Beetle Proposal Offers Healthy, Sensible Approach

A series of public meetings across North Idaho, attended by nearly 500 concerned citizens, has indicated to me there is still some confusion about proposed management actions for the Douglas-fir bark beetle.

The Douglas-fir bark beetle is a permanent resident of the forests of North Idaho and Eastern Washington. This epidemic was triggered by the ice storm damage of 1996 coupled with two consecutive hot and dry summers, which provided a prime food and nesting source.

The beetle knows no boundaries; it is affecting all lands regardless of ownership whether state, private, or national forest. As spring approaches, the communities of Coeur d’Alene, Harrison, Priest Lake and Newport will increasingly notice forests red with patches of dead Douglas fir.

This is a community problem where many neighbors are pulling together to deal with this epidemic. We feel an equal obligation to act responsibly as a key member of this forest community. Each neighbor has a different set of laws, or mandates to follow in the management of their lands. Laws for national forest management, dictated by Congress, probably are the most complex in our neighborhood. We lack the luxury to move as quickly as our neighbors to respond to this kind of event. Many find this pace frustrating.

The national agenda for management of natural resources on national forests focuses on roads, recreation, healthy watersheds, and sustainable ecosystems.

The beetle epidemic is a symptom our ecosystem is out of balance. It has further created an opportunity to bring it back into balance while addressing the four components of the natural-resource agenda mentioned above. These four components and the scientific findings of the Upper Columbia River Basin Assessment, and local assessments, form the foundation of the draft Environmental Impact Statement we are now asking you to review and provide comment. The DEIS provides a wide array of choices that we propose as alternative methods of coping with the infestation.

The infestation on National Forest lands at this time encompasses approximately 150,000 acres. This DEIS proposes to treat only 25,000 acres of the total outbreak acreage. The intensity of infestation on 5,000 acres will result in harvest acres that are a mosaic of openings. The remaining 80 percent will result in a selective harvest. We are not proposing 25,000 acres of clear-cut as some have stated.

Some are actively attempting to delay or stop the treatment opportunities on the National Forest. We cannot afford to delay if we are to take advantage of the value of the dead trees. They lose about 20 percent of their value each year. Capturing that value as soon as possible allows us the option to helicopter-log sensitive areas and maximize opportunities to improve other components of the ecosystem such as aquatics, vegetation, and reduction of fuels that could feed a catastrophic wildland fire. Delaying would exacerbate the potential threat to adjacent lands.

These consequences would be dramatic and long-term.

Another point of concern for some people is whether timber sales such as this one make money. First of all, Congress has specifically directed us to consider all resource values rather than focusing on a profit. Second, Congress has directed us to use “The Timber Sale Program Information Reporting System” to track costs and benefits of the timber sale program. The Idaho Panhandle National Forest has shown a net positive return over the past six years of $42,258,110. This does not include the payments to counties of 25 percent of our gross revenues. Based on our best cost estimates we expect a positive return from this project, provided the trees are harvested before significant deterioration occurs.

Lastly, this is not a plan for significant increases over recent logging rates.

Historical timber sale rates far exceeded what we have offered for sale from National Forest land in recent years. Annual growth rates for the Idaho Panhandle and Colville National Forests combined is approximately 450 million board feet per year. Annual mortality is over 200 million board feet per year. The proposed action for this project anticipates harvesting approximately 153 million board feet of timber. The timber harvest on the IPNF has been about 75 million board feet for each of the past two years.

The proposed action is a science-based, common-sense approach toward healthier forests and safer communities.