Department of Lands outlines wildfire funding, Good Neighbor Authority progress and requests for new fire positions

The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee heard detailed testimony on the Idaho Department of Lands’ FY2026 base budget and line‑item requests, with major focus on wildfire funding, staffing for fire program modernization, the Timber Protective Associations and the Good Neighbor Authority.

Janet Jessup of the Legislative Services Office opened the Department of Lands presentation and described the department’s multiple programs and dedicated funds. Jessup told the committee that the Department of Lands Fund is a large, multi‑source fund (listed in the fiscal source book) and that the department’s fire suppression deficiency warrant fund is continuously appropriated—allowing the agency to spend without a traditional legislative appropriation when warranted. She noted the legislature has increasingly prefunded that account since 2015.

Dustin Miller, director of the Department of Lands, told the committee the department’s firefighting responsibilities have grown in complexity as the state’s “fire season is getting more expensive” and seasons last longer. Miller said the department manages partnerships with federal agencies and local organizations and that reimbursement timing from federal partners can lag. He told the panel that, if the governor’s recommended transfers are not adopted, the department projects the suppression account could drop to about $13 million in FY2026 after outstanding invoices are paid.

Jessup summarized the governor’s recommendations: a $40 million transfer from the general fund to the fire suppression deficiency fund and a separate $60 million supplemental transfer for the current year; together those transfers would materially increase the fund balance shown in the department’s projections. The governor also recommended $1 million in firefighter bonuses for Department of Lands employees; representatives of the Timber Protective Associations sought an additional $250,000 so their non‑state firefighters would also receive bonuses.

The committee discussed the Timber Protective Associations (TPAs). Jessup and Miller explained TPAs are quasi‑state entities (Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association based in McCall; Clearwater Potlatch Timber Protective Association based in Orofino) that receive assessments and fees from private timberland to fund fire protection work. The governor recommended a 5% compensation equivalent (CEC) for TPAs to provide parity with state employee CECs; committee members asked how that interacts with the recent state CEC passed for state employees. Miller explained TPA employees are not state employees, so the CEC passed for state workers does not apply to them and the line‑item enhancement was intended to give comparable personnel dollars to TPAs.

On staffing and program enhancements, Jessup walked the committee through a set of requested positions tied to fire program modernization and preparedness: a fire emergency support program manager, a fire aviation section manager, a statewide forest assessment program manager, an assistant fire warden for the Ponderosa area, a fiscal specialist and a forest program position. Miller said those positions support coordination, aviation oversight, and a statewide mapping and assessment effort to ensure appropriate billing and collection for preparedness assessments.

Miller described the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) program, which uses agreements with the U.S. Forest Service to increase the pace and scale of active management and restoration on federal lands. Miller told the committee the GNA has produced significant receipts that now largely fund the program: he said about $40 million has been generated to date with roughly $18 million available from GNA timber sale receipts for department costs, about $6 million going to restoration contracts and other amounts for personnel and operations. The department has agreements with six of seven national forests in Idaho and said GNA accounted for about 24% of the Forest Service’s Idaho volume in the prior year.

Committee members asked about abandoned mine lands (AML) funding. Miller said Idaho faces nearly 9,000 abandoned mine sites and the abandoned‑mine fund is not sufficient to address the full scope of closures; funding from the mine license tax is limited and backlog remains substantial.

Several legislators pressed for more data on historical firefighting costs and reimbursement timing. Jessup said the office can follow up with multiyear deficiency‑warrant spending history; Miller said the department is improving electronic billing systems to accelerate reimbursements but that federal invoicing timelines remain a challenge. Miller warned the committee that without supplemental transfers and the governor’s recommended deposits the suppression fund balance could decline materially.

No formal votes occurred; committee members asked staff to provide further expenditure history and to follow up on details of TPAs, GNA revenue flows and abandoned‑mine fund projections.