The following is a brief explanation of what is being considered:

Transcription

1 Sandra Mitchell Central Idaho Lands Monday, January 15, :00:17 AM This is a brief explanation of what is being considered a starting point. Would you please review and make sure it is accurate. Please make any changes you think are needed. The following is a brief explanation of what is being considered: Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) is interested in the possibility of purchasing Forest Service (FS) lands that meet their endowment forest management criteria. The lands that will be selected are from those FS lands that were identified for the WPT and Forest Service exchange. In order for the Forest Service to use these funds to purchase the Lochsa lands, federal legislation would be required. The legislation would direct the FS to sell the chosen lands to the IDL and then to use those funds to purchase the Lochsa Lands. How will any allotments be handled? If there are outfitter permits on the land, how will they be handled? If IDL were to acquire FS lands with an existing permit, IDL would review the terms of the FS permit and issue an IDL permit to match the duration of the FS permit. However, if the duration of the FS permit is less than 5 years, IDL could issue a permit up to 5 years, less if desired by permittee. After that time, it would be subject to the lease process. IDL would notify the public the lease is coming available and if there are more than the existing lessee interested, it would become a conflict auction for the lease. The State of Idaho could never sell those lands! Idaho Constitution: ACQUISITION, SALE, LEASE, EXCHANGE OR DONATION OF PUBLIC LANDS CREATION AND OPERATION OF LAND BANK FUND. (1) The state board of land commissioners may select and purchase, lease, receive by donation, hold in trust, or in any manner acquire for and in the name of the state of Idaho such tracts or leaseholds of land as it shall deem proper, and after inventory and classification as provided herein, shall determine the best use or uses of said lands: provided, however, that all state-owned lands classified as chiefly valuable for forestry, reforestation, recreation and watershed protection are hereby reserved from sale and set aside as state forests. Recreation: IDL has a recreation department headed by Todd Wernex who formerly was with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. He was the regional director for North Idaho in the Recreation Bureau. The really exciting part is there are NO NEPA requirements for projects on IDL lands. Logging:

2 IDL intent is to responsibly log the land which means $s to the economy of Idaho County.

3 Cc: David Groeschl FW: Central Idaho Lands - Sandra Mitchell Update Monday, January 15, :55:29 PM I visited with Sandra this afternoon. She will be ing me the list of groups she met with, and the list of groups she intends to meet with when she travels back to the Grangeville area in February. She indicates the one-page overview sheet is important to assure everyone is understanding what is being discussed, and it addresses some of the issues she s being asked about. Once the sheet is sent out, it will get circulated widely within Idaho County. So far her visits have been encouraging and folks want to learn more. She believes an informal meeting with various interests will be needed. Then a decision regarding a public meeting after getting a better sense for support/opposition. She does plan to meet with Stop the Swap interests during her next visit in February. She is available to come to our office in Boise tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon at 4 pm to discuss further. Let me know if you would like me to confirm this meeting with her. It would be a good opportunity to get more clarity regarding how much outreach she s willing/able to do. Craig Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Monday, January 15, :45 PM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov RE: Central Idaho Lands Thank you and yes I am available [mailto:cfoss@idl.idaho.gov] Sent: Monday, January 15, :01 PM Sandra Mitchell <smitchel@alscott.com RE: Central Idaho Lands Thanks for your message I ve made some edits and want to have a few internal staff review, as we ve had discussion since I provided a response to you last week. I hope to get back to you by end of the day tomorrow. Are you available for a phone conversation to discuss your preliminary findings from visits last week? Craig Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Monday, January 15, :00 AM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Central Idaho Lands This is a brief explanation of what is being considered a starting point. Would you

