Agreement reached on logging in Idaho

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — In an attempt to avoid lawsuits, a handshake deal has been forged between the U.S. Forest Service and conservation groups for logging and watershed restoration in northern Idaho.

"We didn't challenge (the logging) in court because it is not as bad as it could be and there are other projects out there we may need to look at with a more critical eye," Gary Macfarlane, of Friends of the Clearwater, said.

The logging deal involves "stewardship contracting," where federal foresters trade work — restoration work in this instance — for timber instead of selling the timber for cash. The two stewardship projects involved in the deal are the 16.3 million board feet Crooked River project, and the 8.3 million board feet American River project.

Three Rivers Timber Inc., in Kamiah, and Bennett Forest Industries, in Grangeville, won the bid for the projects. The project trades about $1 million of timber for about $1 million of restoration work. "We were struggling to get funding, so by putting up the timber as an economic tool we were able to get tat work funded and completed," said David Harper, stewardship coordinator for the Forest Service.

Timber company officials said they hope the timber brings in more money than the amount they are paying for the restoration.