Talking Points

IDL in partnership with two Timber Protection Associations and with the support of rural volunteer fire departments and other partners, are responsible for fire suppression and prevention on 6.3 million acres of state and private forests and rangelands in Idaho.

Alerts are typically issued for fires on land we protect that are larger than 10 acres, threaten structures, or are managed by an Incident Management Team.

Please encourage Idahoans to sign up to receive Wildfire Alerts by text messaging or email by visiting www.idl.idaho.gov/alerts.

The nationwide shortage of qualified wildland fire engine bosses poses significant impacts for Idaho. Many of IDL’s supervisory areas seek to hire experienced, seasonal wildland firefighters who can lead wildland fire engine crews. If you know someone who may be interested in the job, please encourage them to apply by visiting our seasonal jobs webpage.

Background Information

• Each engine boss leads a single fire engine and attached personnel and is responsible for the crew’s safety on wildland and prescribed fire incidents.
• Without sufficient engine bosses, IDL cannot hire and deploy entry level firefighters.
• The shortage of engine bosses and other fire personnel puts Idaho’s valuable natural resources at risk and poses threats to people who live in the wildland urban fire interface. 

Compensation Details

• IDL has taken significant steps to improve firefighter recruitment and retention.
• IDL’s entry-level wildland firefighters will now start at $15 per hour thanks to the Land Board, Governor Little and the Legislature.
• The Legislature approved and Governor Little signed into law our Hazard Pay legislation, which in now effective.
• Work is underway to implement our new paid R&R policy.
• IDL’s engine bosses start at $18 per hour and are classified as seasonal positions that work up to 8 months of the year.
• Seasonal engine bosses receive benefits including health, vision and dental insurance, PERSI retirement, optional PERSI Choice 401k, life and disability insurance, paid sick and annual leave, and 6 paid holidays.

Qualifications

• To be hired as an engine boss, applicants must meet National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) requirements.
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IDL manages 2.5 million acres of endowment land to generate revenue for public schools and other other beneficiaries. House Bill 468 seeks to prevent recreational damage to endowment land by providing IDL better tools to hold those few who damage endowment land accountable.

• Download the the HB468 Information Packet
• Read the text of the bill
• Visit the bill’s webpage on the Legislature’s site

Current Situation

• Most people, especially organized groups, recreate responsibly.
• Only a few bad actors destroy valuable trees, cut locks on gates and damage resources that cost $$ to repair.
• Through registration fees recreationists paid $159,798 in 2021 to improve access and mitigate damage.
• Unfortunately, 40% of user fee funding was spent repairing damage caused by irresponsible people.
• Criminal trespass, a felony or misdemeanor, is currently the only tool to stop the damage.
• HB248 creates a reasonable alternative, an infraction and fine to encourage better behavior.

• Idaho’s constitution requires the land to be managed for generating the maximum long-term financial return.
• All non-revenue generating uses are incidental, including public recreation.
• If recreation damages endowment land, the land may be closed to the public.
• IDL’s goal is to keep land open for public recreation, but we need more effective tools like HB468.

Benefits of HB468

• Allows for an infraction and $250 fine, a more reasonable alternative than a felony or misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge.
• Deters those who would damage endowment land by creating a law that is fair, protects due process and is enforceable.
• Targets enforcement to the places where it is truly needed by requiring informative signage, and providing information online and at IDL’s 14 offices.
• Allows more user registration fee money to be spent on creating recreation opportunities instead of mitigating damage.

The State of Idaho’s budgeting process uses decision units to represent an agency’s request to either add new program elements, expand the scope of existing services, respond to changing circumstances, or meet demographic increases in service populations not allowed under Nondiscretionary Adjustments. 

Here are IDL’s FY2023 decision unit requests:

1.    Engine Boss Positions

The department will fill 10 Engine Boss positions at .83 FTP with Incident Commander Type 4 (ICT4) qualifications. The ICT4 develops strategies and oversees the implementation of tactics while providing for safety on the incident.

• $545,400 and 8.3 FTP
• All General Fund
• All Ongoing Appropriation

2. Fire Business System

The department will implement the Gold’s FBS (Fire Business System) that is integrated with IRWIN (Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information) and our GIS (Geographic Information System) system. The FBS automates the tracking of incident costs by ownership and reduces issues with data entry accuracy and time delays in billing.

• $1,013,000
• All Dedicated Fund
• Mostly One Time Appropriation

3. Technical Records Specialist 2

The department requested this position to support the FBS and to serve as the primary administrator and trainer for the system.

The Governor does not recommend this enhancement at this time and the department will utilize a seasonal position to fill the need.

• $60,300 and 1.0 FTP
• All General Fund
• Mostly Ongoing Appropriation

4. Seasonal Firefighters & Pay Increase

The department will implement pay adjustments to seasonal firefighters to a minimum of $15.00 per hour to be more competitive with the federal service and other states with whom we compete for seasonal staff.

The funding will also provide for an additional 10 seasonal firefighters total for the Teakean Crew (based in Deary, ID) and the Coeur d’Alene Helitack Crew.

• $500,000
• All General Fund
• All Ongoing Appropriation

5. Fire Management Officers

The department will hire 3 FMOs (Fire Management Officer) (general fund) in the Fire Bureau to provide communication, coordination and planning with fire districts, dispatch centers, RFPAs (Rangeland Fire Protection Association), and and logging contractors. In addition to supervising the interagency dispatch centers, the FMOs would be qualified to serve as incident commanders on type 3 fires (ICT3). During the off-season, the FMOs will work with local districts to implement hazardous fuels reduction projects and training for RFPAs and logging contractors. The request also includes three trucks to be purchased with WERF (Wildfire Equipment Replacement Fund) dedicated funds.

