.
There is a rally at the Capital on March 22nd. I have been chatting with the groups involved with this and it isnt anti DOGE or one side of the aisle or the other. This group is being formed to be a bipartisan public land group dedicated to keeping our lands preserved and open for future generations.
I will likely be here. They are looking for support with name recognition as well. If your groups want to support this publicly they would like to know asap as this is happening quick and they want to promote this.
Dan
Kathleen Sgamma is a longtime oil and gas industry advocate, often critical of the agency’s policies.
Longtime oil and gas industry advocate and vocal critic of federal oversight Kathleen Sgamma is President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, an agency that oversees some 18.4 million surface acres and 42.9 million acres of mineral estate in Wyoming.
With management authorities that affect agriculture, wildlife habitat, recreation, oil and gas development, commercial-scale renewable energy and the world’s largest coal producing region in the Powder River Basin, the federal agency plays a pivotal role in Wyoming’s economy.
Sgamma is president of the Denver, Colorado-based Western Energy Alliance, a powerful oil and gas trade group that advocates for the industry’s access to public lands — like those managed by the agency she’s now slated to run. The group is often at odds with federal agencies, particularly the BLM, over federal rules and regulations. Sgamma and the Western Energy Alliance are well known throughout the West, and her nomination has garnered cheers from fossil fuel industry leaders and jeers from many in conservation.
Gov. Mark Gordon described Trump’s nomination of Sgamma as “an excellent choice…to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
“As someone who has worked with Ms. Sgamma,” Gordon continued in a prepared statement, “I know she is well-qualified and knowledgeable when it comes to Wyoming, the West, and multiple use of public lands.”
Public lands advocacy group Center for Western Priorities, however, regards the nomination as “inappropriate” and “a direct threat to Western communities and wildlife that depend on healthy landscapes, clean air, and clean water.”
Sgamma “has consistently misrepresented the industry’s impact on public lands, always putting oil and gas companies’ interests above those of all Americans,” Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby said in a prepared statement. “This appointment will hand the keys to our public lands over to oil and gas companies.”
Brooke Leslie Rollins (born April 10, 1972) is an American attorney and policy advisor who is the nominee for United States secretary of agriculture in President Donald Trump‘s second administration.
Rollins previously served as deputy general counsel, ethics advisor, and policy director to Texas governor Rick Perry. She is an advocate of criminal justice reform. Rollins was the president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative think tank, from 2003 through 2018. During her tenure at TPPF, the think tank grew from having a staff of three to a staff of 100.
Rollins oversaw the White House Office of American Innovation under President Donald Trump from 2018 until 2020. She also served as the acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council under President Trump. Since the end of the Trump administration, Rollins served as the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute.
On November 23, 2024, President-elect Trump announced his intent to nominate Rollins to be secretary of agriculture. If confirmed, she will be the second woman to hold the position, after Ann Veneman.
