Panhandle parcels eyed in land trade

SANDPOINT — About 8,500 acres of public lands in the Panhandle factor into a proposed land exchange between the Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Forest Group and an Arizona development company.

The 75 isolated BLM parcels being considered in the trade are scattered among Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone and Boundary counties. The northern Idaho lands are part of a four-component land exchange.

If the exchange goes through, M3 Companies would acquire the Panhandle parcels and sell them to Idaho Forest Group, which will manage them for timber production.

M3 would acquire two isolated BLM parcels totaling about 975 acres immediately adjacent to its planned 6,000-acre, mixed-use housing development near Eagle.

The BLM would receive no fewer than 800 acres of property in the Eagle Foothills in southern Idaho, boosting the public ownership in that area to 2,715 acres. The agency would receive another 11,000 acres of private lands adjacent to BLM lands in Boise County, creating a contiguous block of about 23,000 acres of public lands.

The West Foothills/North Idaho Land Exchange’s consultant, Joe Hinson of Northwest Natural Resource Group, said the Panhandle lands have been targeted for divestment by BLM under its 10-year land management plan.

“They’re in areas where, by and large, they have been used for timber management,” said Hinson, adding that they do not involve identified grizzly bear or bull trout habitat.

The land exchange will undergo a National Environmental Policy Act review, although it’s not clear if a environmental assessment or a more rigorous environmental impact statement will be conducted.

In southern Idaho, the land trade will consolidate lands for open space and big game migration. In northern Idaho, it will provide more holdings for timber harvesting, which will protect jobs at area sawmills, expand the tax base and increase Payments In Lieu of Tax revenue for federal lands.

Concerns have been raised over tribal access to Panhandle lands, loss of hunting and fishing grounds and perceptions that North Idaho is getting the short end of the stick.

Hinson said public and tribal access to the IFG lands will remain in perpetuity.

“We can maintain that status quo,” he said.

Once the environmental review is complete, those behind the trade would court Idaho’s federal delegation for support and legislation that would seal the deals.

In northern Idaho, the trade has the backing of state Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, and the Bonner County Economic Development Corp.

“Transfer of the land will allow it to become part of the commercial timberland that will support sustainable jobs in our community,” said Karl Dye, executive director of the Bonner County EDC. “At the same time, we are confident that the Idaho Forest Group will manage this land responsibly, maintaining the wildlife and recreation opportunities offered on these parcels.

The Lands Council also endorses the trade, although local conservation groups have not yet weighed in on the proposal.