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Idaho auctions first 'Good Neighbor' timber sale |
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September 29, 2016 |
The State of Idaho auctioned a U.S. Forest
Service timber sale for the first time Tuesday
as part of a state-federal partnership to
increase management activities on federal lands
in Idaho.
The Wapiti Timber Sale on the Nez
Perce-Clearwater National Forests is the first
project developed under Good Neighbor Authority
(GNA), a federal law that enables the Forest
Service to partner with the Idaho Department of
Lands (IDL) to achieve restoration and resilient
landscape objectives across ownership boundaries
in Idaho. A second GNA agreement signed earlier
this month will authorize IDL to conduct timber
sale layout and administration activities on the
Payette National Forest in west-central Idaho.
“Good Neighbor Authority makes it possible for
the State of Idaho to leverage our support and
land management expertise with the Forest
Service to augment management activities
happening on federal lands in Idaho,” Governor
C.L. “Butch” Otter said. “These projects will
reduce fuels on federally managed forests and
reduce threats to communities and watersheds
from catastrophic wildfires, improving forest
health and creating jobs and economic benefits
for our citizens.”
McFarland Cascade submitted the winning bid to
purchase the Wapiti Timber Sale, a plan to
harvest 4.44 million board feet of timber across
216 acres on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National
Forests. Approximately 110 mature trees per acre
will be left in the harvest area after
completion of the timber sale. The company paid
a net amount of $1,418,675 for the timber. There
were multiple bidders, resulting in the final
net bid amount coming in more than $620,000 over
the appraised price.
The timber sale already has been evaluated and
approved through the National Environmental
Policy Act public process.
Tuesday’s timber sale auction and other projects
planned for the Payette and Idaho Panhandle
National Forests are the result of more than two
years of work between the State of Idaho, Forest
Service, timber companies, and other partners.
GNA will help to increase the pace and scale of
forest and watershed restoration activities on
national forests in Idaho.
The 2014 Farm Bill expanded GNA to all states.
The Farm Bill also authorized Governor Otter to
identify national forest system lands in Idaho
in greatest need of treatment due to high risk
of insect and disease mortality. Governor Otter
submitted 1.8 million acres of designations to
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, and the
designations were accepted in May 2014. Going
forward, some GNA projects will be focused on
treating the acres identified through this
process. IDL hired a contractor in 2014 to
facilitate GNA efforts between IDL and the
Forest Service.
In 2015, the Idaho Legislature passed Senate
Concurrent Resolution 126 aimed at increasing
management activities on federal lands in Idaho.
And in 2016 Governor Otter and the Idaho
Legislature approved the hiring of three
positions within IDL and contracts with
professional foresters to prepare and administer
GNA timber sales in Idaho.
“The Idaho Department of Lands forestry
professionals are well equipped to support
efforts to increase management on federal
forests in Idaho because of their extensive
knowledge of timber sale preparation and
administration and their familiarity with the
federal lands in need of treatment,” IDL
Director Tom Schultz said. “Hats off to the Nez
Perce-Clearwater National Forests for working
with Idaho to put up the first Good Neighbor
Authority timber sale in the state.”
“We recognize the need and benefits of resource
and vegetation management on all lands,” Nez
Perce-Clearwater National Forest Supervisor
Cheryl Probert said. “I am very proud of the
foresight and collaboration of employees on the
Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests and Idaho
Department of Lands Maggie Creek Area as they
forged the way for other collaborative efforts
across the state. A long list of restoration
projects has been identified to be completed as
a result of the revenue generated from the sale,
and benefits will be realized far beyond this
initial effort.”
The Wapiti Timber Sale will put 88 people to
work, produce more than $2.9 million in wages
and salaries, and generate more than $16.9
million in the sale of goods and services. The
figures are derived from a 2016 study by the
universities of Idaho and Montana on the Idaho
forest products industry that states, “today
each million board feet of timber harvested and
processed in the state provides approximately 20
jobs (12 in the forest products industry plus
eight indirect or induced jobs in supporting
industries), $667,000 in wages and salaries, and
generates $3.85 million in sales of goods and
services.” |
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