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Public comment period, open house set for Brebner Flat timber sale on St. Joe

| February 22, 2018 12:00 AM

Area residents who want to know more about a timber sale near Avery are invited to a Feb. 27 open house meeting in St. Maries.

The meeting to discuss the Brebner Flat project on the St. Joe Ranger District is from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the bottom floor of the Federal Building (Room G-01/05) located at 222 S. Seventh St. in St. Maries.

The meeting is meant to inform the public during the comment period, which is open through March 5.

The Brebner Flat project in an 1,100-acre watershed south of Avery includes a series of timber sales designed to improve forest health and increase vegetation resilience.

Timber harvest of diseased lodgepole pine and dying fir will include 40-acre clearcuts, 2 1/2 miles of new roads and 4 miles of temporary roads, according to the proposal.

Root disease is also prevalent in western hemlock, pine and Engelmann spruce in the project area and the Forest Service plans to manage the site for white pine, Ponderosa pine and western larch, which are considered a more resilient species that were historically dominant in the area, according to the Forest Service.

The sales, part of one project unit, are meant to decrease fire danger and provide rural jobs, according to the Forest Service.

The preliminary analysis of this proposal indicates that it may be analyzed with an environmental assessment (EA).

Project information is available on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=53048. For question or additional information, please contact Ben Timchak, project team leader, at 208-245-2531 or at btimchak@fs.fed.us.