In February 2018, Rollins replaced Reed Cordish as Trump’s assistant to the president for intergovernmental and technology initiatives and as a member of the Office of American Innovation.[9]
Rollins was influential in encouraging the passage of the First Step Act, legislation that reforms the nation’s prison system and seeks to reduce recidivism. The First Step Act was signed into law by President Trump in December 2018.[10]
In May 2020, President Trump named Rollins acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council.[11][12][13]
In her first public interview as acting director of the Domestic Policy Council, Rollins said she was focused on bringing “together all sides of the table to figure out how we can move forward together.”[14] She said the U.S. “is a nation in mourning for the senseless death of George Floyd and the senseless loss of livelihood all over this country.” Rollins struck an optimistic tone on the country’s future, saying “this is America and we have been through difficult times before. We are a nation of doers and believers and dreamers, and we are a nation where if anybody tells us to step back, we step three feet forward.”[14]
Amid nationwide protests and racial unrest, Rollins said “we need everyone to rise above the division and the divide and come together.” She said the White House was “working through a list of solutions and possibilities, bipartisan. How do we come together? How do we use this as a unifying force for this country?”[15]
At an event announcing the signing of the new order, President Trump said his goal was to maintain law and order as well as justice and safety. He said “Reducing crime and raising standards are not opposite goals. They are not mutually exclusive. They work together.” According to Politico, the order was crafted “in consultation with police officers, mayors, conservative African Americans, faith-based leaders and the families of victims.”[16]
February Update
And now to update you all on the latest news on funding our trail work. At this time, all of our cost share agreements with the US Forest Service have been put on pause while the new federal administration evaluates the federal budget. We have been working using funding from several Challenge Cost Share Agreements that allow us to be paid by the US Forest Service to perform the trail work on their lands. We have one ongoing agreement to replace about 130 trail signs that were damaged in the wild fires of 2022, and close to signing 2 more agreements to continue our volunteer trail work and to hire a hosted crew of 3 to replace 2 trail bridges in the Eagle Cap Wilderness this year. All of that is on hold for now and we do not know if any of it will be approved. Meanwhile, our Plan B is to apply for grants from non-federal organizations to tide us over until we have a better idea about how much support we will get from our federal partners. Please cross your fingers for us that something in Washington, DC settles out soon!
Now about trainings!
And lastly, our partners at the US Forest Service have asked us to help get the word out about their Volunteer Wilderness Ranger positions in the Lakes Basin of the Eagle Cap Wilderness. If you or someone you know is interested in being a Volunteer Wilderness Ranger this summer here is the link to the application:
Phew! Guess I wasn’t so brief after all, but I hope this was at least interesting if not actually useful! I look forward to seeing you all at the Annual Meeting and out on a trail this next summer!
Mike Hansen
Executive Director
Wallowa Mountains Hells Canyon Trails Association
541-398-8225
Kay Ryan
Phil Ryan
February 5, 2025 – House Resource Committee Passed the Bill and recommends the Full House Pass it!
Parks and Trails Passport One-Pager – Oct 2024
Who: Doug Burgum
Nominated for: Secretary of the Interior
You might know him from: The 2024 Republican presidential primary. The former governor of North Dakota ran on his experience as a successful businessman before dropping out of the primary and becoming a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, then the front-runner, landing on the VP shortlist.
More about Burgum:
If confirmed as secretary of the interior, Doug Burgum would become a key player in implementing one of the Trump administration’s overarching goals: “Drill, baby, drill.”
The Department of the Interior manages roughly one-fifth of the lands and waters of the United States, giving Burgum — the former governor of an oil-rich state — significant leverage to increase domestic oil and gas production, which is already at an all-time high. But the massive department also oversees national parks and monuments, endangered species protections and relations with federally recognized Native American tribes.
During the first Trump administration, the Department of the Interior cut regulations to make it easier to drill on federal land, significantly weakened the power and scope of the Endangered Species Act and shrunk two national monuments. Deb Haaland, secretary of the Interior during the Biden administration, reversed many of these actions and focused on boosting conservation and renewable energy.
Burgum is expected to reverse course again. Burgum’s pro-drilling stance is fairly well established, and as Trump’s proposed head of the newly proposed National Energy Council — a body that will oversee regulatory processes across government agencies — he’d have considerable power to push fossil fuel extraction.
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up Utah’s lawsuit aimed at wresting control of more than 18 million acres of public land in the state from the federal government.
In its lawsuit, filed in August, the state of Utah argued it was unconstitutional for the federal government to retain ownership of “unappropriated” lands, meaning those not set aside as a national park or for some other specific purpose. And it asked the court to effectively hand over 18.5 million acres of Bureau of Land Management lands to the state.
The conservative-led high court rejected the case outright, with no explanation. It’s a stunning defeat for Republican officials in Utah, who said they brought the case after “decades of legal analysis” and spent millions of taxpayer dollars promoting the legal effort.
