December 22, 2017 CapitalPress.com 9 BLM focuses on productive partnerships By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Sean Ellis/Capital Press File A 1946 John Deere GM tractor is raffled off at the 2014 Canyon County Fair. A tractor raffle, started in 2011, has raised $129,000 toward scholarships for Idaho FFA members. Just as importantly, supporters say, it has helped raise awareness of the importance of agriculture education and the benefit of FFA programs. FFA tractor raffle helps raise awareness of importance of agriculture education By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press CALDWELL, Idaho — A simple tractor raffle that set out to raise some scholarship money for Idaho FFA mem- bers has turned into some- thing much bigger. The raffle is a program of the Idaho FFA Foundation and the tractors are hauled around the state each year to generate interest and boost ticket sales. The tractor is usually ac- companied by FFA members who serve as real-life advo- cates for agriculture education and the FFA program. The tractor raffle has be- come a visual symbol of Idaho’s FFA program and has raised awareness of the importance of agriculture ed- ucation across the state, sup- porters say. The foundation was able to award $51,000 in college scholarships last year and the tractor raffle was a big reason, said Idaho FFA Foundation Executive Director Laura Wilder. “The tractor raffle has had a huge impact on the overall support to FFA and helped raise awareness about the need for scholarships,” she said. “The tractor raffle is re- ally what started our scholar- ship program.” The raffle was started in 2011 by Middleton farmer Sid Freeman, past president of the Idaho FFA Alumni Associa- tion, and his wife, Pam. Farmers and agribusiness- es have donated the tractors, which are professionally re- stored by the Freemans with help from people involved with the farming industry. Fifty percent of the money raised by the raffle tickets goes to scholarships, 40 percent goes to the foundation’s gen- eral fund and local chapters to help support FFA programs and the rest is used to cover the raffle program’s costs. Since it began in 2011, the raffle has raised $120,000 through ticket sales, $35,500 in banner sponsorships pur- chased by dozens of agricul- tural businesses and $60,000 from in-kind contributions, Freeman said. The money has been used to award $107,000 in schol- arships and another $22,000 will be awarded in April. Idaho FFA Executive Di- rector Clara-Leigh Evans said the raffle not only raises mon- ey for scholarships for FFA members, “but as the tractor travels the state with tractor raffle volunteers, it raises vis- ibility and awareness of the Idaho FFA Foundation and its important work.” Besides raising general awareness of agriculture edu- cation, the campaign has also resulted in many agricultural businesses partnering more closely with the Idaho FFA program, Freeman said. “The awareness campaign that the tractor raffle became was unintentional,” he said. “But it was big. It was really big. We were just trying to get rid of a tractor and raise some money for scholarships and this whole awareness thing became way bigger (than imagined).” While FFA members sell tickets for the annual raffle, they are acting as advocates for agriculture education, said American Falls High School ag teacher Mark Bietia. “It has increased ag edu- cation literacy and awareness throughout the state,” said Bietia, co-chairman of the Ida- ho FFA board of directors. SUN VALLEY, Idaho — There’s no denying that the Trump administration is shak- ing things up at the federal level, and that movement can be seen in what’s transpired at the Department of Interior. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has crafted a plan for the department to be a more productive partner with pub- lic-lands users, Kathy Bene- detto, senior adviser to BLM, told ranchers at the Idaho Cattle Association annual convention. Over the past nine months, Zinke has been defining his priorities, including restoring a regulatory balance, expand- ing access to public lands, re- storing trust and being a good neighbor, she said. Several secretarial orders to facilitate executive orders have already resulted in sus- pending or repealing dozens of regulations and revoking mitigation policies that can be a burden to some busi- nesses, she said. In sync with Zinke’s pri- orities, BLM is promoting shared conservation stew- ardship, supporting working landscapes that aid job cre- ation and providing for tra- ditional uses of public lands, she said. Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Kathy Benedetto, senior adviser to BLM, talks with rancher Chet Brackett during the Idaho Cattle Association annual convention in Sun Valley on Nov. 14. “We are embracing our multiple-use mission with renewed enthusiasm, which means there will be oppor- tunities for commercial uses, including grazing, as well as conservation and recreation,” she said. There is a new focus at BLM on shared conserva- tion stewardship, including efforts to try outcome-based grazing, revisit sage grouse conservation plans and re- consider the land-use plan- ning process. In early September, BLM began soliciting demon- stration projects for out- come-based grazing, which allows livestock operators more flexibility to make adjustments in response to changing conditions, such as drought or wildfires, she said. The agency will also work with ranchers to address fuels buildup with targeted graz- ing and fuel breaks and ex- pand on its partnerships with rangeland fire protection as- sociations, she said. Ranchers can also expect to see progress in the great- er sage grouse arena, with Zinke committed to effective management and conserva- tion of the species, she said. In June, he issued an order designed to give states more say in managing the bird and its habitat, ensuring state and federal plans are comple- mentary and remain flexible to emphasize local econom- ic growth and job creation, she said. That led to a notice of intent to amend land-use plans and a serious of scop- ing meetings to get public input, which closed Nov. 30. “BLM recognizes that the states have produced good plans for sage grouse pop- ulations. Our next step is to work collaboratively to bring our plans into alignment with theirs,” she said. And it’s not going to be “a one size fits all” for all states because conditions on the ground are different, she said. Following up on Trump’s nullification of BLM’s Plan- ning 2.0 rule, Zinke tasked BLM with identifying ineffi- ciencies and redundancies in the land-use planning process, and the goal is to work with states and local communities to streamline planning and the NEPA process, she said. BLM is putting more time and resources into managing public land for multiple uses and values now and into the future. It is a priority for Zin- ke, and agencies out West are going to see an effort to get more people on the ground to accomplish that, she said. “We really are embracing the multiple use and sustain- able yield mission that may- be wasn’t by the last admin- istration,” she said. 51-3/102