BLM briefs Bonner County commissioners on staffing, fire response arrangements, public access and recreation funding

Bureau of Land Management District Manager Kurt Pindell told Bonner County commissioners that his Coeur d'Alene-based office is operating with fewer employees while it maintains priorities for timber sales, mining oversight and firefighting support.

"If you ever have questions, please feel free to call me or my staff," Pindell said, urging local officials to use direct contacts when issues arise.

The briefing centered on four practical matters: recent and continuing staff reductions; how BLM arranges wildfire response and ambulance standby through agreements with other agencies and private providers; the location and limited size of BLM parcels in Bonner County and how the agency handles disposals; and federal recreation funding that could be used to secure public access.

Pindell said the district has shrunk from about 65 employees to roughly 50 through retirements and voluntary separations. He said the BLM is meeting and exceeding its assigned timber-sale targets but will be thinner for public-engagement work. On firefighting, Pindell described a "service first" arrangement in which the BLM pays the U.S. Forest Service (and other partners when needed) to provide suppression on BLM lands and said the agency reimburses other responding entities under cooperative agreements.

Commissioners and county staff pressed for clearer local processes for ambulance standby at wildfire incidents. Pindell described two options: preexisting agreements with ambulance providers or emergency contracts and said the BLM can open discussions to establish standing arrangements so local ambulance districts can plan and capture available reimbursements for standby services.

Ray Pease, BLM field manager in Coeur d'Alene, told the commissioners the agency holds many small, scattered parcels in Bonner County and that those parcels are generally not identified for disposal in the current resource management plan. "We don't have any lands identified as disposal for the BLM and our land use plan," Pease said, adding that some BLM parcels include developed recreation sites such as the Gamlin Lake area and trails near Schweitzer.

Pindell described how the agency can use Land and Water Conservation Fund money to acquire properties that secure or expand public access: "I think on average we're getting $33,000,000 a year to try to manage that fund," he said, and asked commissioners and county staff to notify BLM when private parcels that provide public access come available so the agency can evaluate acquisition possibilities. He cautioned that federal processes can be slow — "quick in the government" can mean roughly two years for acquisition work — and that any purchase would involve discussions with the county and landowners.

Dennis Brandt, supervisory law enforcement officer for the Coeur d'Alene District, described BLM law-enforcement duties focused on public-safety and resource protection on BLM lands. "Mainly public safety," Brandt said. "Anyone recreating on BLM, doing anything illegal... resource damage, maybe people off‑roading and tearing up the land." He noted BLM authority generally is limited to federal land but that BLM officers are cross‑designated to work on Forest Service lands when appropriate.

Commissioners pressed the BLM to improve local signage, public information and coordination when user-created roads and trails cause resource damage or when private owners restrict informal access. Pindell said much of the travel network is documented in the agency's resource management and travel management plans and offered three follow-ups for county staff: a link to the district Resource Management Plan, the county travel‑management map, and a BLM map showing the district’s holdings in Bonner County. "I'll get you the map," Pindell said, and later committed to delivering the maps and travel‑management material quickly.

On dispatching and firefighting logistics, Pindell said the district is consolidating dispatch functions into the Coeur d'Alene office and expects staffing to rise toward normal levels next year; he said Grangeville dispatch had been heavily understaffed in recent years but is being absorbed into Coeur d'Alene staffing to improve 24‑hour coverage.

The commissioners and BLM staff discussed waste and dumping on federal lands, and county officials asked for shared notifications when dumping is reported so the county can help coordinate cleanup and public education. Pindell said BLM typically begins with education and escalates enforcement if problems persist; Brandt noted the agency conducts investigations and may seek restitution for cleanup costs.

No formal votes or binding commitments by the county were recorded at the meeting. Pindell said he typically schedules at least one district meeting a year with individual counties but is open to additional sessions if there are issues that warrant them. He closed by offering to provide the promised maps and communications; "I'll probably have that done by Friday, okay?" he said.

The briefing provided county leaders with contacts and next steps for mapping, travel-management information and potential Land and Water Conservation Fund projects, and clarified how the BLM coordinates firefighting, ambulance standby and enforcement on BLM lands in and near Bonner County.