Forest agency looks again to End of the World

The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest is taking another shot at a large timber and reforestation effort designed to reduce the threat of wildfires south of Grangeville.

The agency is accepting public comment on its End of the World project that was rejected by federal judge Candy Dale at Boise two years ago because of the way its potential impacts to old growth stands were portrayed in environmental documentation.

Over the past two years, agency officials have worked to update their work and recently made a draft environmental impact statement available for public comment. Project planner Zoanne Anderson said in an email to the Tribune that the footprint of the project and the proposed actions have not changed. Rather, the agency did further analysis to ensure the environmental documentation complies with Forest Plan regulations about old growth. According to that work, old growth won’t be harmed by the work.

The ominous name for the project comes from a popular overlook south of Grangeville just off the 221 Road. The project area covers about 50,000 acres, including about 18,000 acres that could see varying levels of timber harvest including clearcuts, and nearly 8,000 acres of prescribed burning. It is expected to produce about 144 million board feet of timber.

The project would occur within the Fish Creek,Cove Creek and North Fork White Bird Creek watersheds — all areas identified by Idaho County, Gov. Brad Little and the Forest Service as being at risk of severe burns.

“The primary focus of this project is fuel reduction and decreasing the risk and impacts of high-intensity wildfire,” said Molly Ryan, acting forest supervisor. “This project is of vital importance to many small communities — including Grangeville and Elk City — and dispersed private property and lands in Idaho County.”

Its large size, combined with its close proximity to the Hungry Ridge Project of similar size, made it a target of environmental activists. The Friends of the Clearwater charged both projects violated the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act. Dale turned away many of the group’s arguments but agreed the agency didn’t do a good enough job analyzing impacts to old growth timber and “took liberties outside of a reasonable interpretation of the (Nez Perce National Forest) plan” when counting old-growth timber in the area.

Jeff Juel of Friends of the Clearwater said he is not convinced the thinning and logging won’t include old and mature forests and said cutting those kinds of trees harms not only the forest and the species that depend on them but makes climate change worse.

“Those trees as they are standing and can for decades and maybe centuries to come will sequester carbon,” he said. “It’s like mining coal and putting it into the atmosphere.”

More information including the draft environmental impact statement and opportunities to provide comment are available at bit.ly/4d2GT1i. Comments are due by 9 a.m. Aug. 26.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.