Judge bugs out on last of timber sales Cancels efforts to salvage beetle-ravaged Douglas fir By MIKE McLEAN Staff writer, Coeur d'Alene Press COEUR d'ALENE [ID] -- A federal judge has canceled remaining Douglas fir beetle timber salvage sales on the Idaho Panhandle and Colville National Forests. "We lost on a couple of points," said IPNF spokesman Dave O'Brien. "It's like playing a game of baseball in which you need bat 1.000 to win." The decision, filed Friday in Richland, Wash., by U.S. District Judge Edward Shay was a year in coming. IPNF recently pulled several sales that were halted pending the court decision because because the beetle-killed timber wasn't worth cutting. "Seven sales were remaining and they were getting marginal, too," O'Brien said. They involved about 10 million board feet in sawlogs in the Priest Lake District. The sales were originally designed use proceeds from beetle-infested Douglas fir to reduce fire hazards, restore native species, reduce road density and improve water quality. O'Brien said the decision sets new standards by requiring that the Forest Service examine actions on private lands. "In Idaho you can't even gather that information without knocking on doors," O'Brien said. He said the judge also determined the Forest Service was out of compliance with its own old growth standards. "This project didn't proposed cutting old growth," he said. Shawn Montee, namesake of Shawn Montee Timber Co., successfully bid on several sales. Montee, who has been based in Coeur d'Alene for 13 years, said the court injunction was "the biggest blow we've ever felt." To make up for lost salvage sales, the company had to harvest green timber from other sources, Montee said. "And we had to pay a premium price for it. We've got guys and equipment to keep busy and bankers to keep happy." He said his work force was reduced from about 100 to 65 largely because of the delayed and denied sales. Montee said he's considering his legal options to pursue against the Forest Service for breach of contract. The Coeur d'Alene-based Kootenai Environmental Alliance was one of the groups seeking to block the sales. Barry Rosenberg, KEA director, said it's not fault of the judge or the court if restoration work isn't done. "The beetle infestation was highly exaggerated," Rosenberg said. "They withdrew 51 percent up front because they looked and didn't find beetles." He said the purpose of the sale was to log the biggest Douglas firs standing in the forest. "We found most of the trees they were cutting were not dead and dying, but were alive," he said. Rosenberg said the decision was a major victory for the forest. "Any time you leave a good portion of trees standing, protecting water quality and remaining fish and wildlife, conservationists are pleased to have a hand in it." For instance, he said, one sale was planned in the Granite Creek drainage which holds federally protected bull trout. "I'm pleased to see bull trout are going to have another chance," Rosenberg said. Stefany Bales, spokeswoman for the Intermountain Forest Association, said the sales filled restoration needs that were well documented and had local support. She said the infested trees not only died, they were quickly decaying in value. "The Forest Service lost on a technicality, not on substance," Bales said. "Well after the trees lost value, the  judge decided they didn't study enough." She questioned the motives of some of the opponents. "If they are fundamentally opposed to cutting trees on public land, they are saying 'no' to more than just cutting trees," Bales said. "They are saying 'no' to taking roads out, fixing culverts, and restoring the forest to a more healthy, sustainable condition." Mike McLean can be reached at 664-8176, ext. 2011, or by e-mail at mmclean@cdapress.com.   P.O. Box 7000 / 2nd & Lakeside / Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83814 / 208-664-8176 http://www.cdapress.com/story.asp?str=5658

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