Landowners form rangeland fire protection association

A group of private landowners in Elmore County have formed Idaho's first rangeland fire protection association (RFPA), setting up a response system to prevent and suppress fires on their land. The Mountain Home Rangeland Fire Protection Association was established in a memorandum of understanding signed with the Idaho Department of Lands, according to a press release from the department. A similar agreement is also being developed with the Bureau of Land Management. In Idaho, private rangelands are protected either through a fire protection district or a fire protection association. The Department of Lands has responsibility for 10 protection districts covering 6 million acres of mostly state and private land in Idaho. The U.S. Forest Service and BLM each are responsible for a large district, and two timber protection associations exist in central and north-central Idaho. An RFPA is a nonprofit organization established to prevent and suppress range fires. It is governed and directed by the members and is funded by fees set by the local board and grants...more