http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklandsMonthly NewsletterWed, 01 Dec 2010 08:26:57 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/1I9P7/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands December 1, 2010 Working Lands Website - Announcement The Idaho Working Lands Steering Committee announces changes in the Coalition's Website. Due to the current economic conditions, a policy initiative will not be pursued during the Idaho 2011 legislative session. The Website will continue to be available for the calendar year, but the monthly newsletter will not be published in 2011. Resources will continue to be available to readers, with the following revisions: Bibliography: The on-line Bibliography is available directly from the Home page. The references are links to online publications regarding the conservation of working lands. The sources for these reports and research articles are reputable organizations concerned about the conversion of working lands. Past Newsletter Articles: Articles published in The State of Working Lands are retained on the Website. Readers can retrieve the articles by clicking on Topic reference tags located on the lower right side of each Web page. The topic labels match the subject categories of the Bibliography. For example, materials presented to the Idaho Legislature in past sessions are available by clicking on the topic entitled Policy Forum. Events: The Website includes the Events Calendar. Email the publisher with event announcements.Read more>> publisher@includes.comWed, 01 Dec 2010 08:26:57 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/1vkee/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands September 17, 2010 Working Lands Website - New Features The Idaho Working Lands website offers two new features: Bibliography: The on-line Bibliography of reference documents is available in a new format. Reports and publications are added to the Bibliography throughout the year. The index to the documents is available on the Home page under the category Bibliography. View current index>> News Clips. The recently announced news clipping service changes weekly. Be sure to check the Home page for recent stories on the Web about Working Lands. News Feeds (RSS): Keeping in Touch with Working Lands News Feeds are a Web based technology to receive updates from your favorite Websites. The technology, named RSS, is an alternative to E-News distributed by email. For the remainder of 2010, keep in touch with Idaho Working Lands by using the Website RSS news feed. Here are a couple of hints about using this technology: Introduction: A YouTube video that explains News Feeds and News Readers. Idaho Working Lands News Feed: The link to the Idaho Working Lands Coalition RSS feed. This link will make more sense after viewing the YouTube video. The Publisher is using the RSS technology on the Website as a low cost approach to keep in touch. publisher@includes.comFri, 17 Sep 2010 12:38:23 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/Stm8/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands September 15, 2010 Working Lands Website - News Clips The Idaho Working Lands website includes a new feature - News Clips. The Home page now includes a post of recent news articles about Working Lands. The source of the articles is a variety of publications on the Web. Check the Home page for recent stories. News Feeds (RSS): Keeping in Touch with Working Lands News Feeds are a Web based technology to receive updates from your favorite Websites. The technology, named RSS, is an alternative to E-News distributed by email. For the remainder of 2010, keep in touch with Idaho Working Lands by using the Website RSS news feed. Here are a couple of hints about using this technology: Introduction: A YouTube video that explains News Feeds and News Readers. Idaho Working Lands News Feed: The link to the Idaho Working Lands Coalition RSS feed. This link will make more sense after viewing the YouTube video. The Publisher is using the RSS technology on the Website as a low cost approach to keep in touch. publisher@includes.comTue, 14 Sep 2010 11:06:44 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/28FYv/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands March 15, 2010 Working Lands Fund Update: Senate Bill 1343 The Idaho Senate passed S 1343 by a vote of 21-13. The bill was sent to the House, and at time of this newsletter, the bill was held at the Speaker's desk. The status of the bill may not change for the remainder of the legislative session. To track the status: Read more>>. The Senate Resources and Environment public hearing minutes on S 1343 (March 3rd) are available online. The minutes capture testimony and issues discussed. Read more (PDF)>> New Mexico: Natural Heritage Conservation Act The New Mexico Legislature approved a new state law, the Natural Heritage Conservation Act, during the 2010 session. Governor Richardson signed the bill which takes effect March 19th. The purpose of the act is very similar to the proposed Idaho Working Lands Fund. Read more >> publisher@includes.comMon, 15 Mar 2010 14:44:02 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/1ec1L/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands March 1, 2010 Working Lands Fund Update: Senate Bill 1343 The Senate Resources and Environment Committee has scheduled a hearing on the Idaho Working Lands Fund Act. The bill proposes that the Idaho Legislature establish a Working Lands Fund to protect and enhance the benefits that working lands provide to Idahoans. Read more>>. Forestry Conference - March 3-4, 2010 - Boise The Society of American Foresters and partners have organized a two day conference in Boise on March 3-4, 2010. A second in a series , the discussions will review current forest conditions, the forest restoration need, the industry role to attain restoration goals on the landscape, and the social license to practice forest management on public lands. For the conference announcement read more >> publisher@includes.comMon, 01 Mar 2010 08:22:11 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/yOAD/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands February 2010 Having Lots to Learn Prior to the real estate bubble, landowners and developers subdivided private working lands. The speculative housing market drove real estate prices to values many multiples greater than values for forest, farm and ranch production. The bubble residue left a pattern on the landscape of premature subdivisions - a configuration of building sites with no one home. Three partners share an interest in learning from this subdivided history: Valley Advocates for Responsible Development (VARD - Teton County, Idaho), the Sonoran Institute, and the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, Read more>>. Homes on the Edge - A Burning Question Wildland fire suppression costs consume $3 billion dollars from the federal budget. A primary factor that contributes to the increased costs is the protection of private property in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Headwaters Economics, a non-profit organization, reviewed the factors contributing to higher costs, and concluded that existing policy does not address the expansion of residential development in the WUI. Instead, public policy concentrates on the current condition - i.e., what should be done about the existing private structures in fire prone areas? Read more>> Forestry Conference - March 3-4, 2010 - Boise The Society of American Foresters and partners have organized a two day conference in Boise on March 3-4, 2010. A second in a series , the discussions will review current forest conditions, the forest restoration need, the industry role to attain restoration goals on the landscape, and the social license to practice forest management on public lands. For the conference announcement read more >> publisher@includes.comTue, 02 Feb 2010 13:23:48 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/144pf/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands January 2010 Wyoming Trust Allocates $4.8 Million The Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Board approved projects totaling $4.8 million. The current round of applications included acquisition of conservation easements, treatment of beetle infested forests, and watershed restoration projects. The legislature established the fund in 2005, and over $18 million of projects benefited from the trust. The Trust Fund seeks matching dollars, and administrators report a performance of six external dollars for every dollar funded from the Trust Account. Nine citizen board members administer the Trust Account. For background on the Trust Fund, Read more>>. Sustaining Utah's Agriculture Representative Jack Draxler (Logan, Utah) proposes a fund that will finance conservation easements on private land. In the past 10 years, the state of Utah lost 500,000 acres of farms and ranches. To slow the conversion, the bill proposes an Agriculture Sustainability Investment Fund. If passed, the legislation will reallocate funds generated from an existing tax source. Read more>> Housing Unit Growth: 2000-2008 Residential housing increased within Idaho during the eight year period 2000-2008. The period covered the residential real estate boom and the beginning of the housing bubble; the total housing count increased by 110,000 units. The Bureau of Census reports the distribution of the new homes across the state, at the county level. Read more>> publisher@includes.comFri, 15 Jan 2010 10:01:36 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/1E8i./h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands December 2009 Interim Committee Requests Draft Bill The Idaho Working Lands Coalition presented a concept paper to the Natural Resources Interim Committee on December 15th. The paper proposes a Working Lands and Wild Life Trust Account, dedicated to retaining private working lands and wildlife habitat. Following the presentation and discussion, the Committee requested draft language of the enabling legislation for their review early in the 2010 legislative session. Read more>> Idaho's Disappearing Farmland The Working Lands Coalition and The Land Trust for the Treasure Valley collaborated on a session, Idaho's Disappearing Farm Land, at the American Planning Association conference in Boise. Over 30 planners from around the state attended the October conference. Read more>> Bibliography Additions to the On-line Notebook include two publications in the Land Use Conversion Section. Both publications address conversion of private forest land: A Sensitivity Analysis of Forests on the Edge, and Forestland Conversion, Ecosystem Services, and Economic Issues for Policy: A Review. Read more>> publisher@includes.comMon, 21 Dec 2009 13:08:05 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/1WaQM/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands November 2009 The Cost of Wildlife Recovery What is the value of wildlife habitat? Economists have struggled to estimate the dollar value of wildlife habitat and other ecosystem services. The recent Fish and Wildlife Service report on threatened and endangered species expenditures for 2007 offers a cost based perspective. When the quality of habitat diminishes, what does it cost the public to recover the species? Read more>> Idaho's Liquid Assets The USGS reports water use for each of the fifty states every five years. The Summary of Water Use in the United States in 2005 documented the importance of Idaho's water resources to the working ranches and farms in the state. Withdrawals of surface and groundwater for irrigation comprise 85% of the daily freshwater use. The daily rate varies by county, and depends on the resource characteristics and ownership distribution within the county. For example, the Jefferson County estimate was the highest with 2,100 million gallons per day (Mgal/day), and Shoshone County was the lowest, withdrawing only 0.07 Mgal/day. Read more>> Urban Farming Conference Salt Lake County is a sponsor of a one day conference on Urban Farming. The county's Open Space Program has proposed an innovative approach to retain local farms in developing communities. The Commissioners are reviewing the use of idle public land, and the potential to lease the land to farmers for Community Supported Agriculture. The agenda includes presentations by other communities facing similar issues. Read more>> publisher@includes.comThu, 12 Nov 2009 11:45:14 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/idahoworklands/opFA/h/State_of_Working_Lands_.htm The State of Working Lands October 2009 Wildlife and Working Lands The Idaho Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy identifies important habitat areas across the state. Known as Focal Areas, the delineated regions represent locations important to species of greatest conservation need. The Focal Areas are not restricted to ownership boundaries, and include federal, state, and private lands. The testimony of Idaho Fish and Game to the Natural Resources Interim Committee in July prompted an inquiry from Co-Chairman Senator Gary Schroeder. What is the extent of important wildlife habitat on private working lands in the state of Idaho? Read more>> Code of the West Ravalli County published Our Code of the West, a guide for new residents in the Bitterroot Valley. The guide includes a helpful section that describes conservation easements, the function of land trusts, and the Open Lands Program funded by Ravalli County voters.. Read more>> Bibliography Update The online Bibliography updates this month include two reports. A private forest land conversion study, published by The Oregon Department of Forestry and the USFS, reports a decline in Oregon private forestland of 6% between 1974 and 2005. You will find the report under the Land Conversion Studies category. The Montana Public Policy Research Institute published Sustaining Montana's Working Landscapes. Prepared for the Montana Association of Land Trusts, the authors conclude that private landowners fully recognize the conversion threat, prefer short-term to perpetual easements, and favor tax incentives to retain working lands. This report is filed under the category of Market Incentives and Public Policy. Read more>> publisher@includes.comThu, 01 Oct 2009 15:28:59 -0400