“We’re grateful the Supreme Court swiftly rejected the State of Utah’s misguided land grab lawsuit,” Steve Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said in a statement. “For more than 100 years, the Supreme Court has affirmed the power of the federal government to hold and manage public lands on behalf of all Americans.” READ STORY / Salt Lake Tribune
A Utah conservation group has sued the governor and attorney general over the state’s U.S. Supreme Court public lands lawsuit.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, in a lawsuit filed in 3rd District Court Wednesday, argues that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Attorney General Sean Reyes violated Utah’s state constitution by taking their challenge of federal lands to the nation’s high court.
The group wants to stop the state from “dismantling a core part of Utah’s identity: public lands,” said Steve Bloch, SUWA’s legal director, in a statement.
“Utahns love their public lands,” Bloch said in a news conference Wednesday morning. “They’re not about to simply see them sold off or given up without a fight.”
The status of each bill, resolution, proclamation, and memorials listed on this page are updated when the offices of the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House publish the un-official daily journals and should not be deemed official. The official bill actions are located in the final journal, which are maintained by the offices of the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House. The daily journals are published at the end of each legislative day.
| (*) indicates previous days action (+) indicates ADOPTED or LAW |
Montana state officials have already made a New Year’s resolution: Sue the federal government. In a lawsuit filed on Dec. 31, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte accused the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) of violating established agreements for managing bison.
Federal wildlife officials have ignored Montana’s concerns about increased numbers of bison, the lawsuit said, and also avoided vaccinating the animals against brucellosis, a disease that worries the state’s cattle-ranching industry.
It’s the latest escalation in a decades-long conflict between state and federal officials over management of bison herds in Yellowstone National Park. The core issue is about how to manage the animals when they leave park borders and roam into Montana. According to the lawsuit, the NPS changed the rules regarding bison numbers and vaccination in a 2024 environmental impact statement without consulting state officials.
The lawsuit was filed in district court by Gianforte’s office, the Montana Department of Livestock, and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The NPS didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
“The new Bison Management Plan is another example of Yellowstone National Park’s tendency to do what it wants, leaving Montana to collect the pieces,” the lawsuit said.
READ FULL STORY
Uncle Sam has a belated Christmas gift for anyone who loves visiting national parks.
After years of political wrangling between state and federal officials, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced Monday the purchase of 640 acres of additional land within Grand Teton National Park. Known as the Kelly Parcel, the “picturesque landscape” has mountain views and “world-class wildlife habitat,” federal officials said in a news release.
The parcel was the largest remaining piece of unprotected land within the national park’s boundaries. By adding the area to the park, wildlife managers can maintain “essential connectivity for wildlife in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” officials said. They called the zone one of the last remaining temperate ecosystems on the planet that’s mostly intact.
The $100 million sale to preserve the parcel was made possible through a partnership between the Interior Department and the National Park Service. They pooled money from the Grand Teton National Park Foundation ($37.6 million), the Land and Water Conservation Fund ($62.4 million), and the National Park Foundation. But private donations were a big part of the conservation victory as well. Nearly 400 donors from 46 states made gifts ranging from $10 million to $15 million.
“We are in awe of the incredible generosity of hundreds of people who stepped forward to protect this essential parcel,” Grand Teton National Park Foundation President Leslie Mattson said.
Utah is no longer asking the U.S. Supreme Court to order the United States to “dispose” of 18.5 million acres of public land in the Beehive State, its latest court pleading shows.
In an 18-page Dec. 4 filing, Utah says its original complaint does not seek a sell-off or ownership transfer of the federal property. That complaint to the Supreme Court in August asked justices to “[o]rder the United States to begin the process of disposing of its unappropriated federal lands within Utah” — 18.5 million acres of land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management.
Utah filed more papers Dec. 4 that appear to back off from that demand for divesture.
“Utah is not ‘ask[ing] this Court to exercise … the power to dispose of public lands,’” Utah’s latest filing states. “Nor does Utah seek an order ‘direct[ing] Congress to enact new statutes,’” requiring the United States to shed its holdings, Utah’s latest document reads.
