Payette National Forest

News Release

USDA Forest Service

Payette National Forest

Contact: Sue Dixon, Recreation Specialist (208) 634-0440 or Sylvia Clark, Public Affairs Officer (208) 634-0784

For Immediate Release
March 12, 2008

Forest Service Seeks Grants to get “More Kids in the Woods”

McCall, ID – The Payette National Forest submitted two grant proposals through the Forest Service “More Kids in the Woods” program.  Proposals were submitted in collaboration with partners to receive matching funds to provide outdoor experiences for youth in southern and central Idaho and eastern Washington.  “More Kids in the Woods” is a USDA Forest Service program the Forest Service is providing this grant opportunity for 2008. 

In February, Explore Idaho! and the Payette National Forest, submitted a grant request to provide supplies for use in the Bear Basin area on the Payette National Forest including Nordic skis, a telescope, and a hand cycle.  Local and area disabled youths would use the equipment to recreate and participate in educational sessions in the Bear Basin area.  Forest Service personnel would conduct educational sessions with the AWESOME kids over the course of the summer and fall around the Bear Basin site.  The grant would also fund the purchase of a raft for the Wild Science Explorer trip on the Lower Salmon this year.

Also submitting a grant proposal this year was the McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS) who would like to partner with the Payette National Forest to provide a week of outdoor exploration and learning to approximately 750 5th and 6th grade Idaho school children.  The program goal is to teach Idaho’s children about the biological, physical, and social systems in which they live, heightening their knowledge and stewardship toward their natural environment.  Other partners for this proposal include the Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute.  “More Kids in the Woods” funding would be used to provide a Forest Service instructor for Leave No Trace training, and education in winter survival skills.

The Payette National Forest and Explore Idaho! received More Kids in the Woods grant funding in 2007.  The 2007 Explore Idaho! projects educated youth in some of the responsibilities and challenges involved in interacting with and being stewards of the environment.  There were two elements to the Explore Idaho! 2007 program.  First, special education middle schoolers and honors high schoolers rafted down the lower Salmon River studying science and fire prevention techniques along the way, helping to clean the river corridor for the BLM while learning the importance of Leave No Trace principles, and monitored the river corridor for invasive weed species for the Idaho County Cooperative Weed Management Agency.  By using the outdoors as a classroom with hands-on activities the participants were immersed in the subjects they were studying.  The project lead to strong friendships and a feeling of accomplishment for all the participants.  The More Kids in the Woods funding helped buy supplies for the raft trip. And second, local special education students helped to prepare wood table tops for accessible picnic tables for developed campgrounds on the Forest.  Participants learned about recreation and accessiblity programs on the Forest.  The students then canoed down the North Fork of the Payette River looking for wildlife and other natural elements.  For most of the students this was a first look at some aspects of managing the Forest.

More than 250 proposals were received for 2007 and Explore Idaho was one of 24 applicants that received a grant from this program.  The Forest Service sought proposals that focused on underserved and urban youth; provided hands-on recreation and conservation education; engaged in solid and broad-based partnerships; and incorporated innovative techniques.  The awards, matched dollar for dollar by agency partners topped $1.5 million.

For more information on this program or proposals, please contact the Sue Dixon, McCall Ranger District Recreation Specialist at (208) 634-0440 or Sylvia Clark, Payette National Forest Public Affairs Officer at (208) 634-0784.

###