Monday, Aug. 10

From Boise State Public Radio, this is The Connector, Idaho Daily News. Good morning. I'm Lauren Patterson. It's Monday, August 10th. Today we have news on a new app, making it easier to comment on changes to public lands, a North Idaho police shortage, some upcoming road construction, and tips on food safety from Idaho health officials. As wildfires continue to spread across the West, officials stress the need for more collaboration between agencies and communities. Julie Lugeta has more. At a press conference in Cordillane Friday, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said this winter's low snowpack and resulting drought made the fire season significantly more challenging than prior years. This year, we're at 127 percent of its annual average for the number of fires nationally. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 45,000 fires have burned 6 million acres so far this year. That's 50% more acreage than average. Josh Harvey from the Idaho Department of Lands spoke at the same event. Wildlife fire suppression is never a single agency effort. He said federal, state, and local partnerships are critical. Any fire is going to be competing for resources across the country. Idaho is prepared and continues to coordinate available resources, but crews, engines, aircraft, and incident management personnel are in very high demand. As of August 3rd, Harvey said the Idaho Department of Land spent about $23 million on fire suppression, 6.5 going towards efforts in neighboring states. Those costs, he said, would be reimbursed by the federal government. Julie Duketa, Boise State Public Radio News. A new app, inspired by a hunter's desire to get more people engaged civically, allows people to register comments with federal agencies considering changes to public lands. The Mountain West News Bureau's Yvette Fernandez has the details. Typically, the federal government opens a public comment period before changing a policy on public land. But the Outdoor Recreation Group on X says that participating in that process can be confusing. That led it to create a free app called Public Land Comment Hub. It allows people to register comments with the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service. Spokesperson Lisa Nichols says public lands decisions set the rules for future generations. Agencies are actively revisiting major rules, opening these large comment periods, and some of them are already drawing very high public interest, and that tells you people really care about these places. The public land comment hub includes deadlines and tips for how to write compelling comments that will become part of the public record. Yvette Fernandez, the Mountain West News Bureau reporter at KMPR in Las Vegas. Not enough people are applying to be Idaho State Police Troopers in Northern Idaho, which could deepen the ongoing officer shortage, according to a press release from ISP. With just over a month remaining before applications closed for the January Trooper Academy, ISP says only seven applicants for the Cordillane region and three for the Lewiston region meet the minimum requirements.

This summer has seen the biggest outbreak of the parasite cyclospora in U.S. history. As George Prennis reports, Idaho health officials are urging extra safety in the preparation of all foods. E. coli and salmonella outbreaks have been fairly common, but this season, there is a particular urgency concerning cyclosporiasis, not from meat or chicken, but from foods we don't normally cook. What we've really been seeing this summer is... how produce can be impacted. This is Dr. Catherine Turner. Chief of the Bureau of Environmental Health and Communicable Disease at the Division of Public Health at the Department of Health and Welfare. Not all fruits and vegetables carry equal risk for being contaminated with potential bacteria or viruses, or in this case, with cyclosporiasis. Lettuce, kale, or leafy greens? They're not the easiest to clean. Because they have crinkles and they have stem bases and stuff can get in there. And then berries. They have very... porous layers and they're bumpy. The best advice, she says, is to submerge them in a clean bowl of water for a few minutes and consider using a baking soda rinse. And it can help lift some of that surface residue on items that have kind of tougher skins. George Prentice, Boise, State Public Radio News. If you think you're suffering from a foodborne illness, you can report that at the Idaho Health and Welfare website. Repairs are starting on the U.S. Highway 95 Snake River Bridge in Homedale with a lane closure beginning today, according to a press release from the Idaho Department of Transportation. Temporary traffic signals will be guiding drivers over the one-lane bridge. Work is scheduled to be completed in early September.

And that's today's episode of The Connector. I'm Lauren Patterson. If you love this podcast, you might also like Idaho Matters. Download it wherever you get your podcasts or through the Boise State Public Radio app. The fatal shooting of a teenager at a protest in Seattle has gone unsolved for six years. This is open in your face. How are there no answers? Our investigation has uncovered new evidence and witnesses who say they've never talked to police. Did police ever call you? Not once. Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new true crime series on the Embedded podcast from NPR.