Instead, Utah’s lawyers contend, the state only wants the justices to declare unconstitutional the United States’ ownership of the property managed by the BLM. What the federal government should do after that, Utah’s latest filing doesn’t say.
The difference between the two filings marks a “seismic change” in Utah’s position, said Ryan Semerad, a Casper attorney practiced in public land issues. He has analyzed the Utah complaint in a 40-page paper submitted for publication to the Wyoming Law Review. He also successfully represented four hunters in an ongoing public access corner-crossing case in Carbon County.
Compared to Utah’s initial complaint, the latest filing is “a much softer request … a much weaker ask than the headlines have made out,” Semerad wrote in an email. “In the end, Utah just wants the Court to tell Congress that it must give the Secretary of the Interior more leeway to sell off or transfer lands, eventually.” READ MORE
BOISE, Idaho—With support from local partners and organizations, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has acquired the 320-acre South Fork Willow Creek area to connect, consolidate, and protect public lands in the Boise Foothills and Smoky-Boise Complex big game priority area with winter range for elk, mule deer, sage-grouse, and black bear.
The acquired lands add several miles of existing non-motorized trails accessible from the Avimor residential development for hiking, mountain biking, or horseback riding, as well as public access to Idaho’s most popular big game hunting area, Game Management Unit 39. This area also provides close and convenient access to open spaces for the public to encounter both wildlife and dynamic city views framed by the Owyhee Mountain Range.
“We are excited that the public will now have access to these additional acres,” said BLM Four Rivers Field Manager Brent Ralston. “Our partnership with the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley to acquire this parcel provides recreational opportunities and the outdoor lifestyle that people desire to have in a popular area like the Boise Foothills.”
The area is approximately 12 miles north of downtown Boise and provides continued public access near ongoing residential developments. The BLM purchased the land from the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley, a non-profit organization, using money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
by ERIC WELCH
Staff Writer | December 13, 2024 1:00 AM
In partnership with Stimson Lumber Company and the Idaho Department of Lands, nonprofit Trust for Public Land announced an easement agreement Wednesday that will protect 10,846 acres of working forests in Bonner and Boundary counties.
Under the agreement, IDL holds the development rights to land owned and logged by Stimson Lumber Company, ensuring the easement areas will not be subdivided and will continue to contribute to the local timber industry.
“By protecting over 10,000 acres of working forestland in northern Idaho, Trust for Public Land has ensured that these vital landscapes will be preserved for future generations,” said Trust for Public Land Northern Rockies Director Dick Dolan.
In a press release, IDL Director Dustin Miller and Stimson Lumber Company President Andrew Miller expressed their commitment to preserving working forests in the area and protecting the longevity of Idaho’s timber industry.
According to Sam McSherry, Trust for Public Land project manager, the value of the easement will become more and more apparent as time goes on.
“This is very much just establishing what’s already in place for down the road,” McSherry said.
To enable the agreement, Trust for Public Land worked to secure $7.7 million in federal Land and Water Conservation Fund money through the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program.
A portion of those funds were used to purchase the easement with Stimson Lumber Company, whose property value under an easement agreement shrinks due to the elimination of development opportunities for the landowner.
McSherry noted that dedicating timber land to be worked in perpetuity supports sustainable harvesting practices and jobs in logging and forest products production.
“The overall benefit that these projects can bring is economic support to these communities,” he said.
McSherry also emphasized the importance of safeguarding undeveloped land to protect the wilderness character of the area for use by residents.
“Another huge benefit of these easements in northern Idaho is preserving the public’s access to the backyards,” he said. “These are the areas that the community members rely on, and being able to protect those for the future is pivotal.”
READ MEETING MINUTES
Wyoming is backing an effort by Utah to wrest ownership of U.S. Bureau of Land Management land from the federal government, arguing that states could “develop the land to attract prospective citizens.”