4 please review and make sure it is accurate. Please make any changes you think are needed. The following is a brief explanation of what is being considered: Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) is interested in the possibility of purchasing Forest Service (FS) lands that meet their endowment forest management criteria. The lands that will be selected being considered are from those FS lands that were identified for the WPT and Forest Service exchange. In order for the Forest Service to use these funds to purchase the Lochsa lands such a transaction to occur, federal legislation would be required. The legislation would direct enabling the FS to sell the chosen lands to the IDL and then to use those funds to purchase the Lochsa Lands. How will any allotments be handled? If there are outfitter permits on the land, how will they be handled? If IDL were to acquire FS lands with an existing permit, IDL would review the terms of the FS permit and issue an IDL permit to match the duration of the FS permit. However, if the duration of the FS permit is less than 5 years, IDL could issue a permit up to 5 years, less if desired by permittee. After that time the permit expires, it would be subject to the lease process. IDL would notify the public the lease is coming available and if there are more than the existing lessee interested, it would become a conflict auction for the lease. Note: IDL works to ensure processes are not in conflict with the Idaho Outfitter and Guide Board procedures, and Idaho Fish & Game harvest limits. The State of Idaho could never sell those lands! Idaho Constitution: ACQUISITION, SALE, LEASE, EXCHANGE OR DONATION OF PUBLIC LANDS CREATION AND OPERATION OF LAND BANK FUND. (1) The state board of land commissioners may select and purchase, lease, receive by donation, hold in trust, or in any manner acquire for and in the name of the state of Idaho such tracts or leaseholds of land as it shall deem proper, and after inventory and classification as provided herein, shall determine the best use or uses of said lands: provided, however, that all state-owned lands classified as chiefly valuable for forestry, reforestation, recreation and watershed protection are hereby reserved from sale and set aside as state forests. Recreation: IDL has a recreation department headed by Todd Wernex who formerly was with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. He was the regional director for North Idaho in the Recreation Bureau. The really exciting part is there are NO NEPA requirements for projects on IDL lands. Logging: IDL intent is to responsibly log the land which means $s to the economy of Idaho County.

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6 Cc: Bob Pietras ; Bill Haagenson Mike Murphy FW: Central Idaho Lands Thursday, January 11, :21:42 AM Craig, I think our procedures are in conflict with the Outfitter and Guide Board procedures for issuing an O&G license. Specifically, the O&G board issues their license on an annual basis. They are typically renewed unless there are statutory violations. Additionally, Fish and Game gets involved by setting limits on the O&Gs based on their annual wildlife counts. I would think we would want to honor USFS permits, but in the long run, we should be auctioning off our large blocks of ground. Right now we don t advertise much and some of these outfitters are making a good living off of our ground. One Outfitter just has our Priest Lake block. Anyway, I am available for further discussion. Just call and let me know what you need. Respectfully, Bob Bob Pietras Southwest Idaho Area Manager Idaho Department of Lands "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - Confucius Tom Schultz Sent: Thursday, January 11, :06 AM Bob Pietras <BPietras@idl.idaho.gov Cc: <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov; David Groeschl <dgroeschl@idl.idaho.gov RE: Central Idaho Lands Bob, Can you review the response below for how we would address an outfitter permit. I know that there is an outfitter board that plays into this as well. Please provide any updated info to. Thanks, Tom Sent: Thursday, January 11, :30 AM Tom Schultz <tschultz@idl.idaho.gov; David Groeschl <dgroeschl@idl.idaho.gov

7 FW: Central Idaho Lands FYI Sent: Thursday, January 11, :29 AM Sandra Mitchell Cc: RE: Central Idaho Lands Hi Sandra, I received response from our Real Estate staff this morning. Answer to both of your questions is provided in your original correspondence below. Hope your meetings are going well. Glad to continue providing clarification as needed. Division Administrator, Forestry & Fire 3284 W. Industrial Loop Coeur D'Alene, ID Phone) Cell) cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Monday, January 08, :35 PM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Lochsa Land Exchange I haven t forgotten. I am headed north tomorrow and have a number of meetings with Folks to discuss. The one conversation I had went well. They thought it was a great idea. Question for you: How will any allotments be handled? If there are outfitter permits on the land, how will they be handled? If IDL were to acquire FS lands with an existing permit, IDL would review the terms of the FS permit and issue an IDL permit to match the duration of the FS permit. However, if the duration of the FS permit is less than 5 years, IDL could issue a permit up to 5 years, less if desired by permittee. After that time, it would be subject to the lease process. IDL would notify the public the lease is coming available and if there are more than the existing lessee interested, it would become a conflict auction for the lease. Where in the State Constitution does it talk about not being allowed to sell forested lands? ACQUISITION, SALE, LEASE, EXCHANGE OR DONATION OF PUBLIC LANDS CREATION AND OPERATION OF LAND BANK FUND. (1) The state board of land

8 commissioners may select and purchase, lease, receive by donation, hold in trust, or in any manner acquire for and in the name of the state of Idaho such tracts or leaseholds of land as it shall deem proper, and after inventory and classification as provided herein, shall determine the best use or uses of said lands: provided, however, that all state-owned lands classified as chiefly valuable for forestry, reforestation, recreation and watershed protection are hereby reserved from sale and set aside as state forests.

