Upper Lochsa questions

For the past five years, many members of the general public, various organizations and public officials have come out in opposition to the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange (ULX). They deserve some concrete and public answers from Forest Supervisor Rick Brazell, Sens. Mike Crapo and James Risch, and Rep. Raul Labrador to the following questions:

1) What is the ULX going to be: an administrative decision signed by the forest supervisor, or a legislative decision? If the latter, then let’s make an official closure of the exchange by selecting the “No Action” alternative. (Note: The supplemental draft environmental impact statement was never within the delegated authority of the forest supervisor.)

2) As a legislative exchange, will the appraisal follow that of the federal land exchange program as practiced by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service: a dollar-for-dollar, value-for-value transaction?

3) Exactly what national forest lands are being appraised for the legislative proposal? Will that appraisal of the national forest lands be made public, and be an integral part of the collaborative process prior to the legislative decision?

4) Will the legislative decision be made public prior to the 2014 election?

John Krebs

Potlatch, Idaho