Outreach Notes
Idaho’s Disappearing Farmland
The Working Lands Coalition and The Land Trust for the Treasure Valley collaborated on a session, Idaho’s Disappearing Farm Land, at the American Planning Association conference in Boise. Over 30 planners from around the state attended the October conference.
The Coalition initiated the session with a presentation about working lands in Idaho; the pressure from [...]
Coalition for Agriculture’s Future
The Coalition for Agriculture’s Future, a non-profit located in Canyon County, hosted a meeting in March with a presentation by Don Stuart, Pacific Northwest Program Director for the American Farmland Trust (AFT) . Mr Stuart provided an overview of the Trust’s work with landowners to retain working farms. AFT staff have conducted research and published reports that forecast potential conversion of [...]
Gem County Commissioners’ State of the County Address
While growth and development is rapidly transforming much of Idaho’s landscape and rural culture, some Idaho communities suffer from the opposite: a lack of development and stagnating economies. After attending the Gem County Commissioner’s State of the County Address, I learned that Gem County is one such area that desires additional growth.
The Commissioners listed business [...]
Idaho Association of Soil Conservation Districts Annual Meeting
The Idaho Association of Soil Conservation Districtsheld their annual conference at the Coeur d’ Alene Resort in Coeur d’ Alene on November 15th-19th. The Working Lands Coalition presented to IASCD representatives from around the state during two Standing Committee Meetings; Natural Resource and Drylands, respectively.
Farmers and ranchers formed a significant portion of each audience. Three concerns [...]
Idaho Cattle Association Annual Meeting – Notes
Idaho Fish & Game
The annual meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho included a discussion of the status of the sage grouse, and protection for landowners managing habitat for the species. The members approved a resolution supporting the process for CCAA - Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances. This type of agreement protects a rancher who voluntarily enters [...]
Woolgrower’s Association Annual Meeting – Notes
This is the time of the year when many agricultural groups hold their annual meetings. The Idaho Woolgrowers Association and the Rocky Mountain Sheep Marketing Association held their annual meetings at Sun Valley, November 7-9.
One of the speakers, Saturday morning, talked at some length about the importance of keeping private lands with high development value [...]
Northern Idaho Tour for Legislators
Last week the North Idaho Chamber of Commerce hosted more than 80 newly-elected (and re-elected legislators) during its biennial tour of northern Idaho. Among the stops were Bennett Lumber Product’s mill in Princeton and a demonstration of selective timber harvest on Potlatch Corporation lands. Legislators learned of the economic pressures facing these forest product companies [...]
