Idaho Lewis and Clark Bicentenntial News December 2004, Volume 4
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^1^ IDAHO LEWIS AND CLARK ^;ini3i«M»aifiMiii0i9aaa Volume 4, Number 1 and 2 • December 2004 IDAHO LEWIS AND CLARK BICENTENNIAL NEWS BI-STATE PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAM Published by the Lewis and Clark Information Center, an office of the Just because safety is probably the last thing on the minds of visitors to Idaho com• Idaho State Historical Societ)', for memorating the Lewis & Clark bicentennial by exploring sites and communities along the Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail the Trail doesn't mean somebody else hasn't taken it into consideration. The bicentennial's Committee. Bi-State Public Safety Program is proof of that. Editor: Keith Petersen The program dates back to the first month of the new millennium. On January 19, Assistant Editor: Julie R. Monroe 2001, sheriffs from five Idaho counties: Clearwater, Idaho, Lemhi, Lewis, and Nez Perce Designer: Melissa Rockwood, and three Montana counties: Beaverhead, Missoula, and Ravalli, as well as officials from Rdesign the Clearwater National Forest (U.S. Forest Service) met to develop a comprehensive Printing: UI Printing and Design safety and law enforcement strategy for the Lewis and Clark Corridor, a region in Idaho Services and Montana with a land area greater than the states of New Hampshire, Delaware, Mas• To be added to the mailing list or for sachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island combined. Because the Corridor, which includes information about the bicentennial, almost 600 miles of the Lewis & Clark Trail as it winds through the Bitterroot Mountains, contact Keith Petersen at the Center, cuts across two states, the individuals involved in early stages of the project knew they were 415 Main, Lewiston ID 83501, 208- 792-2249, or [email protected]. breaking new ground. OfSce space for the Lewis and Clark While mutual aid agreements have long Information Center is generously pro• been a part of law enforcement, the cross- vided by Lewis-Clark State College. jurisdictional nature of the nascent program signified it as something unique in the area of pubUc safety. Says Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman: "Among law enforcement officials, this program is unprecedented. GOVERNOR'S LEWIS AND You don't see eight sheriffs in the state get• CLARK TRAIL COMMITTEE ting together to work on a common project, Beryl DeBoard,C;?-fl«r much less sheriffs in two states." In fact, according to Carol Hennessey, Supervisory Joe Marshall, Vice Chair Natural Resource Specialist, Clearwater Rose Ann Abrahamson Ruthann Caylor James Fazio Steve Guerber Jerry Jeager Charles Knowles Marge Kuchynka Carol MacGregor Kathy Martin Julian Matthews top: Installation of a radio relay station on Junction Mountain, Clearwater County, Brian Miller above: Snowmobiles purchased by the Lewis Jennifer Oatman-Brisbois County Sheriff's Office. AUen Pinkham National Forest, the program "has been left: Interior of new Ravalli County Sheriff's Audrey Ponzo highlighted for its amazing ability to gain Offcepick-up. common communications and ability to Anne Schorzman coordinate and cooperate across eight counties in two states." In addition to county and CarlWilgus federal government involvement, other agencies also have been involved in the planning Sara Nye, liaison to the effort, including the Idaho State Pohce, Montana Highway Patrol, and the Nez Perce Tribe. Governor's office The Idaho Governor's Lewis &c Clark Trail Committee oversees the program. •Keith Petersen, Sitate With one to four million visitors expected, and in acknowledgement that existing Bicentennial Coordinator medical service and law enforcement would be stretched beyond their capabihty, the sheriffs and Forest Service officials entered into a memorandum of understanding that resulted in a sweeping strategy to address the public safety and law enforcement needs of Continued 2 IDAHO LEWIS AND CLARK BICENTENNIAL NEWS BI-STATE, continued satellite radios, and pagers. The third com• ponent of the infrastructure, personnel, has the eight-count)' area. Th# strategy would also been addressed through the flinding of need to deal with natural disasters, search wages for additional deputy sheriffs. and rescue, fatalities, vehicle accidents, Specific accomplishments of the pro• physical injuries, large-scale accidents, and gram to-date include establishment of three multiple incidents occurring simultane• emergency call boxes along Highway 12 ously. It would need also to identify and from Kooskia to Lolo Pass and the devel• outline resource needs, such as ambulances, opment of an evacuation plan for the Lolo fire departments, emergency medical tech• Motorway and Highway 12, which was nicians, helicopters, hospitals, and clinics. In addition to emergency response, the plan All-terrain vehicle purchased by the Idaho County would need to address law enforcement Sheriff's Office. needs, such as personnel, protection of heritage resources, civil disobedience, htter, system, identified as the least