President Trump issues new Executive Order: Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production Policy Paper: Enhancing Wildfire Response and Forest Management Through Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) By Viki Purdy County Commissioner of Adams County Abstract Wildfires have become an increasingly severe and costly issue in Idaho, with nearly one million acres of federal land burned […]
CASCADE, IDAHO — Today, U.S. Congressman Russ Fulcher held a roundtable with officials from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), local county commissioners, and key stakeholders. The discussion focused on addressing the financial toll of Idaho’s devastating 2024 wildfire season, the importance of wildfire […]
Dear Friends, This past Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would not hear a Utah public lands lawsuit filed in August of 2024 to move undesignated Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands to individual state control. This decision was made without consideration of the constitutional merits of the case. I filed an amicus brief […]
We have previously commented on the tragedy of the California fires. Prayers and calls for God’s many graces and mercies on the families and homeowners continue. Tragedies and natural disasters have been part of the human experience since the beginning of time. We can’t stop these events. We can mitigate and prepare to minimize the […]
Our hearts and prayers go out to the citizens of LA County. They also go out daily to everyday people, who through actions or no actions on their part, find themselves and their loved ones separated temporarily from each other. Famine, destruction, petulance and death have forever been part of the human condition dating back […]
We would like to thank all of our readers for their patronage of the Gem State News Letter. We are about to venture into a new arena that will bring our readers more content. We have already done several Podcasts and would like to know what our readers think about them. Our first interview is […]
Greeting, Senators Crapo and Risch; Representatives Simpson and Fulcher; Governor Little; Lt. Governor McGeachin and the Idaho State Legislature: OUR FORESTS ARE DYING! SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO STOP THE PINE BEETLES. Please work to restore DDT to stop the death of our precious forests. DDT was used very safely to control Pine Beetles. Poor […]
I am writing this article to provide Idaho citizens with information that will help them hold the Forest Service accountable to properly manage forest resources. My perspective is based on 31 years residence in Lemhi County, Idaho, which is over 90% federally managed land (Salmon-Challis National Forest and Salmon Field Office BLM). I am grateful […]
I would like to address Oregon Governor Brown’s order to arrest republican senators who have boycotted a vote on climate change funding. Here you have a governor who is worried about the carbon footprint from truckers and other carbon emitters when Oregon, like most western states, has more smoke emitted into the air with just […]
I’m much obliged to the USFS for their accurate and compelling description of those local residents who attended a USFS sponsored meeting held in Salmon, Idaho last Spring to discuss the Salmon-Challis Draft Assessment for a new Forest Plan as “Angry Villagers”. The mediator for the forum, without hesitation or forethought of consequence, summed up […]
Stone Fire sets standard for treatment and resiliency — Published with Permission of HeraldandNews.com — By any measurement 2018 was a very difficult fire season for the Western United States. People died, entire communities were tragically lost, millions of acres burned, and billions of dollars were spent in fire suppression activities. The Stone Fire, which […]
There is no doubt that interests have long planned to control the federally managed lands of Idaho. Many have scoffed at the idea that World Government and its brainchild Agenda 21 could make its way all the way here. This conspiracy aimed to separate people from their traditional ways of life and herd them to urban centers […]