Timber harvest to begin in water

SANDPOINT — After council members approved a timber sale earlier this year, the timber harvest is just about ready to begin.

At the most recent city council meeting, council members approved a contract with Welco Lumber Company to harvest trees in the Little Sand Creek Watershed, a deal that will add more than $60,000 to city coffers.

According to the contract, all harvesting must be complete by Oct. 15.

While Welco Lumber Company was the only bidder on the contract, that didn’t have much of an impact on the quality of the deal from the perspective of city staff.

“This is a very good price,” Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk said.

According to city plans, the timber harvest will clear out 173,000 board feet of western hemlock and grand fir, 59,000 board feet of douglas fir and western larch and 32,000 board feet of western red cedar.

In the plan’s original inception, only about 200,000 board feet over 50 acres, but secondary areas were later added into the project.

All that lumber will add up to some serious cash.

The city’s contract with Welco Lumber Company is set at $60,880, but since the accurate amount of lumber harvested won’t be apparent until after work is complete, the final price will likely be different from that amount.

The goal of the project isn’t simply to earn money from the natural resources on the city’s owned watershed property. By removing the trees from the area near Schweitzer Mountain Road, the area will be safer from wildfires thanks to less dense fuel sources, Van Dyk said.

Once the harvesting is complete, forester Mike Wolcott aims to plant new species of trees.

The new trees will likely include blister rust-resistant western white pine, ponderosa pine and western larch, species less susceptible to the problematic insects and diseases common to the area.

This planting will probably take place in the spring of 2013.

Work on the project will occur within 500 feet of Schweitzer Mountain Road to increase crown space between each individual tree. Those suitable for cutting will be marked with blue paint. According to Wolcott, foresters have paid special attention to preserving the region’s water quality and beauty.