Dixon picked for advisory committee

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County legislator is among those tapped by Idaho Gov. Brad Little to serve on a broad-based group created to advise him on implementation of Shared Stewardship in the state.

Shared Stewardship is an initiative that aims to reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health, and support jobs through additional, coordinated active land management projects.

“The protection of our rural communities and the health of our forests are critical issues that go beyond just one government agency or interest,” Governor Little said. “These individuals are leaders in forest management and policy, and I appreciate them stepping up to ensure we consider all aspects to effectively implement Shared Stewardship in Idaho.”

Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, will represent the Idaho House of Representatives on the board. Dixon, who represents District 1 in the Idaho House of Representatives, said he was honored to have been asked to serve on the Shared Stewardship Advisory Committee.

“My hope is that we will continue to find ways to work with the federal government to reduce the risk of wildfires, promote viable local economies, and increase forest health,” Dixon said in an email to the Daily Bee.

Also named to the board were: Brian Wonderlich, who will represent the governor’s office; Idaho Senate, Sen. Steve Vick; county commissioner, Boundary County Commissioner Dan Dinning; large forest manufacturing representative, Tom Schultz, Idaho Forest Group; small forest manufacturing representative, Brett Bennett, Bennett Lumber; industrial forest landowner representative, Anna Torma, PotlatchDeltic; Logger representative, Tim Christopherson, Associated Logging Contractors; family forest landowner representative, David Easley, Idaho Forest Owners Association president; Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership representative, Rick Tholen, Payette Forest Coalition; conservation (non-governmental organization) representative, Kurt Dyroff, National Wild Turkey Federation; conservation (non-governmental organization) representative, John Robison, Idaho Conservation League; Idaho Lands Resource Coordinating Council representative, Knute Sandahl, State Fire Marshal

Idaho Department of Lands, director Dustin Miller and Peg Polichio; U.S. Forest Service Northern Region 1, Tim Garcia; U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Region 4, David Rosenkrance; and Natural Resources Conservation Service, Curtis Elke, state conservationist. A tribal representative will be named in the near future, officials said.

State officials said that 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 of 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.