Forestry & Wildfire Resiliency

The Latah SWCD work to protect and enhance forest conditions that maintain ecosystem functions and processes, support water quality, and provide habitat and species diversity, while also enhancing future production potential of private forests.

WSFM
Information and Signup

Western States Fire Managers Program

Latah County, in collaboration with the Latah Soil and Water Conservation District (Latah SWCD), has been awarded a Western State Fire Managers Grant (WSFM) through the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) to implement wildfire mitigation activities in Latah County. This grant will primarily be used to treat hazardous fuels (combustible materials that increase fire severity) along roadsides in efforts to create safer egress routes for residents and ingress for emergency services during emergency events. Where possible, fuels management may also occur around residential homes. Project implementation is expected to begin Spring 2026 and continue through Fall 2028, or when funds are expended.

Hazardous Fuels Treatment

There are many ways to reduce fuels on your property. Treatment may include limbing and pruning trees to reduce the spread of ground fire into the tree canopy (ladder fuels) and reducing vegetation through forest thinning and underbrush removal.

This project will create fuel breaks, a strip of land where fuel density is reduced. Treatments will create 150 feet of fuel breaks on either side of roadways to break up larger, contiguous tracts of fuels and help limit the spread of fire.

Get Involved

Latah SWCD is currently recruiting residents on the south side of Moscow Mountain who live on or near the following roads:

Foothill Rd

Steakhouse Hill

Nearing Rd

Tolo Trail

If you live in this area and would like to participate, please complete the online sign-up form.

Click on the orange button for a direct link to the form or fill out the Latah SWCD Fuels Management Program Inquiry for Landowners below.

You will be contacted promptly to identify if you are in the current project priority area, schedule a property evaluation which, with your input, will help determine hazardous fuels treatment options for your property, and if you are eligible for funding opportunities.

WSFM Informational Flyer

Masticator

Post-Treatment

Before Treatment

After Treatment

Post-Treatment

Forest Management Strategies and
Funding Opportunities

Forest Fuels Management

Wildfire has long played a natural role in shaping healthy ecosystems, but shifts in land use and expanding development have led to long-term fire suppression. As a result, forest fuels have accumulated beyond natural levels.

There are several ways to address this challenge such as prescribed burning, mechanical thinning, tree limbing and mastication treatments. These methods reduce excess vegetation, lowering the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

Latah SWCD in partnership with Latah County is offering fuels reduction assistance to landowners. Scroll up to WSFM Information and Signup to learn more.

Fire Buffers

A fuel break if a proactive treatment designed to break continuity in vegetation and flammable materials to reduce the spread and severity of a fire. They are strategically placed to allow safe access to first responders to navigate the landscape and employ a variety of suppression methods.

A fuel break was established at Virgil Phillips Farm in Fall of 2025. Underbrush and ladder fuels were masticated, and bark chips were spread on the forest floor to slow growth and and allow for routine maintenance. Spacing of mature trees will improve their health, reducing competition and allow a variety of plant species to return.

Look for project details on our Project Highlights page, or explore the park!

Defensible Space

Defensible space is a management practice to reduce fire ignitions around your home or structures. Homeowners may create defensible space through landscaping with fire-resistant plants and materials, and reducing forest fuels and accumulated plant debris.

Idaho Firewise is a non-profit organization that provides education around wildfire preparedness. Their website has resources on how to make your home and landscape less vulnerable to ignite from a wildfire, defensible space, evacuation planning in the event of a wildfire, and more.

Visit their website for resources and information, here.

Food as Fire Buffers

Latah SWCD has partnered with UC Merced to study the interactions between agricultural crops and wildfire. Many producers were impacted by the Texas Ridge and Gwen Fires in fall of 2024. This project is intended to understand how fire behaves in the agricultural landscape and learn from those who have been affected in efforts to support fire breaks and those who experience substantial crop losses.

If you have been affected by the Texas Ridge Fire and want to share your experience, please contact Jen Elliott, Resource Conservation Planner, here.

The Latah Conservation Partnership

The Latah Conservation Partnership (LCP) brings together public agencies involved in natural resource management to maximize conservation efforts for education, outreach, and project implementation in Latah County. LCP is currently focused on Forestry Stewardship and Wildfire Mitigation.

Agencies Include:

Latah County Emergency Services, Latah County Planning and Building, U.S. Forest Service, University of Idaho Experimental Forest, NRCS, Idaho Department of Lands and us, The Latah Soil and Water Conservation District.