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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Board approves logging sales plan

Betsy Z. Russell Staff writer

BOISE – Idaho’s Land Board on Tuesday approved a stepped-up logging plan for 2006 that includes 68 timber sales, including 10 controversial ones near Priest Lake that conservationists say threaten endangered species.

The Idaho Conservation League and Selkirk Conservation Alliance called on the board to modify or delay those 10 sales to avoid hurting endangered grizzly bears, woodland caribou and bull trout.

“There are vast improvements that can be made in terms of road management and protecting soils and habitat, which are not mutually exclusive with harvesting certain of these areas,” said John Robison, who spoke on behalf of the two groups. “Many of our concerns could be addressed through road management, and these sales could proceed if more protective measures are in place.”

But “the most problematic ones the Idaho Department of Lands should shelve for the next few years,” he said. “The IDL already has enough of a timber base that this shouldn’t present any hardships.”

The Conservation League sued the state over proposed Priest Lake logging last year, but it dropped the suit after it had what Robison termed “excellent results” from meetings with Lands Department officials.

In 2004, state lawmakers approved plans to step up Idaho’s logging on state lands for the next decade, even adding 10 new employees to the department to help run the program. The fiscal year 2006 timber sale plan, which proposes cutting 202 million board feet, is the first to come up under that increased harvest approach.

Idaho’s long-term plans call for increasing timber harvests on state lands by as much as 20 million board feet a year for the next decade. The focus would be on larger trees – including old-growth timber – to get them cut while Idaho mills still can handle them. Many mills are retooling to focus on smaller-diameter timber, because that’s more available these days.

Endangered caribou – the number of which in the United States has dwindled to about 35 – rely on the big trees for their winter habitat in the Priest Lake area. The two conservation groups noted that three of the 10 sales they objected to are in grizzly bear management units, and in – or adjacent to – the caribou recovery zone, and call for building several miles of new roads each. The remaining seven could impact bull trout, they said.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden noted that by approving the overall sales plan for 2006, the board isn’t giving specific approval to any timber sale. All still will have to come before the board individually for approval before they can proceed.

In 2004, as they were setting the course toward increased logging, lawmakers approved increased efforts by the Lands Department to negotiate with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on how best to protect endangered species in the Priest Lake area. That work is aimed at developing a habitat conservation plan that would guide state timber operations in the area and protect the state from prosecution under the Endangered Species Act.

Robison said the two conservation groups were pleased with that approach but disappointed to see sales planned in the area before the habitat plan is in place.

“We would like to avoid returning to litigation,” he said.

Jane Gorsuch, vice president of the Intermountain Forest Association, gave the Land Board an opposite assessment. She said her members have reviewed the proposed harvesting plans and found them to be “a very conservative estimate of what could be harvested on state lands.”

She added, “We do applaud the Department of Lands and the Land Board for having continued discussions with all the parties.”

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne told Winston Wiggins, state lands director, “It’s clear from John’s comments that the dialogue you’ve had with ICL has been good. I’d just encourage you to continue those discussions.”

Wiggins responded, “We’ll certainly continue those discussions.”

Robison, a conservation associate with the ICL, said his organization’s goal isn’t to block all logging at Priest Lake. “We believe it’s possible to have sustainable timber harvest and still protect endangered species,” he said. “The main issues are roads.”