[Vision2020] USFS Offers Info on Proposed Lochsa Land Exchange

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (January 12, 2011) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Forest Service offers info on proposed Lochsa land exchange
By Christina Lords, Daily News Staff Writer
January 12, 2011

After two U.S. Forest Service open house meetings this week, Project
Leader Teresa Trulock said Idahoans understand the Forest Service's desire
to acquire privately owned lands in the Upper Lochsa.

They understand blocking up lands owned by Western Pacific Timber and the
federal government would make it easier for the USFS to manage the area as
a unit instead of the checkerboard of privately and federally owned lands
it is now.

They understand the USFS would be able to practice better fire management
if that land was federally owned.

They understand it would provide a more cohesive space for wildlife and
the ecosystems they live in.

Where they're divided, she said, is how to accomplish that goal.

"A lot of people have said, 'we completely understand what you're doing,
but we just don't want to you to take what's in our backyard to do it,' "
she said.

Trulock and other members of the USFS were on hand to discuss the
exchange's Draft Environmental Impact Statement at an open house hosted by
the agency from 1-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Latah County Fairgrounds in
Moscow. Representatives from Western Pacific Timber and the Rocky Mountain
Elk Foundation, which favors the exchange, were also available to answer
questions from the public.

Many members of the Friends of the Palouse Ranger District, who oppose the
exchange, were also present.

There will be open houses 1-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Clearwater National
Forest Supervisor's Office in Orofino and 1-7 p.m. Thursday at the Red
River Ranger District (Elk City Ranger Station) in Elk City.

About 30 people attended an open house that was held Monday in Elk River.
More than 70 attended the Moscow open house.

The DEIS states the Forest Service prefers a land exchange in a phased,
three-year purchase agreement where 6,200 acres up to about 14,100 acres
of national forest, including 2,600 acres in Latah County, would be
exchanged for up to 39,300 acres of WPT land. None of the WPT land is in
Latah County.

The other alternatives listed in the DEIS include 1) no exchange or
purchase, 2) a modified exchange involving about 17,800 acres of federal
land for about 39,300 acres of WPT land at the headwaters of the Lochsa
River and 3) the direct purchase of all 39,300 WPT acres.

Another option would be similar to the Forest Service's preferred option,
but the federal land would be exchanged all at once instead of over a
three-year span.

The timber cruise of the WPT and Forest Service land, which estimates the
value of the timber each contains, is expected to be accepted this week,
said Mark Craig, a USFS timber contracting officer. The start of the
appraisal process for the properties is dependent on the data from the
timber cruise and other informational documents, he said.

The appraisal process has not begun and was not included in the DEIS. It
will be available in the final draft of the document, said John Hickey, a
USFS regional appraiser.

Trulock said the open houses are a good way to talk to people with
specific concerns about specific parcels, such as how a 65-acre parcel in
the area possibly going into private ownership could affect water quality
in Elk River.

Questions at the Moscow open house seemed to center on parcels north of
Moscow, especially those in the Palouse Ranger District, she said.

Jack Blackwell, director of business development for the Rocky Mountain
Elk Foundation, said the organization favors the exchange because of the
good it could do for the wildlife habitat and the lands of the Upper
Lochsa.

"We support the study of these lands, and we think this process is a good
one," he said.

He said the foundation can provide financial support for projects like
prescribed burns and spraying for noxious weeds to increase elk habitat in
the area. He said the foundation has pledged some funding for
revitalization of the WPT land if it were to come into federal ownership.

The DEIS process allows for the public to become involved and provide
feedback on parcels that might have been missed otherwise, Blackwell said.

"The concerns people have are very legitimate," he said. "If I lived near
one of the parcels in the exchange, I would probably think the same way.
But that's why we have this public process."

He said public involvement and feedback is the reason why several thousand
acres originally proposed have been dropped from the exchange. Further
feedback will further reflect what the public wants out of the exchange,
Blackwell said.

"We want to thank the people of Elk River and of Moscow for coming down
and being so open-minded during this process," Trulock said.

Written comments on the DEIS will be accepted by the USFS until Feb. 23.
Information regarding the exchange is on the USFS website at
www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/ under the "projects" heading.

The final EIS is expected to be released this fall.

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Photos

http://www.dnews.com/images/7952233.jpg

http://www.dnews.com/images/7952234.jpg

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho


"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown