[Vision2020] Forest Service Should Pursue Purchase of Lochsa Land

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (May 15, 2010) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

----------------------------------------------------------

Forest Service should pursue purchase of Lochsa land

The so-called Upper Lochsa land exchange has been touted as a win-win
proposition by the company that wants to pull it off.

It's not.

Swapping 28,000 acres of forested land in the Clearwater National Forest -
some of which extends into Latah County - for 40,000 acres of logged-over
land in the upper reaches of the Lochsa River region in northeast Idaho is
a bad move, no matter how it's spun by Western Pacific Timber Co.
officials.

That doesn't mean the U.S. Forest Service should walk away from the deal
altogether.

We fully support a proposal by the Friends of the Palouse Ranger District,
Friends of the Clearwater, Latah County Farm Bureau and other conservation
groups that are encouraging the Forest Service to lead an effort to
purchase the property with help from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The Upper Lochsa River basin is home to some of Idaho's most precious
wildlife, is vital to the overall health of the Clearwater, Snake and
Columbia river systems and needs to be managed accordingly.

The Forest Service is in the best position to do that, and Western Pacific
might be willing to part with the property considering the havoc the
recession has wrought on the timber industry.

The Lochsa River has historical value as well. It was a sacred region for
the Nez Perce Tribe, which routinely traveled along the Lochsa River on
the Lolo Trail, and the Lewis and Clark expedition traipsed down it on
their historic journey to the Pacific Ocean.

They surely appreciated the beauty, power and significance of the river,
the forest that surrounded it and the wildlife that called it home.

So should the Forest Service. Purchasing the land is the only logical way
to ensure it's properly managed and protected for generations to come.

--------------

Video-recording and materials from the May 4, 2010 meeting, held at the
Sandpiper here in Moscow. In attendance were:

Gary Macfarlane (Friends of the Clearwater)
John Carlson (Latah County Farm Bureau)
Bob Smathers (Regional Farm Bureau)
Shirley Ringo (Idaho Rep Dist 6)
Bill Goesling (candidate for Latah BOCC)
Jack Buell (Benewah BOCC)
Bud McCall (Benewah BOCC)
Harvey Neese
Paul Agidius (candidate for Latah BOCC)
Tom Trail (Idaho Rep Dist 6)
Al Halvorsen (Friends of the Palouse)
Cheryl Halvorsen (Friends of the Palouse)
Kathy Judson (Friends of the Palouse)
Marilyn Beckett (Friends of the Palouse)
John Krebs (USFS Retiree)
Irv Johnson (USFS Retiree)
Dave McGraw (candidate for Latah BOCC)
Steve Bush (Elk River property owner)
Gary Schroeder (Idaho Senator Dist 6)

http://www.moscowcares.com/Lochsa/LochsaMtg_050410.htm

----------------------------------------------------------

Seeya at THE SECOND ANNUAL INTOLERISTA WINGDING with ROY ZIMMERMAN, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown