COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) recently received the largest grant award for a project in the organization’s history. The Community Wildfire Defense Grant, awarded through the U.S. Forest Service, designated $7.5 million in funders for the Shoshone I-90 Hazardous Fuels Project.
The project, in partnership with Shoshone County, aims to mitigate wildfire risks in the Silver Valley area. Increased rural development has made narrow access roads ineffective during wildfires, raising concerns for local communities.
IDL Wildfire Risk Mitigation Program Manager Tyre Holfeltz emphasized the project’s importance.
“It’s about making the landscapes of Shoshone County more resilient while reducing risk to communities by connecting and expanding similarly completed and planned efforts on private, state and federal lands,” Holfeltz stated.
The project will implement hazardous fuels reduction treatments across 18,890 acres of high-risk forestland, including 1,275 acres of private land. Thirteen communities, including Cataldo, Kellogg, Mullan and Wallace, will benefit from these efforts.
Scheduled to start in early spring 2026, the project is expected to conclude by the end of 2030.
IDL officials urged landowners to begin their own wildfire preparation efforts with resources from Idaho Firewise.
