04/13/05 BLM Resource Advisory Councils

The Idaho Bureau of Land Management has to fill 20 vacancies on four RAC's, or Resource Advisory Councils. The state is divided into four districts, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Boise and Coeur d'Alene, each with its own RAC. Those councils advise and make recommendations to BLM managers who oversee 11.8 million acres of public land in Idaho. BLM's Shelley Davis Brunner says each council has 15 members who are appointed to three-year terms and represent one of three general interest categories. DAVIS-BRUNNER "Category one are folks that might have grazing permits. In category two nationally recognized or regionally recognized environmental organizations. In the third category is a representative we call public at large." April 18th is the deadline to apply. How much time does a person have to commit to the RAC? DAVIS-BRUNNER "Generally the RAC's meet each quarter in each of the districts so those meetings can usually be one to two days long." Council nominees will be evaluated on education, training, knowledge and experience. State Director Lynn Bennett will confer with Governor Dirk Kempthorne before the Secretary of Interior names any of the 20 council members to terms beginning in October. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott