Idaho governor signs 'Make Forests Healthy Again Act' in Coeur d'Alene

Coeur d'Alene Press ^ | April 23, 2025 | Hailey Hill

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Governor Brad Little signed an executive order that aims to ramp up timber harvests during a visit to Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday.

Titled the “Make Forests Healthy Again Act,” the executive order directs the Idaho Department of Lands to expand on its partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to reduce wildfire risk in Idaho’s federally managed forest lands.

Active management activities include “increasing timber harvest, restoring watersheds to support the industry, protecting communities, and making our forests healthier, more resilient and resistant to catastrophic wildfire,” said IDL director Dustin Miller.

Sixty percent of Idaho’s land is owned and managed by the federal government, Miller added.

Little’s executive order follows the Trump administration’s “Freeing Our Forests Act,” which calls for increased management of federal forests through timber harvests, mechanical thinning, forest health projects, prescribed burns, fuel breaks and “aggressive yet safe” initial attack during peak wildfire season.

“For too long, millions of acres of national forests in Idaho have remained totally untouched, creating a tinderbox of fuel that threatens communities, air quality and the environment,” Little said. “The state of Idaho has led the country in setting up programs to help our federal partners increase the pace and scale of active management on federal ground. The work we’ve done is making a difference.”

The order also builds on Idaho’s Good Neighbor Authority and Shared Stewardship programs, which enable the Forest Service to partner with IDL "to achieve restoration and resilient landscape objectives across ownership boundaries through cooperative agreements."

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Chris Way said that such partnerships are vital to local wildfire response. He pointed to the swift response to the Parkway Fire in 2023 that came within 70 feet of a large subdivision.

“We could not do this without our partnerships,” Way said.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

It is really nice to hear some good news about western forest management under Republican leadership!

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Here's a little-known US forest fire fact: the biggest forest fire in US history occurred in 1910 mainly in Idaho and Montana. We sure don't want a repeat of that disaster. President Trump's and Governor Little's leadership is most welcome, especially after the cold indifference of Biden and his miserable crew of anti-Americans. From Wiki -->

The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup, the Big Burn, or the Devil's Broom fire) was a wildfire in the Inland Northwest region of the United States that in the summer of 1910 burned three million acres (4,700 square miles, approximately the size of Connecticut) in North Idaho and Western Montana, with extensions into Eastern Washington and Southeast British Columbia. The area burned included large parts of the Bitterroot, Cabinet, Clearwater, Coeur d'Alene, Flathead, Kaniksu, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark, Lolo, and St. Joe national forests. The fire burned over two days on the weekend of August 20–21, after strong winds caused numerous smaller fires to combine into a firestorm of unprecedented size. It killed 87 people, mostly firefighters, destroyed numerous manmade structures, including several entire towns, and burned more than three million acres of forest with an estimated billion dollars' worth of timber lost. While the exact cause of the fire is often debated, according to various U.S. Forest Service sources, the primary cause of the Big Burn was a combination of severe drought and a series of lightning storms that ignited hundreds of small fires across the Northern Rockies. However, the ignition sources also include human activity such as railroads, homesteaders, and loggers. It is believed to be the largest, although not the deadliest, forest fire in U.S. history.

Specific towns mentioned in historical records as being impacted by The Great Fire of 1910 include Wallace, Kellogg, Murray, Osburn, Burke, and Avery in Idaho, with Wallace being a focal point due to its significant damage and the famous survival story of Ranger Ed Pulaski. Pulaski was leading a crew of about 45 firefighters, mostly inexperienced men, in the rugged terrain near Wallace. As the firestorm surged, it became clear that escape was impossible. Spot fires ignited everywhere, and the group was trapped in a chaotic landscape of falling trees, choking smoke, and intense heat. Recognizing the dire situation, Pulaski relied on his intimate knowledge of the area to guide his men to a small, abandoned mine tunnel in Placer Creek Canyon, also referred to in some accounts as the War Eagle mine or Nicholson adit.

Despite panic among his crew—some of whom tried to flee into the fire—Pulaski maintained calm authority. He urged his men to follow him to the mine, convincing them it was their only chance for survival. His decisiveness prevented the group from scattering into certain death. Inside the cramped, smoky mine tunnel, conditions were harrowing. The air was barely breathable, and the heat was intense as the fire roared outside. Pulaski stood at the tunnel’s entrance, using his body and wet blankets to block smoke and embers, protecting his men from the worst of the fire’s assault. He reportedly drew his pistol to dissuade panicked men from fleeing, as running into the fire would have been fatal.

Pulaski himself was severely injured during the ordeal. He suffered burns, smoke inhalation, and temporary blindness from the intense heat and fumes. At one point, he collapsed, overcome by smoke, but continued to encourage his men to stay low and cover their faces with water-soaked cloths to survive the suffocating conditions.

Thanks to Pulaski’s quick thinking and resolve, 40 of his 45 men survived the night in the tunnel, though five perished, likely from smoke inhalation or burns. The survivors endured hours of terror, with some later recalling Pulaski’s voice as the only thing keeping them from giving up. His actions turned a near-certain tragedy into a story of survival.

This event is a legendary part of the fire's history in Wallace, Idaho and Pulaski's legacy. There's a great hiking trail up the Placer River Canyon today to the mine tunnel that saved Pulaski and his men.

This is the Nicholson Adit right after the fire in 1910:

[Veto!]

“Sixty percent of Idaho’s land is owned and managed by the federal government “

I didn’t know that. Until recently, my daughter and SIL had a beautiful home on 10 acres near Priest River. When people from CA started moving there, and the bleeping City Council decided 5 acre lots could be sold, they moved. . Wild animals died because they lost territory and also were run over by city people.

Basically Paradise Lost. Glad to hear the Trump administration is protecting paradise.

[SoConPubbie]

Thanks for posting the Idaho article ProtectOurFreedom.

[AnAmericanMother]

The 1871 Peshtigo wildfire in NE Wisconsin, on both sides of Green Bay, was the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history. It burned over a million acres and killed about 2500 people (many of whom were never found, and the number is in dispute because all public records were burned).

It happened in a far more populated area than the 1910 fire. 15 towns and villages were completely destroyed.

It's been mostly forgotten because it happened on the same day as the great Chicago Fire.

The parish priest of Peshtigo, Fr. Jean-Pierre Pernin, wrote an account of the fire and his providential escape (with the church's Tabernacle) which you can read here:

The Finger of God is there!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks! Yes, those two fires were probably the worst in the nation’s history.

Interestingly, both of the first were WAY BEFORE “climate change.”