TITLE 38

FORESTRY, FOREST PRODUCTS AND STUMPAGE DISTRICTS

CHAPTER 17

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL FORESTS

38-1703.  duties — authority. To implement the policy of section 38-1702, Idaho Code, the Idaho department of lands:

(1)  Shall support sustainable forest management practices, including forest restoration, on national forests in Idaho consistent with all applicable laws and administrative requirements;

(2)  Shall provide technical information and educational assistance to nonindustrial private forest landowners;

(3)  Shall promote forest management activities within and adjacent to the wildland-urban interface and promote the implementation of community wildfire protection plans;

(4)  Shall promote a viable forest and wood products industry and other businesses and individual activities that rely on public forest lands;

(5)  Shall represent the state’s interest in the federal forest management planning and policy process, including establishing cooperative agency status and coordination with federal agencies;

(6)  Shall actively participate in the good neighbor authority policy that allows the secretary of the interior or the secretary of agriculture to enter into a cooperative agreement or contract that authorizes the governor to provide watershed restoration and protection services on federal land. Watershed restoration and protection services included in the good neighbor policy shall include the authority to:

(a)  Treat insect-infested trees;

(b)  Reduce hazardous fuels; and

(c)  Conduct any other activities to restore or improve forest, rangeland, and watershed health, including fish and wildlife habitat.

(7)  May assist local governmental entities in establishing cooperative agency status and coordination with federal agencies;

(8)  Has the authority to intervene in litigation or appeals on federal forest management projects; and

(9)  Has the authority to enter into agreements with federal agencies to participate in forest management activities on federal lands.

History:

[38-1703, added 2024, ch. 243, sec. 1, p. 864.]