Idaho Forestry Program EIS

Welcome to the Idaho Forestry Program (IFP) information page where you will find up to date information about the project as it develops, how you can participate in the process, and links to related documents. The IFP is a proposed program that if approved would apply to forestry management and timber harvest on state and private lands in the Salmon and Clearwater Basins in Idaho. The IFP is a voluntary program and does not replace the current Idaho Forest Practices Act regulations. Landowners who elect to implement the IFP’s supplemental “fish friendly” measures will receive Endangered Species Act (ESA) incidental “take” allowances for up to 30 years.

“Take” is defined by the ESA to mean harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct, relative to an ESA protected species. “Harm” is further defined to include significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures fish or wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, spawning, migrating, rearing and sheltering.

Under the terms of the IFP a landowner would not be liable if fish protected under the ESA are incidentally affected due to their forest management or timber harvest activities. This is made possible through a proposed, ESA Section 6 cooperative agreement between the Idaho Department of Lands, who oversee implementation of forest practices on state and private timber lands in Idaho, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the two federal agencies who oversee implementation of the ESA.

This proposed ESA Section 6 agreement is part of a settlement agreement resulting from the Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA). The SRBA began as an inventory of water rights in the Snake River Basin to resolve competing water rights claims.  To resolve claims filed by the Nez Perce Tribe, the United States, the State of Idaho and other Idaho water users, water users entered into negotiations that eventually expanded to encompass habitat improvement projects for ESA-listed fish, including a forest management program for state and private land. Starting in 1998, the Nez Perce Tribe, the United States, the State of Idaho and local communities and water users in Idaho engaged in mediation for the SRBA, and in 2004 the parties agreed to a “Mediator’s Term Sheet” to guide the settlement of the case. Congress then passed the Snake River Water Rights Act of 2004, directing the heads of the USFWS and NMFS to execute and perform all actions necessary to carry out the terms of the SRBA settlement agreement as described in the “Mediator’s Term Sheet.”    

The Term Sheet includes a provision for the negotiation of a Cooperative Agreement under Section 6 of the ESA to address forest management activities on state and private lands in the Salmon River and Clearwater River Basins.  The Cooperative Agreement would address forestry activities that may affect listed fish species.  The Term Sheet identifies specific forest management prescriptions for inclusion in the Cooperative Agreement and directs that the Agreement “not vary materially” from these prescriptions.  The proposed IFP is based on these prescriptions.

ESA protected species addressed under the IFP include Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon, Snake River fall Chinook salmon, Snake River steelhead and Columbia Basin bull trout. The “fish friendly” measures in the IFP consist of enhanced riparian and road management measures.

The IFP is currently undergoing review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to determine if the program meets the criteria necessary for approval. If approved the program is expected to be implemented in early 2011. As part of the review and approval process an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being prepared. Interested individuals, stakeholder groups and other state and federal agencies are asked to assist with the preparation of the EIS by providing information about possible effects they believe could occur, information about a particular geographic area in the proposed action area they believe IDL and the federal agencies may not be aware of, or to suggest alternatives they believe should be analyzed. Public and agency input will be requested at three different times during the EIS process.

The first time that public and agency input will be requested will be during a 45-day public scoping period during which information gathered will help with the initial development of a “draft” EIS. The second input opportunity will occur after the draft EIS is completed and is released for a 60-day public review period. Comments on the draft EIS will be reviewed and may result in revisions to the proposed IFP and draft EIS, resulting in the development of a “final” EIS. The third input opportunity will occur after the final EIS is completed and released for a 30-day public review period. 

The links below provide additional information regarding public participation opportunities and documents that led to the development of this proposed program.

What’s New?

• Public Scoping Period – February 17, 2009 through April 3, 2009
• Federal Register Notice Announcing Preparation of EIS and Start of Public Scoping
• Public Scoping Meetings -
  • Riggins, Idaho, February 23, 7:00-9:00 PM, Salmon Rivers Lodge Best Western, 1010 South Highway 95;
  • Grangeville, Idaho, February 24, 7:00-9:00 PM, Nez Perce National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 104 Airport Road;
  • Orofino, Idaho, February 25, 7:00-9:00 PM, Clearwater National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 12730 Highway 12;
  • Lewiston, Idaho, February 26, 7:00-9:00 PM, Idaho Fish and Game, 3316 16th Street;
  • Salmon, Idaho, March 3, 7:00-9:00 PM, US Forest Service, 1206 South Challis Street.
• Written scoping comments due by April 3, 2009

Documents on this page:

• Mediator’s Term Sheet

• Draft Cooperative Section 6 Agreement

• Idaho Forestry Program Document
  • Table of Contents - 2009
  • Executive Summary
  • Sections I-A through I-G - Description of Proposed Action
  • Section I-H Program Summary (2.50 MB)
  • Section I-I Adaptive Management
  • Sec IIA Baseline
    • - Complete Section II-A Baseline (5.77 MB PDF - 108 pages)
      • or use the documents below for a smaller file size:
    • - Section II-A Table of Contents (Pages 1-5)
    • - Pages 5-61 (3.25 MB)
    • - Pages 62-108 (2.56 MB)
  • Section II-B Status of Listed Anadromous Species in the IFP Area (1.99 MB)
  • Section II-B Status of Covered Species - Bull Trout (1.67 MB)
  • Section II-C Other Listed Species (1.35 MB)
  • Section III-A Effects Focused Area Analysis (FAA)
  • Section III-B Riparian
  • Section III-C Roads
  • Section III-D Harvest
  • Section III-E Cumulative Effects
  • Section III-F Summary
  • Section IV References

• Idaho Forestry Program Field Implementation Manual
  • Part I Administration (1.88 MB)
  • Part II Term Guidance (2.10 MB)
  • Part III Appendix

• Idaho Forest Practices Act Rules