In an amicus brief filed Tuesday, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska and the Arizona Legislature expressed support for Utah’s quest to take its case straight to the U.S. Supreme Court. Utah wants to own BLM land that’s currently the property of all Americans, saying among other things that the federal holdings deprive the Beehive State of an equal footing with other states.
Gov. Mark Gordon announced the Wyoming plea this week. Wyoming’s U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman lent her name to a separate amicus brief supporting Utah, teaming with U.S. Sens. Mitt Romney, Mike Lee and other Western members of Congress.
Twenty-six Wyoming legislators also asked Tuesday to join the action if the Supreme Court agrees to take up the issue. Those 10 state senators and 16 representatives (see list below) say they might not stop after gaining state ownership of BLM’s property which is largely sagebrush and desert prairie steppe.
Wyoming legislators’ could extend their claims to “all former federal territorial lands … now held by the United States … [including] parks, monuments, wilderness, etc.,” their brief states.
The federal government has until Nov. 21 to respond to what conservationists call a “land grab.”
“This lawsuit is as frivolous as they come and a blatant power-grab by a handful of Utah politicians whose escalating aggression has become an attack on all public lands as we know them,” Jocelyn Torres, an officer with the Conservation Lands Foundation, a Colorado nonprofit, said in a statement.
Utah and its allies argue that BLM lands are “unappropriated” and should be the property of Western States. Because of the federal government’s “indefinite retention” of 18.5 million BLM acres, “Utah is deprived of basic and fundamental sovereign powers as to more than a third of its territory,” its bill of complaint states.
Sagebrush rebellion efforts like Utah’s legal gambit have popped up — and fallen short — repeatedly since the movement arose in the 1970s. They’ve been countered in part by western states ceding — in their constitutions at statehood — ownership of federal property to the government and all Americans.
“The people inhabiting this state do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries thereof,” the Wyoming Constitution states. Further, Western states received federal property at statehood — two square miles in many surveyed 36-square-mile townships in Wyoming — to support schools and other institutions.
“Only Congress can transfer or dispose of federal lands,” the Lands Foundation said.
Gov. Gordon sees it differently.
“Wyoming believes it is essential for the states to be recognized as the primary authority when it comes to unappropriated lands within our borders,” he said in a statement Thursday.
The BLM manages 28% of the land in Wyoming, the brief states, most of it “unappropriated.”
Leaving vexing legal complexities to Utah, Wyoming’s brief focuses on “harms that federal ownership of unappropriated lands uniquely imposes on western States on a daily basis,” the amicus filing states. “In short, western States’ sovereign authority to address issues of local concern is curtailed, and billions of dollars are diverted away from western States.”
A ruling in favor of Utah would “begin to level the playing field … and restore the proper balance of federalism between western States and the federal government,” the brief states.
The Garmin inReach Messenger Plus delivers “almost flawless communication from the field via voice, text, and images,” she wrote in her review.
Key Takeaways:
Garmin brings its inReach connectivity to “a whole new level” with the capacity to send voice messages, images, and a huge leap in text length.
Read the full story here.
Patti has been working with ITA since the very first project in 2010, first as a Forest Service trail leader and then as a volunteer crew leader. She has also helped as a crew leader teacher at our CLEM (Crew Leader Education and Mentoring) Training. Her long history working on trails and with crews (30 years!) in the Forest Service is a huge asset to ITA and we so appreciate her commitment to sharing her skills and experience by training leaders and volunteers! Thank you for all you do for Idaho’s trails, Patti! READ FULL STORY
Idaho Wildlife Federation Names Nick Fasciano New Executive Director
A dedicated advocate for Idaho’s wildlife and habitat, Nick brings a wealth of experience to the role. He previously served as the head of policy for the Idaho Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, where he worked closely with IWF staff in the Idaho Legislature to ensure the voices of sportsmen and women were heard by our elected representatives.
