Idaho has agreed to trade 120 acres of steeply forested land near Lake Pend Oreille to Avista Corp. in exchange for a slightly larger parcel of gently rolling timberland a few miles away.
The swap approved Tuesday involves the state's Trestle Creek property, which runs along the northern Idaho lake, but is so steep it can only be logged by helicopter. It also contains critical habitat for the bull trout, a threatened species. In return, the state gets the so-called Gold Creek property, a few miles north of Trestle Creek.
Avista was interested in acquiring the parcel to bolster its bull trout restoration projects. The utility is involved in restoration efforts as part of a settlement with state and federal agencies and conservation groups.
The 45-year restoration program calls on the utility to pay for making fish and wildlife habitat improvements to offset the impacts its Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids dams.
The Land Board — which includes the governor, secretary of state, attorney general, superintendent of schools and state controller — voted unanimously to approve the deal. The transaction is expected to be completed next week.
"It's a good exchange for the state, we think," Secretary of State Ben Ysursa told the Spokesman-Review. "It gets us some timberland that's not as steep-sloped, and it doesn't have the environmental concerns."
Kate Langford, senior land use planner for the state Department of Lands, said the property acquired by the state has good prospects for logging. The utility acquired the parcel from a third party in hopes of completing the deal with the state.
Appraisals estimated the value of the Trestle Creek property at $615,600, and the Gold Creek property at $631,500. The state will pay Avista $15,900 from its land bank fund to make up the difference.
"We're not making money off it," said Avista spokeswoman Anna Scarlett. "It's purely about getting land that we can protect that's bull trout habitat, and getting IDL some land that they can actually use."
Avista's bull trout program was laid out in the Clark Fork Settlement Agreement, signed by 39 parties in 2000, including five Native American tribes, federal agencies, conservation groups and the states of Idaho and Montana.
The group meets each year to decide how best to spend the $5 million a year in mitigation funds Avista has pledged throughout the life of its federal license for the two dams.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com
