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News / Northwest

Federal-state program to tackle Idaho forest projects

By KEITH RIDLER, Associated Press
Published: July 2, 2019, 9:34pm

BOISE, Idaho — State and federal officials have identified 6,700 square miles in Idaho to test a plan that allows state participation in federal timber sales to pay for restoration work on private, state and federal lands.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Monday announced that the U.S. Forest Service and state officials had identified landscape-scale projects in northern and west-central Idaho as part of a federal-state agreement called Shared Stewardship.

The agreement is intended to improve forest health and decrease the risk of disease and catastrophic fires.

“Idaho continues to pioneer new, collaborative efforts to protect our citizens and communities from wildfire,” Little said in a statement. “Working with our federal partners, private landowners, and many others, the state of Idaho will test this latest innovative approach, so we can make a meaningful difference in the health of our lands and water.”

Little also announced he’s appointing a 13-member advisory group comprised of federal, state and local officials as well as logging and environmental groups to implement the agreement.

Idaho signed the agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture late last year. Utah signed a shared stewardship agreement with the federal government in May, and other states have been moving in that direction.

Idaho is at the forefront of shared stewardship efforts, and the efforts announced Monday could become templates for other states.

The area in northern Idaho includes parts of Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai and Shoshone counties. It includes areas where communities are considered to be at higher risk of wildfires.

The area in west-central Idaho includes parts of Adams, Washington, Valley and Idaho counties and covers small communities and where rangelands transition into forests.

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