Today we’re relaunching #VotePublicLands, American Hiking’s nonpartisan voter education and engagement effort.
2020 has been a big year for public lands, and we’ve seen that when the hiking community uses its collective voice we can advance public land priorities. We worked hard for the Great American Outdoors Act to become law with overwhelming bipartisan support, but the work doesn’t stop there. We as hikers need to work towards equitable access to the outdoors for all.
One of the most important ways to make our voices heard is to VOTE. Through #VotePublicLands, American Hiking provides our members and supporters easy to use resources to register to vote, check registration status, and request an absentee ballot/vote by mail. 
Explore the key issues to be strong public lands advocates
Build in Idaho
https://datinfab.com/motorcycle-chainsaw-mount/#product-reviews
Universal Motorcycle Chainsaw Holster.
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- The best motorcycle chainsaw mount for the money.
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Datin Metal Fabrication LLC.
Middleton, ID 83644 USACall us at 208-713-1359
Update – August 23, 2020 Cowboy Campground has found a host. She will be starting on Wednesday.
Thanks Arlynn
Hi, All –
If you have been in touch with Sabrina recently she may have mentioned to you that we would like to have a camp host up at the campground. We would like to start our search with the local Backcountry Horsemen chapters, as we feel this would be a great pond to fish in for folks who are competent and trustworthy. If we don’t find them within your chapters then we will expand our search to other chapters and a few other organizations, such as Facebook groups and maybe the Forest Service.
We have developed the attached flyer for our search. Would you all be so kind as to send it out to your chapters?
Also, I want to be clear as to which chapter you’re each a part of, so can you reply and let me know, please?
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via Email or my cell at 208-629-9270.
Thanks – Diane Carty horsey4life@msn.com
Leave no trace camping puppet show for kids was created by volunteer Ethan and Ranger Katie in 2009 to communicate to children at lower grade levels. Alaska Park Service Watch Video
The highline – Way back in 2009 I created a highline how to video. It’s been pretty popular and I hope it’s been helpful. But that was over a decade ago and lots of things have changed in that time. Not only do I have less hair, and a rocking beard, I set up my highline differently now.
It’s time to refresh, revamp, and revise this piece. Please join me as we discover the joy of “A Better Way to Hold Your Horses”.
The highline. At its heart it’s just a stout rope stretched between two sturdy objects. But like many things that seem simple at first blush there’s a little more to it.
Done well a highline is a safe and effective tool to help keep our ponies out of trouble. Done poorly there’s few easier ways to heartbreak.
READ MORE / Buy a highline kit
I awoke thinking of death And being unable to go back to sleep Read of death in Leaves of Grass “Yourself! Yourself! Yourself, forever and ever!”
The darkness envelops It is fearful, yet common The comforting hearths of the ants of the Bitterroot Valley below me Yet on the other side, black I know what is there but I cannot see it
READ MORE
Treasure Valley has posted a great report on their delayed National Trails day project on their Facebook page. Check it out!
EPSON MFP image
Click on Picture or HERE to read
Hello Wilderness advocates!
I hope this note finds you and your loved ones healthy and enjoying the outdoors.
Once again, we are adapting to our circumstances. The printer we normally use to print/mail the newsletter remains closed.
We are delivering the Spring 2020 edition of the newsletter to your inbox rather than your mailbox. We’ve put the newsletter in a format that we hope you enjoy. You can electronically turn the pages as you would our printed newsletter. Just click on the side arrows to turn the pages! You can access the newsletter by clicking on the button below! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Female Urinary Devices, also known as FUDs, or pee funnels, can really save the day. These items are a well-kept secret of female campers because they let you go #1 without having to drop your pants completely. Without these devices that let you pee standing up, women have to wander very far away from camp to get the privacy they need. With an FUD., since you can actually “go” while standing up, you experience the same “go anywhere” convenience that men enjoy.
TB Video Review of 10 FUD products
How to Tie the Highwayman’s Hitch
How to tie the HIGHWAYMAN’S HITCH – Knot Tying Instructions
The Highwayman’s hitch is a quick-release hitch used for temporarily securing a load that will need to be released easily and cleanly, such as your horse! The hitch can be untied with a tug of the working end. The highwayman’s hitch can be tied in the middle of a rope, and so the working end does not need to be passed around the anchor, or rail, when tying or releasing.
Steps to Highwayman’s Hitch
1 – Double your rope to make the first bight in the rope and place the bight behind your rail.
2 – Make a second bight in the standing line and pass that bight through the first bight
3 – Take the working end and make a third bight.
4 – Pass the third bight through second and pull on the standing line to snug the knot.
The knot holds with tension on the standing part and can be released with a tug on the working end.
Special Report
Going Outdoors or Staying Inside
May 2020
Many people are turning to the outdoors to cope with the stress and concerns of the Corona Virus Pandemic. Volunteer groups may also be considering offering outdoor activities to the public to address this public use. But is this a good idea? Not really. Here is the rationale for why we need to encourage everyone to stay home and stay local.
Short Term Issues
The immediate effort nationwide is to prevent the spread of the Corona virus. This is being accomplished by requesting, and in some states demanding, that people self-quarantine, maintain social distancing, and practice good hygiene practices. Non-essential businesses where large number of people congregate like restaurants, theaters, bars, and gyms have been closed. Sporting events of all types have been cancelled and venues closed. State and local parks, some National Forest recreation sites, and National Parks are being closed as well. These closures initially were intended to last 2-3 weeks but may extend for 4-6 weeks or longer depending on local infection rates.
For stewardship organizations this strategy has meant cancelling meetings, trainings, and outdoor events for the near term. Volunteer activities can be expected to be curtailed for several months. While generally access to dispersed areas like wilderness is open, some popular trailheads may be closed to prevent people from congregating.
There has also been mixed messaging about going to the outdoors to escape the virus and other people. While we extoll the virtues of getting outdoors, what has happened instead is even more people seeking out these opportunities creating large crowds in popular areas. It is important that people stay close to home, and enjoy nature in their backyards, their neighborhoods, or at least for the time being, virtually. Protecting the health of our communities and avoiding strains on the medical infrastructure, especially in our vunerable rural areas, are critical right now.
This article says it all: High Country News: https://www.hcn.org/articles/covid19-as-covid19-spreads-how-do-you-ethically-get-outdoors/
Here are Leave No Trace suggestions for getting outdoors: https://lnt.org/the-leave-no-trace-recommendations-for-getting-outside-amidst-covid-19/
Here are suggestions from the Outdoor Alliance on getting outside during this crisis.
Stewardship Group Coping Strategies
Groups around the country are adapting to the crisis situation. Here are some ideas for your organization.
- Review your plans for the year and postpone or reschedule events to June or later.
- Consider doing training online or with video conferencing software like Zoom of GoToMeeting.
- Consider adapting your recruiting from a national to a local area model. Impacts to travel and concerns over the spread of the virus will continue for months impacting broad recruitment area strategies. Local recruitment may offer new opportunities for relationship building and capacity growth while providing needed employment stimulus locally.
- Check in with your agency partners to see what current policies are and what resources they might have available. The Park Service has created a webpage for Partners during this crisis at: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/partnerships/publichealthforpartners.htm
- If you have existing agreements with agency partners, start discussing now how closures will affect recruiting and summer programs. Adjust your agreements as necessary.
- The current stand down may result in additional year end fund availability. Never too early to start discussing future projects and potential agreements with agency partners to put these funds to good use.
April 29. 2020
As Idaho prepares to reopen some businesses and lift its coronavirus-related stay-home order, some federal agencies are tightening or extending restrictions related to the pandemic.
In a news release on Tuesday, the U.S. Forest Service announced it would extend some closures in the Salmon-Challis National Forest and cancel permits to float the Salmon River and Middle Fork of the Salmon through mid-May. Any “developed recreation sites” including campsites and day-use sites are closed through May 15, while “Forest Trail #6232, the Warm Springs Trail and the area within 250 yards from the center of Gold Bug Hot Springs” will be closed through the end of May.
Officials said anyone with a float permit will receive an email notification that their permit has been canceled, as well as a refund of any fees. Permits are required year-round to float the Salmon River and Middle Fork of the Salmon, though the primary float season is from June to September.
Forest Service officials said the continued closures are meant to prevent the spread of coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.
“We have visitors that want to enjoy the forest but many areas are drawing more people than social distancing guidelines recommend,” said Chuck Mark, Salmon-Challis National Forest supervisor, in the news release. “As spring progresses, many of these recreation sites are beginning to become accessible. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. The forest is developing a plan to phase reopening some sites when conditions allow.”
Similarly, the Boise National Forest announced on Friday that it would extend closures at campgrounds, hot springs and trailheads through June 30 due to the pandemic. The agency had previously announced that many popular campgrounds near Boise, including Cottonwood, Sage Hen and Peace Valley, would be closed through the end of June; however, its early April closure of hot springs had no initial expiration date.
A list of all affected Boise National Forest sites can be found online at fs.usda.gov.
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced restrictions at Lucky Peak Dam. The Corps said, until further notice, fires and camping are prohibited and boats are required to be docked at a marina or out of the water between sunset and sunrise. According to the Corps’ news release, the restrictions were “made in response to public safety and resource protection concerns,” though it’s not clear if they are related to coronavirus. The Statesman has reached out to the Corps for more information.
BNF-Closed PDF 04-03-2020 Idaho COVID Group Limits of 10 order SIGNED
About 15 miles north of Emmett is 25,806 acres of rolling hills, prominent buttes and ridgelines that make up the Bureau of Land Management’s Four-Mile Wild Horse Management Area (HMA). Elevations vary from 2,500 to about 5,400 feet.
The Four-Mile population census taken in February 2018 was 128 horses according to Boise District BLM Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Raul Trevino.
History of Gem’s wild horses
The Four-Mile horses originated from domestic stock owned by those living in the Big Willow Creek and Four-Mile Creek areas. Pinto horses were raised by Jack Macomb in the 1930s in the Four Mile Canyon. Others raised horses in the area including Nelson McCullough on Willow Creek, Tom Wilburn on South Crane Creek and Walter Knox on the Indian Jake Ranch. These horses were not considered wild according to the BLM until people came and tried to catch them or chase them. Being difficult to corral, they were considered wild. Sixty-five privately owned horses were rounded up and removed in 1965.
At the passage of the Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act in 1971, two HMAs were identified and BLM was given authority to manage wild horses and burros on public lands. There were 75 horses in the 4-Mile HMA and West Crane HMA. Decisions removed the horses permanently from West Crane and reduced the Four-Mile to the appropriate management level of 20 head for rangeland health.
An aerial survey in 1972 counted a total of 13 adult and two foals. Of those, one was a mule, one wore a halter and another horse wore hobbles.
During a 1986 wildfire in the Four-Mile HMA, 14,000 acres burned. The horses were removed January 1987 due to a lack of forage on their home range and to allow vegetation recovery. The area was aerially seeded with grasses and forbs. Then in the fall of 1991, nine horses from the Owyhee Resource Area were introduced back into the Four-Mile HMA. Three years later there were 12 head on 18,018 acres.
Currently there are 128 horses in the HMA. The Low Allowable Management level is 37 head for the area, so the BLM is in the process of gathering and removing horses to meet the allowable number. BLM manages a total of six wild horse herd management areas in Idaho on approximately 418,000 acres of private, public and state lands.
As of March 1, 2018, the wild horse and burro population on public lands was estimated at 82,000 animals, which is more than triple the number of animals the land can support in conjunction with other legally mandated land uses. Four-Mile HMA is also overpopulated.
On April 16, 2020 Phil Ryan and Rob Adams rode the south west corner of the HMA. We saw more then 75 wild horses at least 12 of them were this year’s foals. There were also a number that look to be yearlings. WATCH VIDEO
Washington state is gearing up for a new challenge this year – fighting wildfires in the time of coronavirus.
Fire season is already here, too — 160 fires have sparked so far statewide, with 30% of them in the western part of the state. Thursday, Dept. of Natural Resources crews were fighting two of the largest fires burning near Arlington in Snohomish County, and Acme, in Whatcom County.
“It’s been challenging to fight fire, and to get people trained up this year,” said Jay Guthrie, asst. region manager for Forest Practice and Fire with the Washington Dept. of Natural Resources.
Spring training sessions have moved online, which makes it difficult to do the hands-on learning of firefighting. Prescribed burns were canceled. Crews are also trying to practice social distancing – keeping at least six feet apart while working in the field.
They do have one thing going for them already:
“Part of normal working safety is to keep 10 feet apart, so any swing of a tool is not within range of someone else,” said Guthrie.
