Stewardship panel sets Dec. 3 meeting

The first meeting of Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s Shared Stewardship Advisory Committee is set for Dec. 3 in Coeur d’Alene. The meeting will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Idaho Department of Lands office, 3284 Industrial Loop.

Little will provide introductory remarks at the meeting. In October, Little announced the members of the broad-based group he created to advise the implementation of Shared Stewardship in Idaho, an initiative that aims to reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health, and support jobs through additional, coordinated active land management projects.

Among those on the committee are Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, Tom Schultz of Idaho Forest Group, and Boundary County Commissioner Dan Dinning.

Part of the Shared Stewardship goal is to double the number of acres treated on federal forests in Idaho by 2025. Using mechanical treatments, commercial forest restoration treatments, and prescribed fire, partners will focus treatments on the 6.1 million acres that have been federally designated for insect and disease infestation.

In July, Little announced the identification of two large-scale project areas ­— one in northern Idaho and one in southern Idaho.

— where federal, state, and private land management activities will align to reduce wildfire risk to communities, create and sustain jobs, and improve the health of Idaho’s forests and watersheds.

Governor-elect Little and federal officials signed the Shared Stewardship agreement in December 2018. The Shared Stewardship initiative builds on the success of the State of Idaho’s four-year-old Good Neighbor Authority program in which the IDL shares in implementing land management projects on national forests.