SANDPOINT — It’s that time of year again. Area fires have area residents coughing and wheezing due to smoke and have some asking what can be done.

Well, Cindy Lewis from the local Natural Resources Conservation Service office has at least part of the solution: fuel reduction.

To slow and prevent area fires, it will take “fuel management across landscapes and ownership” to direct the fire to an area of treatment and lessen its intensity, Lewis told the Daily Bee. That’s where NRCS comes in.

Lewis is encouraging private landowners in Bonner and Boundary counties to apply to be a part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

“Anyone can receive cost-free natural resource consultation and applicants to EQIP can potentially receive cost share for completing management practices,” Lewis said.

The NRCS is unique in that it serves exclusively private landowners. The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management do not address private land.

Some examples of routine management practices in Bonner County are pasture and hay planting, forest management practices including tree thinning and tree planting, stream bank stabilization, livestock watering pipelines and cross fences among many others.

“About 80% of what we do is forestry,” Lewis said.

The EQIP program helps landowners afford land management practices that protect or improve air, water and soil quality.

If accepted into the program, a landowner may be able to receive reimbursement of up to about 50-75% of the costs — if the management is done to the specifications and standards specific to the contract the landowner and NRCS sign.

When it comes to preventing area fires, Lewis said the key will be fire prevention across jurisdictions.

“Fires don’t care about our borders,” she said.

Lewis highlighted one of the major projects the NRCS is undertaking. In a task force with the Idaho Department of Lands, Inland Forest Management, the U.S. Forest Service and Bonner County Bonfire, the NRCS is working with private landowners in the Hoodoo Valley.

Idaho’s NRCS “Team One” has obligated $675,000 to private land management in Bonner and Boundary counties for the next two years. The funding comes from the perennial “Farm Bill” and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

When it comes to fire prevention, the NRCS mainly helps private owners with tree thinning, fuel breaks and firebreaks. Fuel breaks are where vegetation has been altered to slow a fire and make it more containable. Firebreaks, or double tracks, are gaps in vegetation that prevent a fire from growing.

The cost of these procedures depend on how many trees need to be removed — and that varies by site. In some cases, the cost can run well into several thousand dollars.

Other cost share programs are available that are specifically designed for wildlife, wetlands and special agricultural projects, according to the press release. For landowners not interested in program participation, the NRCS is still available for site visits and consultations. They also provide non-regulatory, cost free services to individuals who voluntarily request them.

Information: To begin the application process, stop by the Sandpoint office at 1224 Washington Ave. or reach out to the Bonner County field office at 208-263-5310, [email protected]. The deadline to apply is Oct. 7.