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

Idaho Fish and Game will net about $907,000 from logging cedar grove near Lake Pend Oreille

Ali Hakala is among those upset about Idaho Fish and Game’s decision to sell timber from a second-growth cedar grove near Lake Pend Oreille. (The Spokesman-Review)

High prices for western red cedar prompted the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to move ahead with a 40-acre timber sale near Lake Pend Oreille, despite opposition from local residents.

The agency will receive about $907,000 from logging the cedars. The grove is northeast of Sandpoint on the Sunnyside Peninsula, which juts into the lake.

“This is a landlocked parcel with no public access, but it has some pretty valuable timber,” said Chip Corsi, Fish and Game’s regional manager in Coeur d’Alene. “We wanted to take advantage of the high cedar prices.”

The rebounding U.S. housing market increased demand for cedar siding and decking, pushing prices to near-record levels.

Idaho Forest Group, of Coeur d’Alene, was the high bidder at Wednesday’s auction. Proceeds from the sale will be used for wildlife habitat improvements on other land Fish and Game manages in North Idaho.

Neighbors had urged the agency to save the cedar trees, which are about 80 to 120 years old. They wanted Fish and Game to work out an easement across private land so people could walk from a public beach to the cedar grove.

“We continue to feel strongly that this native cedar grove is very unique and, left intact, is a huge asset to our community,” said Ali Hakala, a member of Friends of Sunnyside Cedars, which opposed the sale.

Jill Trick, who lives on the peninsula, said she’s disappointed agency officials weren’t more receptive to local residents’ wishes.

Having a grove of old cedars so close to town is somewhat unusual, she said. After the logging, it will take several generations to re-establish the big, old trees, Trick said.

Fish and Game officials delayed the sale by several months while talks were held with neighbors, said Corsi, the regional manager. The agency discussed potential options for selling or trading the cedar grove, but no deal emerged, he said.

The logging will remove about 1 million board feet of timber from the property. About 35 to 40 large trees will be left on each acre, along with smaller cedar trees, said Jim Teare, regional wildlife habitat manager.

“It will definitely not look like a clear-cut, and it will still provide cover for wildlife,” Teare said.