• $419,000 and 3.0 FTP
• $305,000 General Fund (mostly Ongoing)
• $114,000 WERF Dedicated Fund (One Time)

6. Reestablish Cottonwood District (Eastern ID)

The department requested this enhancement to reestablish a fire protection district that was discontinued in the early 1980s. There is an increasing need to reestablish this district to better meet the needs of the population in eastern Idaho and to work cooperatively with federal and local partners in the area.

The Governor does not recommend this enhancement at this time and the department will continue to carefully monitor the need and strategize protection solutions in the Eastern Supervisory Area.

• 984,500 and 7.81 FTP
• $749,500 General Fund (mostly Ongoing)
• $235,000 WERF Dedicated Fund (One Time)

7. North Idaho Booster Crew

The department will hire 6 seasonal firefighters to create a booster crew in northern Idaho. The crew would be mobile and could be deployed to other areas of the state, as needed. Longer, more intense fire seasons as well as a national shortage of firefighting personnel creates a situation where federal resources may not be available for dispatch in Idaho when needed. We must be more self-sufficient by planning to boost local fire resources in areas that are experiencing a high fire load.

• $80,000
• All General Fund
• All Ongoing Appropriation

8. Fire Equipment

The department will purchase three vehicles including a Type 5 Engine for fire districts in Northern Idaho, a ½ ton pickup for the Deputy Fire Chief in Boise, and a UTV (utility terrain vehicle) to replace a military surplus UTV that has reached end of life.

• $164,000
• All Dedicated Fund
• All One Time Appropriation

9. Drone Equipment

The department requested 1 large drone, 4 small drones, computer equipment to support the drones and a ½ ton pickup truck equipped with the necessary platforms and technology to support the drone operations. Drones are used during initial attack on fire incidents which is quick and safe. The use of drones also reduces the need for manned aircraft saving the general fund.

The Governor recommends $95,600 for this decision unit decreasing the number of small drones to two.

• $105,600
• All Dedicated Fund
• All One Time Appropriation

10. Forest Legacy Program Specialist PT to FT

The department will convert a Part Time (0.67 FTP) Lands Program Specialist in the Forest Legacy Program into a Full Time (1.0 FTP). The department is requesting the 0.33 FTP only since the additional salary is covered by federal funding in the base budget. Workload for the department has increased as the number of conservation easements has grown. The department has an ongoing requirement to monitor each easement into perpetuity.

• 33 FTP only
• All Ongoing Appropriation

11. IT Licensing

The department is requesting more operating expense to cover software vendor price increases, added services, and an increase in the number of licenses required.

• $105,100
• All Dedicated Fund
• All Ongoing Appropriation

12. Trust Land Equipment

Timber Measurement Specialists (aka “scalers”) currently utilize their own private vehicles which has led to reliability issues and has disrupted work activities. The request is for 3 small SUVs to provide transportation to the log yards. The request also includes 2 half-ton pickups for Technical Services and ROW (right of way) specialists. Finally, a request for a drone with an operating tablet to be used for Technical Services projects.

• $173,800
• All Dedicated Fund
• All One Time Appropriation

13. GNA Equipment

The department requests a ½ ton pickup, two ATVs with track systems and trailers and two relascopes for GNA (Good Neighbor Authority) field work.

• $75,100
• All Dedicated Fund
• All One Time Appropriation

The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides Idaho with approximately $2.65 billion in short-term federal funding to help with one-time projects at the state and local level. Of the amount Idaho will receive, IDL is requesting:

1. Wildfire Reduction

$2,000,000 in Federal Funds for wildfire risk reduction projects and wildfire defense activities. Funding would be sub granted to counties, conservation districts, and other fire prevention organizations to plan and implement active forest management and risk mitigation projects.

2. Fire Assistance

$1,000,000 in Federal Funds to be sub granted to community firefighting districts who would apply for up to 90% reimbursement for setting up new fire departments, training, PPE and other equipment.

3. Abandoned Mines

$7,000,000 from for remediation projects on abandoned mines throughout the state. The department anticipates $1,000,000 for plugging of mine shafts at 22 AML sites and $6,000,000 for work at Triumph Mine.

• IDL’s FY2021 Annual Report is available on our website from the About IDL page (from the main menu, About > About IDL).
• The annual report is being printed and copies will be provided to all IDL offices.
• Our employees met Idaho’s constitutional mandate to maximize endowment land revenue with a record $84.5 million distributed to endowment beneficiaries.
• IDL planted about 2 million seedlings, harvested 302 million board feet of timber, provided 2,160 forest practice notifications and 1,278 inspections.
• Our team surveyed 951,786 acres for gypsy moth infestation and another 95,838 acres for Douglas-fir tussock moth.
• IDL provided 1,512 private landowners forestry training in 56 sessions.
• The agency acquired 73 miles of road easements which increases the financial productivity of isolated parcels of endowment land.
• We managed 2,150 leases that generated $7.3 million for the beneficiaries; 1,112 of these leases allowed ranchers to graze 260,239 AUMs on endowment rangeland. 
• IDL issued 542 encroachment permits on public trust land, bringing the statewide total 10,578.

• Here’s a direct link to the annual report on our website.

• The Governor will present a giant check to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Capital High School students of the Capital Singers, representing the money distributed to Idaho’s public schools this school year.
• The FY22 distribution to public schools is $54,798,000, more than $2 million than the previous year.
• The money distributed to public schools replaces tax dollars that would have been spent.
• Total distributions to all beneficiaries in FY22 total $88,076,500, with 62% going to the public school beneficiaries.
• The distributions are the result in increased land revenue combined with revenue from investments.
• The Land Board has approved an increase in distributions for FY23, with a 12% increase for public schools and an overall increase of 14%.
• Here’s a link to a table showing the distributions by beneficiary.