38-104. COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES — RESTRICTIONS. (1) The director of the department of lands, in executing the provisions of this chapter, insofar as it relates to privately owned forest or range land, shall have authority to cooperate with federal, county, state, municipal and private agencies, all voluntary forest or range land protective associations now organized and which may from time to time hereafter be organized within the state of Idaho, and he shall have authority to:

a. Enter into agreements with the federal government, under such terms as he deems advisable or as may be provided by law, and renew, revise or terminate such agreements for the purpose of furnishing, operating and maintaining a protective system for the detection, prevention and suppression of forest or range fires; provided, that the costs and expenses incurred, accruing and contracted for by the terms of said agreements shall be paid from the appropriations or funds available for the protection of forest land. Funds collected from owners of forest lands shall be used only for the benefit of forest lands within the forest protective district from which collected.

b. Enter into agreements with any county or municipality on such terms and under such conditions as he may deem wise, and subject to the approval of the board, for the detection, prevention or suppression of forest fires on any lands within said county or municipality, or for the protection and forest management of any lands over which such county or municipality has jurisdiction, or for reforestation or afforestation of lands within said county or municipality, whenever any county or municipality shall have made any appropriations therefor.

c. Subject to the provisions of subsection (d) hereof, enter into agreements, with the approval of the board, with any person, firm, organization, association, corporation, state board, officer or agency owning and/or controlling any forest or range land, or whose function, desire and/or duty it is to protect any forest or range land from forest or range fires, under such terms and conditions as he deems advisable or as may be required by law, and renew, revise or terminate such agreements, for the purpose of furnishing, operating and maintaining, a protective system for the detection, prevention and suppression of forest or range fires in forest protective districts; provided, that no agreements entered into under authority of this section shall provide that the same shall pay more than its pro rata share as provided in section 38-114, Idaho Code, and provided, further, that the costs and expenses incurred, accruing or contracted for by the terms of said agreement shall be paid from appropriations or funds available for the protection of forest or range lands from forest or range land fires, or from moneys recovered from persons held responsible under this chapter for the payment thereof.

d. The director shall not contract with any timber protective association unless such association limits its lobbying activities only to securing the passage, repeal, or amendment of laws that directly concern the individual association and its program of conservation and fire protection, nor shall he contract with any timber protective association whose bylaws or contracts do not provide for the dissolution of such associations by the consent or resolution of its members or members whose total acreage within such association constitutes at least sixty-seven per cent (67%) of the total acreage within the association’s jurisdiction. Upon dissolution the association shall provide for the distribution of the association’s assets to a qualified successor organization in accordance with section 501(c)(4) of the United States internal revenue code. An association may be incorporated or unincorporated. For the purposes of this chapter, the state shall be deemed a member of such association if it has entered into an agreement therewith.

(2) As a condition of any contract of the state with any timber protective association, the liability of the state is limited to the amount established by the laws of the state governing the contract or a tort liability of the state. As a further condition of any contract of an association with the state, no association shall settle or compromise any claim or suit against it without prior approval of the state land board.

(3) Prior to state participation or prior to continued state participation as a member of any timber protective association the director shall annually review and inspect the association for the following:

a. The governing and managing structure of the association;

b. The condition of equipment and its proposed use;

c. The adequacy of liability insurance; and,

d. The training of all association personnel.

The director shall report his findings and make recommendations to the state land board. If the state land board determines that the association is unable to perform its proper duties or is unsuitable for continued state membership the state land board shall give the association one (1) year in which to make the necessary improvements and if this is not done within one (1) year then the land board shall cause the state to withdraw its membership from the association or take the necessary steps to dissolve the association.

History:

[38-104, added 1972, ch. 401, sec. 2, p. 1164; am. 1974, ch. 17, sec. 6, p. 308; am. 1977, ch. 34, sec. 1, p. 59; am. 1982, ch. 318, sec. 1, p. 792.]