Lands department raises budget request

The cost of running the Idaho Department of Lands fire program is increasing overall due to inflation.

The increase to fire suppression spending is part of the department’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, which is up 4.7% in total over the previous year. Department Director Dustin Miller presented the agency’s budget request Tuesday morning at the State Board of Land Commissioners meeting.

The agency submitted the request to the Division of Financial Management on Sept. 1 along with all other state agencies; the governor’s office will later decide on what requests to include in Gov. Brad Little’s proposed budget for the legislative session, which starts in January.

The board unanimously approved the department of lands’ approximately $90.3 million request without discussion Tuesday.

The request includes $11.1 million of state general funds, which is a 6.4% increase over last year’s appropriation.

Some of the changes include changes previously approved by the board, such as an increase of $250,000 in ongoing operating funds to adjust for inflation.

Expenses in fiscal year 2022 were up 34% over fiscal year 2020, according to the budget request. The added funding will allow the agency to send employees to interagency training opportunities, “ensure vehicle maintenance is completed on a timely basis,” and ensure that the agency can perform work as “expected by the citizens of Idaho and the wildland fire community,” the request said.

The Forest Range Fire Protection unit of the department is requesting a total of $16.8 million for the next fiscal year.

As of Sept. 14, the state spent an estimated $16.9 million on fire suppression; around $2.3 million of that is reimbursable. More than 84,200 acres of have burned in the state so far.

For the department’s timber operations, it’s also requesting $506,600 in one-time funds for tree seedling coolers. The money would go toward two cooler buildings located at field offices in Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene.

The seedlings are used to reforest endowment lands after timber harvests.

The request includes adding four employees and bringing up part-time employees to full-time. There’s also a proposed consolidation of the agency’s IT department with the state’s Information Technology Services — this would involve the transfer of 14 employees.

The agency’s budget for the next fiscal year will be set and approved by the Legislature.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.