Rathdrum Mountain tree cutting explained

I would like to clarify some recent information that was published regarding the City of Rathdrum's timberland located on Rathdrum Mountain. I am a private forest consultant and my company (Hansen Timber Management) has been providing the City of Rathdrum with professional forest management assistance for over 20 years.

The reason the City of Rathdrum is currently logging their property has nothing to do with the fact that they recently gained public access to this property. The last selective harvest that was performed took place 15 years ago. In 2005, a forest management plan was performed by my company and it was recommended to implement a selective harvest as soon as the timber market was favorable. Timber prices had remained low for a number of years during the recession, so it was decided to wait. The timber market recently rebounded so it was our recommendation to move forward with a timber sale.

The City of Rathdrum received a good price for the timber they sold and the purchaser of the timber (Idaho Forest Group) and their logging contractor are putting their best efforts forward to harvest the timber in a concerned and professional manner. We are currently selectively harvesting trees that are dying, diseased, and defective and we are commercially thinning areas that are overstocked with trees. We are also implementing an effort to reduce the existing fuels load which will greatly reduce the risk of a major fire event. We plan to harvest approximately 28 percent of the merchantable timber volume within portions of the City's property, which certainly is not considered an excessive harvest. We will also continue to manage for wildlife by providing an abundance of food, water, and cover.

Throughout the years I have worked under a number of different mayors and city council members at the City of Rathdrum. I have never had a mayor, city council member, and/or administrator try to influence any of the forest management planning and/or recommendations. The City of Rathdrum has continued to practice good forest stewardship on their timberland over the years.

As far as opening up Rathdrum Mountain for public use, that is certainly a difficult topic and all of the citizens have valid requests and concerns. Rathdrum Mountain is indeed a very unique piece of property and it has much to offer to the public. Based on my years of experience in working with the City of Rathdrum, I personally believe that the City will continue to make good decisions regarding the City's property. In the meantime, we will all continue to do our best to maintain the health of the City's timberland on Rathdrum Mountain.

Chris Hansen is a private forest consultant and lifelong Kootenai County resident.