09/02/08 Murphy fire aftermath; Project 60

Governor Butch Otter wants to expand the Idaho economy by nine billion dollars, presumably within the next three years. OTTER "Now our over all goal is to expand Idaho's economy from its current 51 billion dollars to 60 billion dollars a year by the time I leave office." Otter told a Boise business group that his plan is to aggressively pursue international markets by expanding Idaho exports to take advantage of the weak dollar, raise investment capital and seek direct foreign investment. Given current conditions some economists say an 18 percent expansion in the next three years will be tough to attain and Otter may need two terms in office to reach his goal. An Idaho BLM recruited team has completed its assessment of the interactions among livestock grazing, vegetation and fire behavior in last summer's Murphy Complex wildfires. That report also contains management and research recommendations. BLM Idaho State Director Tom Dyer said they'll use the report to go forward with new possibilities for managing both livestock grazing and wildland fire. The Murphy Fire Complex burned more than 650,000 acres of sagebrush grasslands in southern Idaho and northern Nevada and was the largest wildfire in the state since 1910. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott