Salvage Sale Won’t Harm Bull Trout, Agency Says

A proposed timber sale on the Boise National Forest will protect Idaho’s dwindling bull trout and not lose taxpayers’ money, U.S. Forest Service officials say.

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies has written the state Division of Environmental Quality, asking it to work with the Forest Service to do away with the Cache II Salvage sale in the Bear Valley Creek drainage east of Cascade.

It would cut 426 acres near the stream, which is listed as a water quality limited stretch under the Clean Water Act, requiring no further degradation, said Don Smith, alliance director for Idaho. It also is a key watershed in the state’s conservation plan to keep the spotted fish off the endangered species list.

But the sale follows PACFISH and INFISH guidelines to preserve habitat both for the endangered, migrating salmon and the resident bull trout, Lowman District Ranger Walt Rogers said Wednesday.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has analyzed the sale and lent its support, he said.

The Forest Service sale assessment states: “Minor increases in sediment yields could be expected in the short term (1-3 years).”

Rogers said the extra silt would be the result of closing eight miles of nearby roads, halting that pollution over the long term.

The alliance estimated the resale value of the timber, combined with the costs of preparing and administrating the sale, actually will cost taxpayers up to $310,000.

Rogers replied his agency believes the project will be positive, making money rather than losing it in a below-cost sale. He could not estimate the profit.

“It all depends on the market, which is fluctuating these days,” he said.