[Vision2020] Lochsa Land Swap Variations Drafted

[Tom Hansen]

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Lochsa land swap variations drafted
Forest Service prefers three-year phased exchange, purchase
By Christina Lords Daily News Staff Writer


By [author]Christina Lords[/author] [org]Daily News Staff Writer[/org]
November 23, 2010

The U.S. Forest Service released a draft environmental impact statement
Monday detailing options for the proposed Upper Lochsa Land Exchange
between the Forest Service and privately owned Western Pacific Timber,
LLC.

The Forest Service prefers a combined land exchange and three-year
purchase agreement where about 14,100 acres of national forest would be
exchanged for about 39,300 acres of WPT land, according to the statement.
That option would allow more time for the Forest Service to compete for
federal funds to purchase the WPT land, said forest supervisor Rick
Brazell.

"That would allow us to draw it out over all that time without exchanging
any more land than we have to," he said.

WPT would receive about 2,600 acres from national forest lands in Latah
County in the Forest Service's preferred option, about 1,400 fewer acres
than originally proposed. The national forest would not gain any acreage
in Latah County in the preferred option.

For a fair trade overall, WPT has maintained that it would need to get
about 20,000 of the 28,000 acres the Forest Service originally proposed as
being available for trade. Reducing the acreage further would require a
payment to WPT, it has said.

The federal exchange includes land tracts in Latah, Idaho, Benewah,
Kootenai, Clearwater and Bonner counties in the Clearwater, Nez Perce and
Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

Residents will have 90 days to comment on the impact statement, which is
double the time legally required because of the statement's release during
the holiday season, said Teresa Trulock, project coordinator for the
Clearwater National Forest.

Brazell said the draft EIS will allow people to provide specific feedback
on how the proposed exchange will affect their properties.

The other alternatives listed in the draft EIS include no exchange or
purchase, a modified exchange involving about 17,800 acres of federal land
for about 39,300 acres of WPT land at the headwaters of the Lochsa River
and the direct purchase of all non-federal lands.

Another option would be similar to the Forest Service's preferred option,
but the federal land would be exchanged all at once instead of over the
three-year span.

WPT purchased the checkerboard of land, which was once owned by the
Northern Pacific Railroad, from Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber.

"We bought this property in 2005-06 with idea to trade these lands with
the U.S. Forest Service," said Andy Hawes, general counsel for WPT. "We
wanted to do an exchange and in good faith, not to touch these properties.
And we haven't."

Hawes said WPT would consider the three-year phased land exchange and
purchase agreement.

"We always have been open to a phased purchase ... and one thing it comes
down to is the appraised value," he said.

Marilyn Beckett, a member of the Friends of the Palouse Ranger District,
said the group has lobbied to have the land's appraised value included in
the draft EIS and has advocated for no exchange or purchase.

The public has not been adequately informed of the process of the land
exchange and has serious concerns with the biodiversity, public access and
developmental possibilities associated with the land in the exchange, she
said.

"The obvious problem of giving up public land is that there is a lot of
investment by public tax dollars, and it deserves to be kept in the
system," Beckett said.

She said the group also has concerns about the eventual phase out of
districts like the Palouse Ranger District as more land exchanges occur.

"It needs to have a ranger district," Brazell of the Forest Service said.
"It's got to have a ranger district. In my opinion, the district is not
being threatened in any shape or form."

For the direct purchase of all WPT lands, the draft EIS states, "without a
completed appraisal, it is estimated that the purchase price would be
between $25 and $40 million."

WPT would consider selling all or some of the WPT parcels to the Forest
Service if funding was available for that option, the draft EIS states.
Under that option, the Forest Service would need to find funding that
might include donations, land and water conservation funds, congressional
appropriation or other sources to purchase the total WPT parcels.

"In contrast to how the land was given away in the first place, that
leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of the public," Beckett said. "Not only
should the public not have to work that hard to come up with that money,
but they shouldn't have to come up with the money period."

The Forest Service originally proposed the land exchange in September 2008
to move privately owned "checkerboard" lands near the Idaho-Montana border
into federal ownership. The process leading up to the EIS began in
November 2008, Trulock said.

Forest Service officials will meet with tribal governments, elected
officials, agencies and other interested groups or individuals to discuss
the EIS, Brazell said.

Open houses on the draft EIS will be held in Moscow, Elk River and Elk
City in January.

Hawes said WPT plans to meet with residents and interested parties
throughout that time, and representatives will be available at each of the
open houses to address concerns.

Trulock said the more specific people can be with their concerns,
especially how those concerns relate to specific parcels of land, the
better.

To find the draft EIS online, go to:

http://bit.ly/gMHzZ8 or

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/Projects/PALS_Project_Content.htm?project=26227

Christina Lords can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 301, or by e-mail
to clords at dnews.com.

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QUICK READ

- What happened: The U.S. Forest Service released a study of the
environmental impacts of the proposed Upper Lochsa Land Exchange, and
suggested several alternatives.

- What it means: Officials prefer a combined exchange and payment to
transfer about 14,100 acres of national forest to Western Pacific Timber
for about 39,300 acres of the company's land.

- What happens next: Residents may submit comments on the draft to the
Forest Service until late February. An open house on the EIS will be held
in January in Moscow.

n Why you should Care: The federal exchange includes land tracts in Latah,
Idaho, Benewah, Kootenai, Clearwater and Bonner counties and could result
in a loss of about 2,600 public acres in Latah County.

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For more information, go to . . .

http://www.LochsaLandExchange.com

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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

- Unknown