February 20, 2024: It’s mud season, trail users
Due to the extended period of unseasonable warmth this year, mud season has hit the trails at Idler’s Rest and the Moscow Mountain trail system hard already. Conditions within Idler’s Rest are pretty slick in many spots, and the trail section between the parking lot and the gate on Penstemon Path is particularly treacherous.
If on foot, please utilize the Mountain View/Meadow View trail to access Penstemon Path (we know, we know. There’s still a really yucky muddy stretch near the gate, but it’s better than being on your butt the entire first part of the trail, right?). If on mountain bike, unfortunately, bikes are not allowed on the trails within Idler’s Rest. Do your best, and good luck.
Thank you for your patience and understanding while the new trail finds its feet, so to speak. When conditions allow, more gravel will be added to the lower section.
If you see suspicious or dangerous activity, please report it immediately to the Latah County Sheriff’s off at 208-882-2216, and in case of fire CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY. Thank you for helping to keep the preserve safe!
July 2022:
DID YOU KNOW that this spring volunteers planted over 1000 trees at Idler’s Rest? We are happy to report that as of mid July nearly all these baby trees are green and healthy. Restoration projects like these are designed to improve forest health and resiliency, and we are grateful to all the volunteers who helped make this possible.
Fall and winter 2021 stewardship activities
Get the full behind-the-scenes scoop on projects, activities, and the stellar volunteers who make management of Idler’s Rest possible.
forest health project
Clearwater Basin Collaborative Youth Conservation Corps (Photo by Jonathan Oppenheimer from the CBC Facebook page).
Does it look different on the Orchard Trail?
In June a skilled fire crew from the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) worked at Idler’s Rest to help remove dead trees in an effort to reduce fire danger and improve the overall health of the forest ecosystem. Additional help came from Potlatch-based Clearwater Basin Collaborative Youth Conservation Corps, a supervised group of high school-aged students gaining summer work experience in natural resources management across Idaho’s wildlands. We are honored to collaborate with IDL and our partners at Idaho Firewise to continue to reduce fuels and mitigate wildfire danger at Idler’s Rest.
Cutting down trees at Idler’s Rest is not a course of action we take lightly, and we recognize that many members of our community care deeply about protections at the preserve. We want to be completely transparent about why this project is so important, and so very necessary.
Hazardous fuel reduction. Let’s face it. Natural fire cycles are out of whack in many western forests. Too much buildup of dead trees and limbs, trees impacted by pine beetles, and dense woody brush are all dangerous fuel for wildfires during the hot, dry summer season. A wildfire at Idler’s Rest would be devastating, and our neighbors and the entirety of Moscow Mountain would be put at great risk as well. It’s our duty and our privilege to partner with IDL to take a proactive stance and reduce fire risk to our community.
Forest health. Keeping the forest and wildlife habitat healthy at Idler's Rest is our number one priority. That means we need to remove some trees and brush from time to time, especially sick or overcrowded trees and brush. This type of thinning mimics natural fire and keeps the rest of the trees, plants, and animals that call the preserve home healthy and safe, too! After all, our property is too small to prescribe fire to treat the same symptoms without it getting out of hand.
Nasty bugs. Pine beetles are wood-boring insects attracted to weakened, damaged, dying, or dead trees, and they don’t respect property boundaries, that’s for sure. We need to remove infested trees and dispose of them properly to ensure that they don’t make their way to more healthy trees at the preserve. We especially don’t want those beetles to cross the fence and visit our neighbors’ trees. This project will help us set back these little wood predators, keep healthy trees healthy, AND allow us to be good neighbors all at the same time.
Expert assistance. Partnering with IDL brings necessary expertise in the area of tree management and hazard fuel reduction in a safe and efficient manner. We’ll only be taking small dead and sick trees, and those that pose the greatest threat in terms of fire risk, and you can count on that.
Inspiring the next generation of conservation leaders. We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Idaho Firewise to bring Youth Conservation Corps members to Idler’s Rest to assist with this project. These young folks will be gaining valuable real-world experience in land management, use of tools, and forest health. We’re honored to be part of this collaborative process.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact PLT Executive Director Lovina Englund at 208-669-0722 or lovina@palouselandtrust.org.
If you’d like to learn more about other technical assistance and services that IDL and Idaho Firewise have to offer:
Jen Russell, Fire Prevention, Education & Outreach Specialist. Jrussell@idl.Idaho.gov | www.idl.idaho.gov
Ivy Dickinson, Executive Director, Idaho Firewise Ivy@idahofirewise.org | www.idahofirewise.org