adequate vandahsm, and fee comphance. system then in place, became one of the The plan the sheriffs and Forest Service plan's highest priorities. The planners also officials developed called for a complete developed a general radio communications redesign of community service, including plan to ensure the adequate allocation of an evaluation of personnel, equipment, radio channels. and communications. The goals of the plan Beaverhead County Sheriff's O//., c iiciv deputy Given the scope of the project, the plan• were to have safety and law enforcement pick-up. ners acknowledged that changes would not resources available in small communities happen without financial assistance, and near the Lewis & Clark Trail in Idaho and Senators Larry Craig of Idaho and Conrad actually implemented in 2003 when the Montana, to have communication resources Burns of Montana were instrumental in Motorway was evacuated during a forest in place to ensure coordination among securing federal funding for the program. fire. Says Sheriff Brett Barsalou of Lemhi counties and states and effective response to During the first year of the planning pro• County, Idaho, "Because of the Bi-State emergencies, to ensure that visitors would cess, the project received a direct Congres• Public Safety Program, the Trail between have access to emergency aid in remote sional appropriation of $500,000; the U.S. Beaverhead County and Nez Perce County areas, to train and prepare personnel in forest Service also donated $47,000. Since is much saTer than it was two years ago."~ ~ medical and law enforcement skills, and to then, the program has received sizeable This is no idle claim on Sheriff Barsa- reduce the risk of serious injury or fatalities appropriations: $2.7 million in 2002, $1.7 lou's part. In the spring of this year, Sheriff that might occur in remote areas and on miUion in 2003, and $750,000 in 2004. Barsalou's office coordinated the rescue of rural highways. With the funding provided by the pro• two individuals whose plane crashed on Lost One of the biggest concerns the plan gram, officials in the eight counties have Horse Pass. On Saturday, April 17,Tom and addressed was communications. The radio built an infrastructure of communication, Betty Hufford were flying from Whitefish, capabilities of the organizations in the equipment, and personnel that will enable Montana to Nevada with two other planes plan were, for the most part, based on law enforcement and emergency response when they encountered bad weather. The the use of VHF-high band mobile relays officials to meet their obligations to ensure pilots in the planes accompanying the Huf- (repeaters) and mountaintop base stations. the public safety. Examples of vehicular fords mrned their planes around and headed The exceptions were Lewis and Lemhi equipment purchased through the program back to Montana, but the Huffords con• counties, which used the UHF band. In are fully-equipped ambulances, patrol ve• tinued on. Over Lost Trail Pass, the plane's fact, replacement of Lemhi County's radio hicles, search and rescue vehicles, all-terrain carburetor began to ice up. Mr. Hufford vehicles, snowmobiles, trailers, then tried to turn the plane around, but it and a jet boat. Three counties, lost altitude and dropped almost directly on Clearwater, Lemhi, and Mis• the Pass, about a quarter mile southwest of soula, purchased the wreckage Lost Trail Ski Resort, just over the summit extraction device known as the on the Idaho side of the border. "Jaws of Life." While all passengers, including the Program funding has also couple's dog, survived the crash, the Huf• been devoted to remedying se• fords had both suffered serious injuries. rious communication deficien• Despite a broken leg, Mrs. Hufford, an cies within the eight-county emergency-room physician, placed a 9-1-1 region. Each of the counties call on her cell phone, which was received has extensively upgraded their by the Lemhi County Sheriff's dispatch. communication systems with Because of the remote location of the crash, the purchases of new equip• it took personnel from Salmon Search and ment, such as radios, repeat• Rescue and the Lemhi County Sheriff's Missoula Countyfirefighters show off new extraction equipment ers, consoles, satellite phones. Office several hours to reach the accident DECEMBER 2004 3 site, but they did so in equipment purchased through the pubhc safety^rogram. GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE AWARDS $630,000 IN Sheriff Barsalou says that had it not GRANTS been for this equipment, including a At its meeting in Salmon in Septem• fully-equipped ambulance and two patrol Log Cabin Literary Center and Idaho ber 2004, the Idaho Governor's Lewis pick-ups, crews might not have been able State Library for expansion of the Lewis and Clark Trail Committee awarded to reach the Huffords before hypothermia and Clark "Let's Talk About It" program in 1634,721 in bicentennial community as• set in. Says Sheriff Barsalou, "I think if you Idaho libraries, and two writing workshops sistance grants. This is the fourth year of asked those two people [the Huffords], they on Lewis and Clark.