Forest Service's land swap put on hold

LEWISTON (AP) - Officials with the Clearwater National Forest have put a proposed land exchange on hold while they consider whether it would be better to sell the property instead of trading it for public parcels.

The trade, originally proposed five years ago, would have swapped some 28,000 of scattered Forest Service parcels for 40,000 acres of largely logged-over land owned by Western Pacific Timber. But the Lewiston Tribune reports that idea was met with public scorn, and some area residents organized to protest the plan.

In May, a group of residents and organizations, including Friends of the Palouse Ranger District, told the U.S. Forest Service in a letter that it should consider buying the 40,000 acres of Western Pacific Timber-owned ground in the Upper Lochsa River Basin near Lolo Pass. The purchase could be scaled out over a number of years, the groups suggested.

In response, the Forest Service scaled back the proposal and is now working on several alternatives. One would trade about 18,000 acres of public land for the private land. Other options call for a purchase of at least part of the land.

Forest Project Manager Teresa Trulock says her agency will release a new draft proposal, likely in October. The proposal will likely include a tiered purchase component, she said.

"It is very similar to the one we are looking at," she said. "It will just be implemented in a different way, phased in over time, maybe three years."