Tribe plans to burn fields next week

The smoke that’s been absent from North Idaho’s air after a court-ordered ban on field burning could partially return next week.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe expects field burning to begin on its land Monday if the weather allows. A Web site will be updated daily with acreage information and burn times, and the tribe won’t be commenting on the issue from here on out, spokesman Quanah Spencer said Friday.

“At this point, we’re just going to focus on actually regulating the field burning within the reservation,” he said.

He declined to say how many tribal acres could be burned but said the Web site will be updated.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled field burning illegal earlier this year, halting burning on places like the Rathdrum Prairie, where 2,400 acres were torched last summer.

But the ruling doesn’t apply to Indian reservations. The Coeur d’Alene tribal council voted in June to proceed with burns, which bluegrass farmers use to clear their fields and spur new growth. Opponents say the tiny particles found in the smoke that pours from burning fields can be harmful and even deadly to people with respiratory problems.

“We continue to be very concerned about the amount of burning that’s going to take place this year,” said Patti Gora of Safe Air For Everyone, the Sandpoint-based group that joined the American Lung Association of Idaho to file the lawsuit that ended field burning outside tribal lands. “The Coeur d’Alene Tribe is really the major source of field burning air pollution for the area.”

At least two deaths in the last five years are due to smoke from field burning, according to the lawsuit.

Spencer said the tribe has no comment on the health effects of field burning.

Safe Air For Everyone will have people watching the burns on the reservations “to document impacts on local communities and roads,” Gora said. The group is in mediation with the state to see if there’s a compromise that can be reached that will allow burning without the harmful effects, Gora said.

The tribe has a strict process for field burning and stiff penalties if it’s violated, Spencer said.

Applications for burn permits must be reviewed by a tribal committee. Burns are permitted only between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Farmers must follow regulations for buffer zones, keep fire equipment on hand and stay in contact with the tribe’s smoke management office throughout the burn, Spencer said.