AHSAHKA, Idaho – The Walla Walla District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, invite interested parties to bid on the sale of approximately 701 acres of timber on forest lands surrounding Dworshak Dam and Reservoir in Clearwater County, Idaho.
The timber for sale is located in the immediate vicinity of Dworshak Dam, Big Eddy, Bruce’s Eddy and Merrys Bay recreation areas. The sale is designed to thin the dense forest stands creating openings for wildlife, reduce forest fuels and return the forest to a more natural condition.
Sealed bids for the “Ahsahka Restoration Timber Sale” will be received until 4:30 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time, on April 20, 2018, at the Bureau of Land Management's Cottonwood Field Office, in Cottonwood, Idaho. Detailed information about the timber sale, including maps, is available on the BLM website at https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/forests-and-woodlands/timber-sales/idaho. Questions about the timber sale should be directed to Dworshak Forester Jake Chaffee at 208-476-1245.
The primary objective of this sale is to restore the forest to an expected condition had wildfire not been removed from the landscape over the past 100 years. Typically the forests surrounding Dworshak Dam and Reservoir would have experienced cool underburns approximately every seven to 25 years, according to Chaffee. Without fire on the landscape, less fire-tolerant trees survived, creating an unbalanced, overstocked, unnatural forest condition. Trees in an overstocked forest can become stressed for space, nutrients and water, creating conditions in which diseases and insects can thrive.
“We've worked in partnership with the BLM to develop this project that will benefit both the landscape and the local economy,” said Chaffee. “I am glad we are able to finally make this happen -- this is the right thing to do for the forest, wildlife and the community.”
Dworshak Dam and Reservoir is surrounded by more than 29,000 acres of federally managed land. Maintaining a healthy forest is important for wildlife recreation and forest health.
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Release no. 18-034