Federal-state program to tackle Idaho forest projects

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Idaho and federal officials have identified some 4.3 million acres to test a plan that allows state participation in federal timber sales to pay for restoration work on private, state, and federal lands.

Idaho Governor Brad Little on Monday announced that the U.S. Forest Service and Idaho Department of Lands had identified landscape-scale projects in northern and southern Idaho as part of a federal-state agreement called Shared Stewardship. Little says federal, state, and private land management activities will align to reduce wildfire risk to communities, create and sustain jobs, and improve the health of forests and watersheds.

The northern Idaho priority landscape encompasses about 2 million acres across Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai, and Shoshone counties, while the southern project includes 2.3 million acres in Adams, Washington, Valley, and Idaho counties. Idaho signed the agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture late last year, and Little set a July 1st deadline to find shared stewardship activities that could ultimately become templates for other states.

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. (AP, Idaho Gov. Brad Little)

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