Fasciano has been an active partner on a range of priorities central to IWF’s mission. He has advocated for the recovery of Idaho’s wild salmon and steelhead runs, worked to push land management agencies to include the latest science on wildlife migration corridors in land use decisions, and has been a consistent defender of public access to Idaho’s abundant public lands and waters.
“It has been a privilege to work alongside IWF in the past, and I’m thrilled to be coming on board as a member of the team,” says Fasciano. “Since its founding in 1936, IWF has been a leading voice for conservation in Idaho, and many of our most cherished wild places would simply not be here today without the dedication of IWF’s staff and supporters. It is the honor of a lifetime to help push that legacy forward.”
An avid hunter and angler, Fasciano is based in Boise where he is working to get his young lab, Corbett, ready for bird season.
Nick officially begins his tenure with IWF this week, Sept. 16th-20th. He can be reached via email at NFasciano@idahowildlife.org.
SAVE THE DATE: Save Nov. 7th on your calendar because we’re going to have a meet-and-greet, in Boise, where you can all get to know Nick better. Much more to come soon on that!
OGDEN, Utah, September 10, 2024—The USDA Forest Service announced that the Boise and Salmon-Challis National Forests will be allocated $8.8 million through a competitive internal process under the Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program. The funding aims to expand essential wildfire risk reduction efforts through partnerships that help protect valuable resources and strengthen cultural connections to the land.
The Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act’s hazardous fuels dollars, targets National Forest Service lands within the wildland urban interface where national forests meet homes and communities.
“This significant investment from the Inflation Reduction Act enables us to address critical wildfire risks in our region, particularly in areas that have not received the focused Wildfire Crisis Strategy funding,” stated Regional Forester Mary Farnsworth. “By working with diverse partners, we are committed to making our forests more resilient and reduce risks to communities from the effects of uncharacteristic wildfire.”
Intermountain Region Highlights
Boise National Forest- Lowman Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project
The project aims to treat 8,000 acres through a mix of prescribed fire, non-commercial thinning, and commercial timber harvest, enhancing Idaho Power infrastructure along the Highway 21 corridor for improved service reliability. Collaboration with the Shoshone-Paiute and Shoshone-Bannock tribes is being explored, involving tribal saw crews, with potential for utilizing leftover wood and wood products for the Wood for Life program. Local partners, including Idaho Power, Idaho Conservation Corps (ICC), Boise County, and the Lowman community, will actively participate in treatment preparation and execution, with the ICC providing youth crews for hands-on experience. The project is expected to reduce wildfire risk to communities and critical infrastructure as well as increase the wildlife resilience of the landscape, benefit the local economy, community, and foster sustainable land management practices through strong partnerships.
Salmon-Challis National Forest- Municipal Watershed to Panther Creek
This project is part of a larger 600,000-acre initiative aimed at reducing hazardous fuels and restoring critical landscapes. Specifically, it seeks to lower wildfire risk to the city of Salmon, protect a vital utility power line, create strategic fuel breaks, restore Endangered Species Act fish habitat, and enhance wildlife habitats. Supported by partnerships with the Mule Deer Foundation, Idaho Department of Lands, The Nature Conservancy, and the Student Conservation Association, the project will treat 10,500 acres through thinning and prescribed burning between fiscal years 2025 and 2027. The project will also involve local communities and workforce, offering employment opportunities and contracts to boost the local economy while ensuring vulnerable communities, like those near Panther Creek, benefit from reduced wildfire threats. Additionally, the project explores collaborations with the Shoshone-Paiute and Shoshone-Bannock tribes for using leftover wood and plant materials for energy or community firewood programs, reinforcing the commitment to public safety, sustainable land management, and strong community partnerships.
Criteria for eligible areas/projects include:
Anyone interested in learning more about this internal process can visit the Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction webpage.
Discover the lands of the Boise National Forest and its 2.5 million acres of mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and grasslands, more than 500 trails, and over 250 lakes and reservoirs.
