Clearcut along Hayden Lake draws flak from some neighbors

A clearcut on private land on the north side of Canfield Mountain overlooking Hayden Lake has raised the hackles of neighbors who think the work is an eyesore, while others defend the logging as a normal aspect of living in North Idaho.

Hayden Lake neighbors who live near the clearcut that is on approximately 60 acres along Upper Hayden Lake Road are concerned that denuding the hillside will result in landslides, while others wondered if the work had been monitored by the state.

“It is a shame to think that someone has defaced this pristine landmark by going in and removing huge swatches of trees,” Barbara Hoffman wrote in a letter. “It has destroyed the beauty of this magnificent mountain.”

Pete and Diane Reed defended the logging as a normal forest practice.

“Clear cutting and planting is a very acceptable practice of forest management,” the Reeds wrote on a neighborhood chat site.

Gary Hess, a land manager at the Idaho Department of Lands, which monitors forest work to ensure it conforms to the state’s Forest Practices Act, said foresters from his department meet with landowners prior to cutting operations, and afterward.

How best to log on certain terrain to prevent erosion, ensuring waterways remain clean and that slash from logging operations is properly disposed are among the considerations.

The ground on this site, Hess said, isn’t conducive to slides or erosion.

“I think the potential for that is probably very low,” Hess said. “The ground is very stable.”

The forest at the site was already harvested once, Hess said, so much of the timber is second growth.

“It didn’t appear to have any erosion at all,” he said.

The variety of fir on the north side of Canfield Mountain is prone to disease and the site also contains a lot of degraded hemlock, Hess said.

The property owner removed those trees and replanted much of the site with Ponderosa pine.

“That’s typically what we have people replant,” he said.

Sentiments about the private land use practice ranged from sentimental to pragmatic.

“It took years and years for these beautiful trees to grow and to think that in a matter of a few days the trees have been felled,” Hoffman wrote. “I honestly don’t know how the owner of this property could feel good about what he has done.”

Jandene Meyers of Coopers Bay was annoyed that the property owner had not informed neighbors of the logging beforehand. Informing surrounding property owners, although good practice, isn’t required by the state, Hess said.

“What upsets me, is they never sent a notice they were cutting,” Meyers wrote.

The Reeds, along with other neighbors, said the trees will grow back.

“I will bet they are replacing these unhealthy trees with species that are resistant to root disease and will a much more productive healthy forest,” the couple wrote. “Educate yourselves about forest management, it is the greatest form of environmentalism and has been around for hundreds of years, not just a few years of the touchy feely don’t cut trees movement.”