Meeting July 26 to address unattended campfires on Moscow Mountain

["Archie" <archie@moscow.com>]

People are leaving campfires burning on Moscow Mountain.  Now here is a chance to do something
about it.

Last Saturday (July 14th) members of the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute, the Moscow
Area Mountain Bike Association, the Palouse Land Trust, and others got together to pick up trash
and clean up camp sites on Moscow Mountain.  Trash bags were donated by Les Schwab, Bruneel, and
Martins tire and auto service centers.  Latah sanitation provided a dumpster and accepted trash and
fire-pit debris.  Fifteen to twenty volunteers worked from about 9 AM to after 4 PM.  Cliff Todd
put his son's Eagle Scout project back up, an interpretive sign naming the significant land
features visible from the old lookout site.  The sign had been restored after suffering bullet
impacts and other defacing the last few years.  It was a great effort.  We feel the mountain is a
better place to visit.

However, at the old lookout site we found that someone had left not only the usual beer cans and
broken glass, but also a burning campfire.  It was still smoldering when we arrived at the site
about 10 AM.  With a little wind, we could have had a real disaster, as it was hot and dry last
Saturday.

On Sunday we learned that Sid Eder, who lives on the west end of the mountain, had found two
similar burning and abandoned campfires while walking his dog.  One on Saturday and another, in a
different location, on Sunday morning.  Sid was motivated enough to call on his friends and
neighbors and has organized a meeting to address this serious threat to all the residents and
wildlife on the mountain.  This will take place at 7 PM Thursday, July 26th, at the Moscow School
District Administrative offices, west of the track adjacent to the Moscow Junior High School.  We
expect representatives of the Idaho Department of Lands, Bennett Lumber Products, the Moscow Fire
Department, the City of Troy, the University of Idaho, and others to be on hand to discuss options.
Hopefully, a plan of action can be formulated to address this immediate threat.

Please join us.  Your input is valuable even if you can't make the meeting.  Post your comments on
Vision2020 and I will collect them for discussion at the meeting.

Thank you,
Archie George, President
Palouse Land Trust
Moscow Idaho