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Department of Lands seeks more fire staff and program dollars as governor proposes $100 million-plus to suppression fund and bonuses
Summary
The Idaho Department of Lands described requests for new wildfire-management positions, equipment and one-time items and outlined how Good Neighbor Authority receipts fund federal-lands work; the governor proposed major transfers to the fire suppression deficiency fund and firefighter bonuses.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Tuesday reviewed the Idaho Department of Lands’ FY2026 budget and heard requests for additional wildfire-management positions and one-time equipment alongside administration recommendations to bolster the state’s fire suppression reserve.
Janet Jessup, budget and policy analyst for the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the department’s FY2026 package included multiple ongoing staffing requests and roughly $5,700,000 in line‑item enhancement requests, of which about 79% were one-time. She highlighted several requested positions that would add or professionalize fire response and assessment work, including a fire emergency support program manager, a fire aviation section manager and a statewide forest assessment program manager.
Dustin Miller, director of the Idaho Department of Lands, described the department’s…
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