State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said they’re currently working with the federal government to rewrite the playbook for wildfires during a pandemic. READ MORE
A vast region of the western United States, extending from California, Arizona and New Mexico north to Oregon and Idaho, is in the grips of the first climate change-induced megadrought observed in the past 1,200 years, a study shows. The finding means the phenomenon is no longer a threat for millions to worry about in the future, but is already here.
The megadrought has emerged while thirsty, expanding cities are on a collision course with the water demands of farmers and with environmental interests, posing nightmare scenarios for water managers in fast-growing states.
A megadrought is broadly defined as a severe drought that occurs across a broad region for a long duration, typically multiple decades.
Unlike historical megadroughts triggered by natural climate cycles, emissions of heat-trapping gases from human activities have contributed to the current one, the study finds. Warming temperatures and increasing evaporation, along with earlier spring snowmelt, have pushed the Southwest into its second-worst drought in more than a millennium of observations.
The study, published in the journal Science on Thursday, compares modern soil moisture data with historical records gleaned from tree rings, and finds that when compared with all droughts seen since the year 800 across western North America, the 19-year drought that began in 2000 and continued through 2018 (this drought is still ongoing, though the study’s data is analyzed through 2018) was worse than almost all other megadroughts in this region.
The researchers, who painstakingly reconstructed soil moisture records from 1,586 tree-ring chronologies to determine drought severity, found only one megadrought that occurred in the late 1500s was more intense.
Historical megadroughts, spanning vast regions and multiple decades, were triggered by natural fluctuations in tropical ocean conditions, such as La Niña, the cyclic cooling of waters in the tropical Pacific.
“The megadrought era seems to be reemerging, but for a different reason than the [past] megadroughts,” said Park Williams, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.
Although many areas in the West had a productive wet season in 2019 and some this year, “you can’t go anywhere in the West without having suffered drought on a millennial scale,” Williams said, noting that megadroughts contain relatively wet periods interspersed between parched years.
“I think the important lesson that comes out of this is that climate change is not a future problem,” said Benjamin I. Cook, a NASA climate scientist and co-author of the study. “Climate change is a problem today. The more we look, the more we find this event was worse because of climate change.”
The study is part scientific grunt work, involving sifting through drought records to find past instances of comparable conditions, and part sophisticated sleuthing that employs computer models to determine how climate change is altering the likelihood of an event like this one.
Cook said the researchers analyzed climate models for the region, which showed warming trends and changes in precipitation. They compared soil moisture with and without global warming-induced trends, “and we were able to determine that 30 to 50 percent of the current drought is attributable to climate change.” READ MORE
Black bears (Ursus americanus) are found throughout both the foothills and forests of Idaho. Between 20,000 and 30,000 black bears roam these wild lands. These bears share space with a human population that is expected to grow by more than 15 percent during the next 10 years. This means that human/bear encounters will continue and likely increase.
Every year, Idaho Fish and Game Department staff respond to dozens of calls from citizens reporting bears that have become become attracted to — and then accustomed to — human food sources such as garbage, bird seed, and pet food. Though the bears are just following their sensitive noses to high-calorie foods, being in constant contact with people can cause them to lose their natural wariness of humans. Bears intent on getting a good meal can cause harm to someone who gets in their way. For this reason, Fish and Game staff are regularly forced to euthanize some bears that have become too comfortable around people. That’s treating the symptom, not the cause of the problem.
Idaho’s mountain towns are a great place for humans, but why do bears like them so much?
Bears spend approximately one-third of the year in their den, sleeping through winter. To prepare for this, they spend most of their time during summer and fall fattening up by consuming as many calories as possible.
Contrary to popular belief, more than 90 percent of most black bear diets consist of vegetation: berries, nuts and plants. A bear’s keen nose can smell foods up to five miles away!
Video-1 Video-2
The battery-powered STIHL GTA 26 garden pruner is an innovative, versatile cutting tool for garden owners and will begin shipping in late 2019. The 10-centimeter guide bar and chain prunes small-diameter branches and cuts square and round timber. The tool is supplied with energy by a replaceable 10.8V rechargeable battery and is part of the new STIHL AS cordless system for private land and garden maintenance. This system also includes the new STIHL HSA 26 cordless shrub and grass shears which will be on the market in February 2020.
