State Gains Access to Timberland Near Ketchum Thanks to Private Owner
HAIELY, Idaho (KLIX)-The State of Idaho will now be able to access a isolated piece of forest to harvest timber thanks to an agreement with a private property owner.
The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) announced the agreement Friday that will allow access to a patch of endowment land south of Bald Mountain in the Wood River Valley. The agreement with a private land owner will grant an easement at the cost of $7,700 to the state to use the property to easily get to harvestable timber, otherwise the state would have had to build a more expensive road that would visibly scare the landscape. “This easement is a win for the area’s forestlands and for endowment beneficiaries,” said IDL director Dustin Miller in a prepared statement. “With this new access we can harvest the dying timber, improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk in the area, and generate an estimated $60,000 for public schools.” Much of the timber in the 230 acre section is dead and needing to be harvested before the value is lost or burns in a wildfire, said Miller.
The agreement will allow a better road to be built through the private property for the use of state foresters and the owner; public use is not part of the agreement. IDL said at statehood, Idaho received about 640-acre sections of land, however not all the sections had access to them. The lands are used to generate money to help fund beneficiaries such as Idaho public schools. Many areas are open to the public and recreation while others are not, such as the area of land near Bald Mountain.