The Salmon-Challis National Forest spans over 4.3 million acres in east-central Idaho, encompassing diverse habitats ranging from rugged mountains and deep canyons to pristine rivers and expansive wilderness areas.
Follow us on Facebook: Boise National Forest, Salmon-Challis National Forest, and on X: Salmon-Challis National Forest, Intermountain Region.
You can learn more about the Wood for Life program through this video and story.
For imagery visit the Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program Flickr album.
The U.S. Forest Service has not yet approved a plan to allow electric bicycles (e-bikes) on trails in the Lake Tahoe Basin, contrary to earlier reports. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is still in the process of evaluating a proposal that could potentially open up more than 100 miles of trails to e-bikes.
The Basin Wide Trails Analysis Project, which includes the e-bike proposal, is currently undergoing environmental assessment. The Forest Service expects to release the Final Environmental Assessment and a Draft Decision Notice in late August 2024. This will be followed by a 45-day administrative review period for those who have previously commented on the project and have standing to object.
If approved, the plan would allow Class I e-bikes, which are pedal-assisted and can reach speeds up to 20 mph, on designated trails. The proposal also includes the potential construction of new routes and upgrades to existing infrastructure.
The LTBMU received 660 comment letters during the public comment period in September 2023 and has been working to update the Environmental Assessment based on this feedback. The agency is also completing a required formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Currently, e-bike use is only permitted on National Forest roads and trails in the Tahoe Basin that are designated for motor vehicle use, in accordance with the Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule.
A final decision on the project is estimated to be released in November 2024. This timeline reflects the complex nature of the proposal and the Forest Service’s commitment to thorough environmental assessment and public engagement in the decision-making process.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ltbmu/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1192762
Hi Charlie
Just wanted to let you know where we are after three weeks of work done, and the rough plan I have for the remaining three. I have a bunch of pictures attached here and can send more if needed.
We have had a crew work on each of Renwyck, Antelope, and Gabe’s Peak. Progress has varied on each trail. Renwyck and Gabe’s Peak were fairly easy going for the first two miles before getting brushy and hard to find. Antelope got brushy and off-track very quickly. I actually ended up going out last week to visit the crews and find/flag the Antelope trail a little further out.
On the specs sheet, it lists Renwyck and Antelope as higher priority, so I was going to have the remaining three weeks focused on those two trails. I think I will likely need to visit the site again to flag both these trails further – unless you or someone on the trail crew can go do the same.
For Renwyck, the crews will basically be building new tread from where they left off. The old tread is there but very intermittent and not easy to follow. The nice thing here is that the trail does follow closely to the FS Quad Topo map and Avenza will be helpful in finding where to build going forward. I was planning on having two of the remaining weeks here.
For Antelope, the line on the Topo map is very wrong and this actually ended up hurting the crew as they went a good ways off tread trying to match that line. I got them back on the right track but would be surprised if they make it much past two miles, if that, with the one remaining week of work.
For the photos, the first four (0486, 0483, 0491, 0492) are work done on Antelope. The next two (0506 and 0507) are work done on Renwyck. The last (0494) is a good approximation of what both trails look like going forward – this particular picture is Antelope.
Let me know if this makes sense as the plan going forward. We’ll have a crew out that way next week (thinking Antelope for this) and I would love to hear back if you have any differing ideas.
Thanks,
Oliver Scofield
(he/him/his)
Program Coordinator
Idaho Conservation Corps
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) has announced its plans to begin soil testing underneath the historic Rainbow Bridge on Highway 55, to collect data for future construction plans for a new bridge.
According to ITD, the bridge has been standing since 1933 and no longer meets current highway safety standards. Environmental and design planning began last spring, but ITD will begin drilling in 18 locations around the existing bridge this June to collect samples.
“Prior to the drilling, ITD will remove trees and vegetation near each drilling location to allow a helicopter to safely lower equipment,” officials said. “The ground will be re-seeded after drilling. Results will be used for designing the bridge foundation, supports and retaining walls along State Highway 55.”