Video
Swedish Homestead
182K subscribers
We got our hands on Stihl’s smallest professional chainsaw, the MS201C. It is a light weight but yet powerful saw meant for smaller tasks like thinning young forests and cutting firewood. Here is what we though about it.
Check out our other reviews:
Stihl MS462: https://youtu.be/6XJSekItbUQ
Husqvarna 572XP: https://youtu.be/Ge-LQ-MLJ_k
READ the Whole Story: solar power for your trailer
This past summer… a group of high school students traveled from the Bronx, NY (a borough of New York City) to the back country of Idaho.
Can you imagine?
They were enrolled in a program called Catrock Ventures… and worked with the SBFC to clear 5 miles of trail, experience life in the wilderness, and learn Wilderness skills.
Click here to view a short video of their amazing journey!!
Catrock Venture’s mission is to reach, inspire, and empower low-income youth to become socially responsible change-makers.
Many of these kids have never been away from their neighborhoods in the Bronx… much less the state of New York.
The opportunity to experience some of the most wild places in America is truly a life-changing experience for them.
And we support their efforts…
We need our youth… all of them… to become stewards of our wild places. And help preserve wilderness areas for everyone to enjoy today… and far into the future.
I hope you enjoy the video.
All the best, Sally Selwaybitterroot.org
The 428,169-acre Bridger Wilderness is located along the Continental Divide on the west slope of the Wind River Range in Wyoming. It was designated a Primitive Area under Department of Agriculture Regulations in 1931, and later made part of the National Wilderness Preservation System with passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. In 1984, its original 392,169 acres were increased by 36,000 acres when the Wyoming Wilderness Act was signed into law. The Bridger Wilderness is administered by the Pinedale Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Topography
The intricately faulted Wind River Range is dominated by an igneous and metamorphic core. Enormous compressional forces in the earth thrust the block of granite into the air. The glaciation and erosion that followed carved the range, leaving 13,804 foot Gannet Peak the highest mountain in the Wilderness and in Wyoming.
Glacial action left cirques, kettles, U-shaped valleys, hanging troughs, 1,300 lakes, and left “erratics”, boulders strewn about the lowlands. The sedimentary rocks that once overlay the granitic core of the range have been stripped from the mountains by erosion. Remnants of the sedimentary rocks remain near Green River Lakes.
The Wind River Mountain Range has seven of the ten largest glaciers remaining in the contiguous United States. The Green River originates in the Bridger Wilderness. The Green River joins the Colorado after 1,500 miles and empties into the Gulf of California. The Green River drains most of the west side of the Wind River Range. The Sweetwater River drains the southern end of the range and flows into the Platte River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.
Access
US Highway 191, the major highway between Rock Springs and Jackson, Wyoming, lies west of the Wind River Range. Trailheads are reached via roads which are clearly signed at intersections with Highway 191. Both Jackson and Rock Springs have commercial air and bus lines. Pinedale has a paved, non-commercial public airstrip located about 6 miles south of town. Shuttle services between Jackson and Rock Springs, and trailheads, are available from local private businesses.
Trails
There are over 600 miles of trails in the Bridger Wilderness. Most well-used trails are cleared early in the season, but fallen trees may be encountered on secondary trails. Winter snows generally do not leave the high passes and highest trails until mid-July. Stream flows are high and swift during snowmelt runoff in June and July, and some stream crossings can be hazardous. Check at the Pinedale Ranger Station Office, or call them at 307-367-4326, before beginning your Wilderness trip. Books with detailed trail descriptions are available at local sporting good stores and bookstores.
MAP
bridger_wilderness_recreational_livestock_application
Over the summer a 25 year old cotton wood that I planted when we first bought our place in Sweet was looking very poorly, more dead than alive branches. In the fall after the leaves were gone, I gave it a very close look and made arrangements for an arborist to take a look and give me an estimate to remove it that was the right course of action. Sean McInerney of Boise Tree Service came out in November and agreed that the tree needed to come down before a good wind brought it down. We sent an appointment for after the holidays and on January 6, 2020 his crew arrived to perform the work.
The tree was ringed by other smaller trees that I wanted to keep and would need to come down in pieces in a controlled fashion. I was interest to see if they would bring a cherry picker or climb. 
When they were through, the only thing left was some saw dust, the stump was gone, the branches ground up, the larger pieces load in a trailer. I was very impressed with their sawyer skills and professionalism.
