The Forest Service plans to drastically increase logging levels on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. Not that long ago, the timber program on the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests was more sustainable (though still too high to meet fish and water quality standards). Unfortunately, the past several months have seen a plethora of new logging proposals. Please see below.
White Pine
This proposal is in an area that contains some of the last undeveloped land of any size on the Palouse Ranger District of the Clearwater National Forest. It is also near the popular Palouse Divide ski area. The Forest Service is proposing to log 2100 acres of land and build 4 miles of new permanent road as well as an unspecified number of “temporary roads”. One of the cutting units proposed is along the White Pine Scenic Byway. The forest is required to maintain 10% old growth, yet the Palouse Ranger District has almost no old growth remaining, and this timber sale will further reduce the amount of older trees. Further, the proposal calls for logging in streamside “protected” buffers.
This is the only opportunity for public involvement. Please email comments to jkovarik@fs.fed.us to provide project feedback. Put White Pine in the subject line.
You can mail them to:
Clearwater National Forest
Palouse Ranger District
Attn: District Ranger 1
700 Highway 6
Potlatch, ID 83855
Smith Ridge
This timber sale is adjacent to the Mallard-Larkins Pioneer Area on the Clearwater National Forest and along the road from Isabella Landing to Smith Ridge. Damaging logging has taken place in the past on these steep slopes and negatively affected water quality. The Forest Service is now proposing to log 500 acres and build an unspecified number of so-called temporary roads. This is unfortunately the only opportunity for public input as the agency will make a quick decision under what is called a Categorical Exclusion with abbreviated public comment and no real environmental review.
Comments are due November 16. Please email comments to comments-northern-clearwater-northfork@fs.fed.us. Put Smith Ridge in the subject line.
You can mail comments to:Nez Perce – Clearwater National Forests
North Fork Ranger District
Attn: District Ranger
12730 US Highway 12
Orofino, ID 83544
Clear Creek Integrated Restoration Project
For the second time, the Forest Service is proposing to log in the Clear Creek drainage, a tributary to the Wild & Scenic Middle Fork Clearwater that enters the river just above Kooskia. This is the Forest Service’s revised massive Clear Creek Timber Sale, titled the Clear Creek Integrated Restoration Project, which was dropped by the agency in 2016 due to a lawsuit from the Nez Perce Tribe. The tribe owns a hatchery near the mouth of the creek.
All alternatives under the new analysis, except for the no action alternative, would massively log between 58 – 83 million board feet of timber. The Forest Service is likely to select the alternative containing the maximum amount of logging (over 8700 acres) with clear-cut units 500 acres in size! Old growth would be logged, ostensibly to improve habitat. More than 46 miles of new road would also be built. The least damaging alternative would propose 16 miles of new roads and “only” 7,300 acres of logging. Impacts to water quality and terrestrial wildlife habitat could be significant. The impact to rare species like fisher and on watersheds/fisheries – particularly steelhead -would be immense. There will also likely be negative impacts to moose, elk and other species. The upper Clear Creek watershed is on the National Forest and the lower has a mix of non-federal ownership. Much of the upper watershed does not currently meet forest plan standards for fish habitat and water quality.
Public comments are due November 13. Please send comments to comments-northern-nezperce-moose-creek@fs.fed.us. Put Clear Creek Integrated Restoration Project in the subject line.
You can mail comments to:
Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests
Attn: Zoanne Anderson
903 3rd Street Kamiah ID 83536