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Board Approves 2025 Community Wildfire Protection Plan; County Director Announces $740,000 in IDL Hazard-Fuel Grants
Summary
Valley County commissioners voted to review and sign the 2025 Community Wildfire Protection Plan; staff said the county has two Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) hazardous-fuel grants — roughly $500,000 and $240,000 — that will fund three-year work programs and some indirect administrative costs.
Valley County commissioners voted Wednesday to review and sign the county’s 2025 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), and county staff said the county has secured two hazardous-fuel grants administered by the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) totaling roughly $740,000.
County staff described the larger grant as approximately $500,000 for a fuel-reduction project stretching from East Mountain/Warm Lake Highway down to Clear Creek; a second grant of about $240,000 covers work near Tamarack and adjacent private lands. Staff said both grants allow limited indirect administrative costs (15 percent) that the county can claim for reimbursement and that each grant’s implementation period is three years.
Those participating in the CWPP process said the plan will catalog where agencies and landowners are already working — IDL, Idaho Power, the U.S. Forest Service and county projects — to support cross-boundary fuel reduction, improve grant match and guide future project selection. County staff emphasized that including IDL and Idaho Power work as in-kind match reduces the financial burden on private landowners.
Commissioners approved a motion to review and sign the 2025 CWPP during the meeting. The motion passed on a voice vote; commissioners directed staff to obtain the required signatures and to finalize the memorandum of understanding and the grant administration documents so the projects can proceed.
Staff said one $500,000 project will spend money on contractor work on private lands and qualifying public lands; the county expects to claim roughly $12,000–$70,000 across the grants for indirect costs and staff time, depending on contractor counts and the final cost allocation. The grants pay for direct on-the-ground fuel reduction work, and county staff said they plan to use the funding to address hazardous trees near power lines and to prioritize cross-boundary projects where partners are already active.
Why it matters: the CWPP provides a multi-agency roadmap for prioritizing hazardous-fuel reduction and strengthens grant applications and match. The two IDL grants provide immediate funding for multi-year projects that county staff say will reduce community wildfire risk and coordinate landowner, utility and federal agency activities.
What’s next: county staff will finalize the CWPP signature package, sign the indirect cost and MOU paperwork, and post the CWPP and project accomplishments on the county website. Staff also said they will report completed projects annually as grants and work progress.