Tourniquet – Life saving equipment – hemorrhaging is the leading cause of preventable death in tactical and non-tactical trauma situations VIDEO
- Life saving equipment] – hemorrhaging is the leading cause of preventable death in tactical and non-tactical trauma situations
- Patent pending finger hole design for better grip in mud, blood
- No-curl tip – for the largest patients the no-curl tip resists pealing when matters most
- Apply a second tourniquet to stop difficult arterial bleeding
- New gen 3 us made kevlar stitching, aluminum windlass, aggressive teeth pinch buckle prevents strap pealing
QuikClot First Aid Advanced Clotting Sponge
- QuikClot stops bleeding 3 times faster than blood on its own
- Tested and proven in years of combat use by the U.S. military
- Pre-hydrated zeolite clotting agent does not contain botanicals or animal and human proteins
- Easily conforms to wounds; simply apply the sponge to the source of the bleeding and apply pressure
- The compact size allows you to add QuikClot to your medical supplies, glove box, or emergency kit
- VIDEO
ZipStitch Laceration Kit – Surgical Quality Wound Closure VIDEO
- WHEN YOU CAN’T STITCH IT, ZIP IT! This product contains the following: 1 ZipStitch device to close minor lacerations up to 1.5”, 1 alcohol wipe to clean the wound area, 1 gauze pad to help control bleeding and 1 bandage to cover and protect the closed wound, supplies for one wound. ZIPSTITCH is only 1.5″ so bring it along for that extra peace of mind in any situation where cuts may occur.
- IT’S EASY TO USE AND EFFECTIVE: The intuitive Zip closure allows you to close minor lacerations in seconds with no pain or puncturing of the skin and is proven to be 8X stronger and leave less scarring than stitches, specially-designed adhesive lasts for up to 7 days
Cleaning a Saddle with Ground in Dirt
Eye splice in double braid polyester rope
Click on each section to read the complete story 
https://www.stlukesonline.org/health-services/specialties/programs/air-st-lukes-membership
Air Reciprocal Programs
As of April 1st, 2018
Whether in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, western Montana, northern Nevada, or northern California, you may be covered if transported by a reciprocal partner, subject to the reciprocating program’s membership rules. Life Flight Network’s reciprocal partners include:
https://www.lifeflight.org/membership/
Air St. Luke’s – Back Country Horsemen of Idaho FAQ AIR-253 082418 Life Flight Application Form
It is that holiday time of year when the generous members of Back Country Horsemen – Squaw Butte Chapter donate food, funds and pet supplies to local organization in Gem county.
Food & Funds will be collected at the December monthly chapter meeting Thursday December 5th, and at the Holiday Pot-Luck Saturday December 7th.
2019 Food-Pet Drive Information
You are receiving this newsletter because you have an active Membership or have purchased a gift membership with Life Flight Network.
We know there are many reasons why you have purchased a membership and we thank you for this support. Membership not only protects you and your family members from ANY out-of-pocket expenses when transported by Life Flight Network or a reciprocal partner, it also contributes to the transport costs for patients for whom we receive little or no reimbursement. Your membership fees also support emergency medical services in your community. For instance, last year Life Flight Network provided over 300 education and safety trainings across the Northwest and Intermountain West for EMS, law enforcement, ski patrol, etc., and all was done free of charge. We want to ensure in your time of need, our EMS partners and Life Flight Network are coordinated. Together we are providing the timely and world-class care you deserve.
Are you ready for winter? Whether it’s time to stay in where it’s warm or get out in the great outdoors for some adventure, your decision to remain a member with Life Flight Network is a good one. We have you covered. Throughout 2019 we have continued to focus on the highest levels of Customer Service, Patient Care and Safety.
Life flight 2019 Fall Newsletter
Boise National Forest; 1249 S. Vinnell Way, Suite 200; Boise, Idaho 83709
(208) 373-4100 https://www.fs.usda.gov/boise
Contact: Linda Steinhaus Phone: (208) 373-4106
Boise and Payette National Forests begin Christmas tree permit sales Nov. 23
Boise, Idaho November 1, 2019 –The Boise and Payette National Forest (NF) vendors will begin selling Christmas tree permits Saturday, Nov. 23. On Monday, Nov. 25, permits will be available at Boise and Payette NF District Offices and the Interagency Visitor’s Information Center located at 1387 South Vinnell Way in Boise, 83709. All tree permits are valid to Dec. 25.