The Idaho Transportation Department said the project would also decide the future of the existing bridge, adding ITD wanted the process to be as transparent as possible.
“Public input will be a key consideration in the final recommendation for the new bridge and the existing bridge,” ITD’s Dan Gorley said.
Sampling will last throughout June, and ITD said drivers should expect 15-minute delays as officials will be drilling. However, work will stop for the weekend at 12 p.m. each Friday.
Construction of the new bridge is expected to start in 2027 or 2028, ITD stated.
The Latest News on Idaho’s Public Lands
Our work reviewing project proposals and permits—both exhaustive and sometimes exhausting—pays off in big ways.
The Idaho Board of Environmental Quality recently issued a decision invalidating Perpetua Resources’ air pollution permit for the proposed Stibnite Gold Mine. The Board found that Perpetua Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) failed to follow regulations designed to protect people from arsenic-laden dust. The decision remands Perpetua’s air pollution permit, sending it back to the administrative hearing officer to reconsider ways to better control arsenic emissions and reduce cancer risks from the proposed mine.
In response to another protest by ICL and our partners, a Hearing Officer with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) also established minimum stream flows to Perpetua’s water withdrawals that are more protective of fisheries.
Finally, if you care about the four million-acre Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest in north central Idaho, then you’ll be interested to learn about the status of the Forest Service’s efforts to revise the Land Management Plan.
ICL participated in a three-day administrative hearing to voice objections to the agency’s near-final new plan, arguing that it would harm wildlife, wildlands, and wild rivers by increasing off-road vehicle and snow machine access while shrinking the boundaries of the proposed Great Burn Wilderness Area. The Forest Service has also preliminarily stated that the North and South Fork Clearwater Rivers are not “suitable” for protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. It is unclear how the Forest Service will respond to the objections of ICL and other conservation groups, but a written response is due to be published sometime in June. Until then, stay tuned!
This fall, deer hunters will follow new testing rules for chronic wasting disease management.
The new mandatory testing requirements apply to several hunting units in Central Idaho near U.S. 95/ Highway 55 south of Grangeville. Testing helps prevent the spread of CWD and it will let hunters know if the meat is safe to eat.
In March, the Fish and Game Commission made several changes, including:
According to Fish and Game, CWD was first discovered in Idaho in 2021. The fatal disease affects deer, elk, and moose. Symptoms of CWD in wildlife include excessive salivation, trouble swallowing, and excessive thirst. It stays indefinitely in the environment.
No moose has tested positive and only two elk. Wildlife managers are not as concerned about those animals at this point.
“If ignored, CWD will infect new areas, cause more sick animals, and eventually result in fewer deer, the Fish and Game news release said. “Although elk and moose are less susceptible, CWD will also spread to them.”
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Did you feel yesterday morning’s earthquake?
According to the United States Geological Survey, there were several. The first one, and the strongest, hit at 10:25 a.m. and had a magnitude of 4.9. It registered about six miles North of Smiths Ferry with light shaking reported in the Treasure Valley.
USGS recorded an aftershock of 2.7 magnitude at 10:45 a.m. about five miles Northwest of Smiths Ferry. Another aftershock of 2.8 magnitude about three miles Northwest of Smiths Ferry was recorded at noon.
The Idaho Transportation Department said there was rockfall in the roadway near where the earthquakes occurred but there is no indication of damage. To be sure, ITD said its crews are assessing roads, culverts, and bridges, including Rainbow Bridge, in the area.
“In the event of any damage resulting from the earthquake, ITD will provide prompt notification to the public,” ITD said in a news release. “ITD wants to reassure the community that every measure is being taken to assess and address potential safety risks from this earthquake, demonstrating our unwavering dedication to maintaining a secure transportation network for all.”
Monday’s quakes occurred in the Western Idaho Seismic Zone, which lies between Boise and McCall. The zone includes active faults such as the Long Valley fault zone and the Squaw Creek fault.
