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The Idaho Department of Lands' Priest Lake Supervisory Area office is one of seven regional offices serving northern Idaho. For more information visit our Supervisory Area Offices web page.
PRIEST LAKE SUPERVISORY AREA (COOLIN) — UPDATES
No listing at this time.
The Priest Lake Supervisory Area Office is located at 4053 Cavanaugh Bay Road, Coolin, Idaho 83821, phone (208) 443-2516, fax (208) 443-2162.
About Our Office
The Priest Lake Supervisory Area is responsible for the management of 184,858 acres. Ninety-eight percent of this acreage is public school endowment land. Our annual cut is 16 million board feet per year. Reforestation (planting) averages approximately 500 acres per year, site preparation averages approximately 400 acres per year and pre-commercial thinning averages approximately 500 acres per year.
The Priest Lake Supervisory Area is responsible for 194,000 acres of fire protection with the Selkirk Crest as the eastern boundary, and Priest Lake and Priest River as the western boundary. Our Area prescribe burns an average of sixteen blocks per year for about 350 acres treated. We also burn slash piles from approximately 200 acres each year.
Meet Our Area Staff
MICK SCHANILEC — email: mschanilec@idl.idaho.gov — has been the Area Manager at the Priest Lake office since July 2002. He oversees all Area operations. Mick graduated from the University of Montana in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forest Management. His other experience at Priest Lake includes: Seasonal timber crew (3 years), Leaselot/Navigable Waters Resource Manager (3 years), Forest Resource Manager (11 years) and Resource Supervisor-Forestry (1 year).
Listed alphabetically by last name ...
JASON BETZ — email: jbetz@idl.idaho.gov — is a Senior Resource Specialist (Assistant Fire Warden) for the Priest Lake Area. Jason started working for the Priest Lake office in 1995 as part of the timber crew. He received his education in Natural Resource Management at Spokane Community College and Timber Harvest Resources at the University of Idaho.
DAN BROWN — email: dbrown@idl.idaho.gov — is a Resource Supervisor (Fire Warden) for the Priest Lake Area. Dan is responsible for all phases of fire and hazard management. This includes conserving and protecting private, state and federal forest lands by preventing and/or suppressing all unwanted fires in the area. He is also responsible for using fire as a management tool to enhance state endowment lands and to help local communities better cope with wildfire through various wildfire prevention programs.
NATHAN COOK — email: ncook@idl.idaho.gov — is a Senior Resource Specialist-Forestry and manages the north unit including the Trapper Creek drainage on our area. His responsibilities include timber management, sale administration, road projects, thinnings and plantings. Nathan is a graduate of the University of Montana with a Bachelor of Science in Resource Management, emphasis forestry. Nathan has been at the Priest Lake Office since January of 2002. He had previously worked for Idaho Department of Lands in St. Maries as a seasonal employee from 1998 to 2002.
RON DURHAM — email: rdurham@idl.idaho.gov — is a Lands Resource Supervisor-Forestry and is responsible for the oversight of all forest management activities on the area. Ron has been with the department since June 2004. Prior to his current position Ron spent 27 years on the southern Oregon coast with private industry.
ROBERT FUNK — email: rfunk@idl.idaho.gov — is a Senior Resource Specialist-Forestry and manages the North Fork and Middle Fork of the East River drainages. Robert is a graduate of the University of Montana.
KEITH HERRINGTON — email: kherrington@idl.idaho.gov — is the area Mechanic and is responsible for maintaining a fleet of vehicles, equipment and machinery.
NICOLE LEE — email: nlee@idl.idaho.gov — Administrative Assistant
JIM NOLEN — email: jnolen@idl.idaho.gov — is a Senior Resource Specialist-Forestry and manages the area from the Indian Creek drainage to the Lion Creek drainage. He is also responsible for assisting with fire suppression activities in the Priest Lake Area. Jim graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Management. He previously worked with the Georgia Forestry Commission as a forester from 1985 - 1989. Jim started working with IDL in 1989 as an Assistant Fire Warden at the Craigmont Fire Protection District, transferred to the IDL Kamiah office in 1990 as a Resource Manager-Timber and began working with the Priest Lake IDL office in 1991 as a Resource Manager Senior.
CARL RITCHIE — email: critchie@idl.idaho.gov — is a Senior Resource Specialist-Lands Coordinator/Navigable Waters at Priest Lake. Carl has degrees in Archaeology and Soils after attending California State University, Fresno and the University of Idaho. Past work has dealt with archaeological contracts for the Bureau of Land Management, Army Corp of Engineers, United State Forest Service, petroleum and utility companies in California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana and Idaho. Employed by the Forest Service, Wallace/Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District from 1977-2006 in heritage resources, soils, minerals and special uses. Began working for the Department of Lands in 2006 managing the Area’s cottage lease program, navigable waters (docks) and miscellaneous land leases. Collateral duties for project/incident management concerning aerial ignition and air support management.
ED WINGERT — email: ewingert@idl.idaho.gov — is a Senior Resource Specialist-Forestry and manages approximately 35,000 acres on the east side of Priest Lake from Camels Prairie to the north side of the Indian Creek drainage. Ed is a graduate of Spokane Community College and the University of Idaho with a degree in Forestry from both and has been with the Priest Lake office since 1989.
KEITH ZALEWSKI — email: kzalewski@idl.idaho.gov — is a Senior Resource Specialist-Forestry and manages Lost Creek, Soldier Creek, Fenton Creek, Cougar Creek drainages in addition to Jack Pine Flats. Keith graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in Forest Resources and has worked at the Priest Lake office since 2000. He started as a seasonal forester and was hired as a permanent Resource Specialist in 2002.
