HOW THE CLEARWATER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS AFFECTED BY FEDERAL LANDS

What services provide on Federal Lands?

What are the challenges?Is there a need for our services?

US Forest Service Lands

The Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office is the Dispatch

Center for all Clearwater County First responders

BACK COUNTRY DEPUTY

We have a fulltime deputy that works primarily on Forest Service land. He stays at a trailer at the Kelly Creek Work Center on the days that he works. The

trailer is equipped with a radio for communications. This deputy is funded partially by a Co-op agreement with the Forest Service. The funding is fixed and has not increased over the years. The funding pays for

less than half of the cost of a deputy.

To provide for better communications a new repeater was installed at Junction. Access to this site for radio equipment

is only by helicopter.

Junction Repeater with the old lookout in the background

Our most common calls are for accidents

In the summer of 2004 we had two fatalities in the North Fork of the

Clearwater River

These accidents sometimes involve large vehicles

We investigate accidents involving Government owned vehicles

SOME OF THE CHALLENGES

Much of the Forest Service Land has limited access in the winter. The only way to access much of

the land is by snowmobile or helicopter. We have people that do various types of winter recreation

including snow shoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling and

off road adventures.

Some of the winter recreation

Backcountry Medics are often used to transport the injured.

In the spring it is hard to tell what roads are open

Illegal drug manufacturing occurs on Federal Lands

Getting supplies to remote areas is difficult

Calls for service vary from year to year. Our backcountry deputy

kept track of his contacts for the summers of 2007 and 2008

2007 2008

June 1144July 2772August 1219September 1721October 529

June 562July 2832August 2686September 1085October 467

Search and Rescue are also the responsibility of the Sheriff. Costs for extensive searches can easily exceed the Title III money that is

available.

I couldn’t resist adding this picture

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PROVIDING LAW ENFORCEMENT IS A DIFFICULT TASK ANYWHERE BUT

REMOTE, LOW POPULATION AREAS MAKE THE CHALLENGE GREATER. AS FUNDING SOURCES GET HARDER TO FIND AND CURRENT FUNDING HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO INCREASE WE

MUST WORK TOGETHER WITH PARTNERS TO COMPLETE THE

TASKS. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW AND CREATIVE FUNDING SOURCES SO

THAT WE CAN DO THE JOB THAT IS REQUIRED OF US.