Feds and state work together in North Idaho
PRIEST LAKE — The Idaho Department of Lands and U.S. Forest Service have entered into an agreement to do work at Hanna Flats based on the Good Neighbor Authority program, said District Ranger Timothy Knight Nov. 7. Knight is responsible for the Priest Lake Ranger District of the Kaniksu National Forest, which is part of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Mick Schanilec, Priest Lake supervisory area manager for IDL in Coolin, said “The goal of the GNA in Idaho is to increase the pace and scale of forest and watershed restoration activities on federal forests.” The project will affect approximately 2,000 acres, he said, and will result in “fire hazard reduction, an improved species mix of forest regeneration, forest products for local mills, and other forest contract work. There may also be opportunity at the Hannah Flats site to improve the existing trail network for winter activities such as cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.”
The Hanna Flats project will involve Priest Lake forester Ed Wingert identifying restoration treatment areas before winter and working with the USFS to determine appropriate actions to take in the new year. “Next spring we hope to have a firm enough proposal that surveys can begin for resources based upon the proposed treatments,” said Knight.
He added that “NEPA could be completed in 2018 and one or more timber sales could be available for IDL to auction for the Forest Service in 2018/19. Upon completion of the NEPA IDL would layout, cruise, and appraise the timber sales and eventually auction the timber sale(s) acting as an agent to the forest.”
The Hanna Flats project falls within a watershed that was approved for utilization of the 2014 Farm Bill Authority including the 3,000 acre categorical exclusion, said Knight.
Knight’s office is the first to utilize the GNA program in North Idaho. “I love innovation I guess and I had the perfect location,” he said. Recently, a GNA project got underway in central Idaho. Knight said that the scope of the work assigned to IDL will be bigger in North Idaho’s GNA project.
“The Nez/Clearwater has already begun a GNA project with the IDL, however, they only shared timber sale and harvest. I wanted to turn over almost all of the work, including analysis as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, to the IDL. The original intent of the GNA was to increase the amount of work completed on National Forest Lands without continuing to stretch Forest Service resources. So, to turn over just one facet of a project didn’t appear to me to completely satisfy that intent.”
He said that his office is working closely with the IDL office in Coolin. “We already have a great working relationship with that office which was built while cooperating in fighting wild fires as well as conducting prescribed fires together. If anyone can make the GNA work, it will be our two offices.”