Tribe sets planned 1,385-acre field burn

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe burned 1,385 acres of bluegrass stubble Monday in Benewah and Kootenai counties, sending a smoky haze over Coeur d’Alene.

The tribe had registered to burn up to 2,500 acres Monday. Tribal attorney Eric Van Orden said the tribe plans to burn up to 18,000 acres this season, which is about 10 times the amount that farmers registered for burning on the Rathdrum Prairie.

Burning on the prairie is finished for the year, said George Robinson, who’s in charge of the Idaho Department of Agriculture’s crop residue disposal program. The agency regulates burning of wheat stubble, bluegrass fields and other crop residue statewide, and coordinates smoke management with the Coeur d’Alene and Nez Perce tribes.

Farmers on the Rathdrum Prairie concluded their season’s burning on Aug. 26 after torching 873 acres that day. The prairie’s first burn day of the season was Aug. 16 with 989 acres burned. One other small burn of 70 acres took place between those dates, Robinson said.

The acreage burned on the Rathdrum Prairie has gradually decreased from about 13,000 acres in 1989 because of lawsuits, development pressures and the high cost of insurance.