Each permit allows one tree to be cut, with a limit of three permits per family. For both Forests, the cost of a permit for one tree is $10. The maximum height of a permitted tree is 12 feet. Permits are valid on both the Payette and Boise NFs. Forest offices will provide information about where a Christmas tree may be harvested, restrictions and helpful tips. A Christmas tree permit is for personal use only and the use of permits for commercial use is prohibited. Permits are not refundable for any reason. Purchaser must be at least 18 years in age.
In coordination with the “Every Kid Outdoors” program, fourth-graders who are participating in the program can receive a free Christmas tree Permit. The U.S. Forest Service is among several federal agencies that support the Every Kid Outdoors initiative which is a nationwide call to action to build the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts. The initiative provides a free pass to all fourth-grade students by going to: https://everykidoutdoors.gov/
To receive a free Christmas tree permit, the fourth-grader and a parent must go to a Forest Service office in person with the “voucher” they received from the online website at: https://everykidoutdoors.gov/
Commercial vendors will not be issuing a free Christmas tree permit to participants of the Every Kid Outdoors program, and free Christmas tree permits cannot be sent through the mail or electronically.
Participation in the Every Kid Outdoors program also offers benefits at National Parks and on other public lands and facilities across the United States.
“Harvesting a Christmas tree is a fun adventure and often a traditional family event,” said Ruth Rieper, Boise NF Tree Coordinator. “Please review the Christmas tree brochure and map for optimal areas.”
If an unusually heavy snowfall occurs in southwest Idaho, and forest roads become a safety concern for the public, some areas may be closed early to Christmas tree gathering. Forest roads are not plowed. Call ahead and check websites for road conditions before heading out. Please do not block private or county roadways at any time. For further information call the Boise NF at: 208-373-4007 and check out our website for updates and closures at:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/
To provide for family safety, officials advise a few simple guidelines:
- Use the brochure with instructions provided.
- Practice winter survival and driving techniques.
- Bring the right tools, such as a saw and a shovel, so the tree can be cut to within 6” of the ground’s surface.
- Take along emergency equipment, plenty of food and water, and try to use a 4-wheel drive vehicle if you are planning to travel in snow country.
- Always inform neighbors and family friends of the route you intend to take, include a map of your destination, and the time that you plan to be gone.
- Be prepared for the possibility of a long hike or snowmobile ride while searching for the perfect tree.
- According to Idaho state law, any vehicle carrying a load that extends more than 4 feet past the tailgate, must display a red or florescent orange flag tied on the end of the load to caution other drivers.
The Idaho City Ranger District 208-392-6681
3833 Highway 21; Idaho City, ID Hours: M-F 8 a.m. – 4:30p.m
Idaho City may or may not be open on weekends. Please call ahead.
Lowman Ranger District 208-259-3361
7359 Highway 21; Lowman, ID 83637
Hours: M-F 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Emmett Ranger District 208-365-7000
1857 Highway 16, Suite A; Emmett, ID 83617
Hours: M-F 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Cascade Ranger District 208-382-7400
540 North Main Street; Cascade, ID 83611
Hours: M-F 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Mountain Home Ranger District 208-587-7961
3080 Industrial Way; Mountain Home, ID 83647
Hours: M-F 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Squaw Butte Signs
615 S. Washington Ave
Emmett, ID 83617
208-365-2285
They have this Squaw Butte Pattern. These are going on my Truck Doors.
Filmed in cooperation with the Bridger-Teton National Forest, this video goes over ethical practices
This video goes over ethical practices for low-impact recreating on backcountry public lands. When your enjoying your forests, remember whatever you pack in, you need to pack out. Leave nothing but your footprints. Camp at least 200 feet from lakes, rivers and streams to protect the watersheds. Try to avoid having campfires at all, but if you do have a campfire make sure you have cleared fuels down to mineral soil and when you leave, make sure it is dead out and cool to the touch. If you use rocks to make a fire ring make sure to dismantle the ring. Hang your food in bear country at 100 yards from your camp, at least 10 feet off the ground and 4 feet from any horizontal structures. Leave your forest cleaner than you found it. PLAY VIDEO