Tubbs Hill To Be Logged

The question Tuesday night wasn’t so much whether to log Tubbs Hill, but how to log it.

Members of the city’s Park and Recreation Commission were convinced the threat of falling trees, a fir beetle infestation and fire justifies sending loggers into the treasured park.

But first, they sent a small committee of professional woodsmen back into the park to figure out the best way to do it. Their plan will be forwarded to the City Council next week.

The urgency to rid the 123-acre park of ice-damaged trees is fueled by many dangerously leaning trees, and the fear that in April a species of beetle known to infest weakened or downed Douglas fir will migrate through Tubbs Hill.

One forester estimated that as much as a quarter of the park’s trees should be removed.

Mark Weadick, a consulting forester, estimated the amount of damaged timber from the storm at more than 200,000 board-feet, or about 1,200 trees.

But Mark Weller of Idaho Forest Industries guessed it was much less than that. He advised using a helicopter to haul away the timber, because it would cause little damage.

The catch: Helicopter logging costs about $1,400 an hour, meaning the city doesn’t stand to make much money from the salvage operation.

Stan Smith, a member of North Idaho’s Small Loggers Council, said Weller’s suggestion would only benefit a big contractor.

“We’re in favor of putting some people to work,” Smith said, arguing that independent loggers using conventional methods could do the job without damaging the park.

Existing roads, such as the road to the water tower on the northeast side of Tubbs Hill, could be used to remove the timber, he said.

The commission voted to have a handful of foresters revisit Tubbs Hill and work out a plan.

Art Manley, a long-time member of the Tubbs Hill Committee, made a plea to be conservative.

“We need someone from the city to oversee and make sure we don’t have too big a job and take too many trees,” he said.

, DataTimes