9 Sandra Mitchell Greetings from Grangeville Tuesday, April 10, :02:42 PM Met with the ATV club tonight and they are interested in exploring the idea. I few outright said they like the idea. No one opposed it. Sent from my iphone

10 Sandra Mitchell Meeting in Grangeville Tuesday, January 16, :16:01 AM I met with representatives from the Idaho Pathfinders, a representative from the Elk City Dust Devils and a Representative from the Grangeville snowmobile club. My intent was to talk to the leaders in each of the major user groups as a starting point.

11 Attachments: "Sandra Mitchell" RE: Central Idaho Lands Wednesday, January 31, :46:00 PM Explanation_IDL edits_ docx Hi Sandra, Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. David reviewed today and he s thumbs up. Thanks for drafting this overview; please proceed with sending it out to the groups you re interacting with. Take care, Craig Division Administrator, Forestry & Fire 3284 W. Industrial Loop Coeur D'Alene, ID Phone) Cell) cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 30, :55 AM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Central Idaho Lands My explaining the proposal? I would like to get it out if you like the idea. Let me know and thank you for all you do.

12 Ryan Montoya ; David Groeschl RE: Central Idaho Lands - SMitchell questions Thursday, January 11, :08:02 AM Craig and David, Please see my changes: Question for you: How will any allotments be handled? If there are outfitter permits on the land, how will they be handled? If IDL were to acquire FS lands with an existing permit, IDL would review the terms of the FS permit and issue an IDL permit to match the duration of the FS permit. However, if the duration of the FS permit is less than 5 years, IDL could issue a permit up to 5 years, less if desired by permittee. After that time, it would be subject to the lease process. IDL would notify the public the lease is coming available and if there are more than the existing lessee interested, it would become a conflict auction for the lease. Thanks, Ryan Sent: Tuesday, January 09, :32 PM David Groeschl <dgroeschl@idl.idaho.gov; Ryan Montoya <rmontoya@idl.idaho.gov FW: Central Idaho Lands - SMitchell questions Note correspondence from Sandra Mitchell. Good timing. Can any of you provide response to these questions? Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Monday, January 08, :35 PM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Lochsa Land Exchange I haven t forgotten. I am headed north tomorrow and have a number of meetings with Folks to discuss. The one conversation I had went well. They thought it was a great idea. Question for you: How will any allotments be handled? If there are outfitter permits on the land, how will they be handled? If IDL were to acquire FS lands with an existing permit, we would review the terms of the permit and issue an IDL permit to match the terms of the FS permit, but only up to 5 years, less if desired by permittee. After that time, it would be subject to a lease process. IDL would notify the public the lease is coming available and if there are more than the existing leasee interested, it would become a conflict auction for the lease. Where in the State Constitution does it talk about not being allowed to sell forested lands?

13 Thanks and will report back.

14 Cc: Sandra Mitchell RE: Central Idaho Lands Thursday, January 11, :28:45 AM Hi Sandra, I received response from our Real Estate staff this morning. Answer to both of your questions is provided in your original correspondence below. Hope your meetings are going well. Glad to continue providing clarification as needed. Division Administrator, Forestry & Fire 3284 W. Industrial Loop Coeur D'Alene, ID Phone) Cell) cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Monday, January 08, :35 PM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Lochsa Land Exchange I haven t forgotten. I am headed north tomorrow and have a number of meetings with Folks to discuss. The one conversation I had went well. They thought it was a great idea. Question for you: How will any allotments be handled? If there are outfitter permits on the land, how will they be handled? If IDL were to acquire FS lands with an existing permit, IDL would review the terms of the FS permit and issue an IDL permit to match the duration of the FS permit. However, if the duration of the FS permit is less than 5 years, IDL could issue a permit up to 5 years, less if desired by permittee. After that time, it would be subject to the lease process. IDL would notify the public the lease is coming available and if there are more than the existing lessee interested, it would become a conflict auction for the lease. Where in the State Constitution does it talk about not being allowed to sell forested lands? ACQUISITION, SALE, LEASE, EXCHANGE OR DONATION OF PUBLIC LANDS CREATION AND OPERATION OF LAND BANK FUND. (1) The state board of land commissioners may select and purchase, lease, receive by donation, hold in trust, or in any manner acquire for and in the name of the state of Idaho such tracts or leaseholds of land as it shall deem proper, and after inventory and classification as provided herein, shall determine the best use or uses of said lands: provided, however, that all state-owned lands classified as chiefly valuable for forestry, reforestation, recreation and watershed protection are hereby reserved from sale and set aside as state forests.

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16 Cc: Sandra Mitchell RE: Central Idaho Lands Tuesday, January 09, :45:08 PM Hi Sandra, Answer to you second question is provided below. I ve forwarded your first question to our Real Estate staff and they will provide a response to me tomorrow, which I will forward to you. Note that I changed the subject title. Because IDL is not interested in a land exchange with the Forest Service, and we do not wish to acquire the Lochsa lands, we are avoiding the exchange terminology and just making reference to Central Idaho Lands. IDL is interested in the possibility of purchasing FS lands that meet our endowment forest management criteria. This would be other FS lands that the FS had identified when the original exchange discussion was taking place (FS lands Western Pacific Timber was considering as an exchange for the Lochsa lands). In order for the Forest Service to use these funds to purchase the Lochsa lands, they would require federal legislation allowing them to land bank the funds through our purchase to in turn purchase the Lochsa lands. Hope this makes sense please let me know if it doesn t. Thank you for your follow-up correspondence. Division Administrator, Forestry & Fire 3284 W. Industrial Loop Coeur D'Alene, ID Phone) Cell) cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Monday, January 08, :35 PM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Lochsa Land Exchange I haven t forgotten. I am headed north tomorrow and have a number of meetings with Folks to discuss. The one conversation I had went well. They thought it was a great idea. Question for you: How will any allotments be handled? If there are outfitter permits on the land, how will they be handled? Where in the State Constitution does it talk about not being allowed to sell forested lands? ACQUISITION, SALE, LEASE, EXCHANGE OR DONATION OF PUBLIC LANDS CREATION AND OPERATION OF LAND BANK FUND. (1) The state board of land

17 commissioners may select and purchase, lease, receive by donation, hold in trust, or in any manner acquire for and in the name of the state of Idaho such tracts or leaseholds of land as it shall deem proper, and after inventory and classification as provided herein, shall determine the best use or uses of said lands: provided, however, that all state-owned lands classified as chiefly valuable for forestry, reforestation, recreation and watershed protection are hereby reserved from sale and set aside as state forests.

18 Sandra Mitchell Re: Greetings from Grangeville Thursday, April 12, :44:12 PM Well!!! Everyone so far is interested and wants to explore. One more meeting tonight and then heading home. Will give you a more thorough report next week. Weather has been interesting; rain, snow, hail and sunshine! Love spring in Idaho Sent from my iphone On Apr 12, 2018, at 3:33 PM, <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov wrote: Appreciate the update Sandra. Just received a call from Will Whelan that Eric Barker of Lewiston Tribune left him a voic . David and I will visit in the AM and get back to Eric. How have the rest of your meetings gone? Let me know if you'd like to set up a time to visit. Thanks! Craig -----Original Message----- Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 10, :03 PM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Greetings from Grangeville Met with the ATV club tonight and they are interested in exploring the idea. I few outright said they like the idea. No one opposed it. Sent from my iphone

19 Sandra Mitchell Re: Greetings from Grangeville Friday, April 13, :20:39 PM I met with 2 Clearwater County Commissions, the Pathfinders an ATV Organization, the Sno drifters (both these groups are headquartered in Grangeville), Mark Jennings and David G, members of the Clearwater Basin Collaborative (CBC) and leaders in PLAY an ATV club in Lewiston but they recreate in the Nez Clearwater, Alex Irby a prominent resident of Clearwater County and co-chair of CBC and Bob Abbott, retired Forest Service and an opponent of the previous exchange. There was not one person who didn t think this idea was worthy of more discussion and would attend meetings with IDL to explore further. The state definitely is trusted but there were a few questions about logging practices. I encouraged everyone to give it thought and come prepared with questions. The meetings reaffirmed why I have such respect for the recreation users- truly fine people. I was asked a few times whose idea this was and I said I didn t know but regardless, it was a proposal that had merit. As invaluable as Larry and Mark are, because they work for WPT, I think they should stay low profile. Al If you have questions or want to discuss, let me know Sent from my iphone On Apr 12, 2018, at 4:33 PM, <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov wrote: Appreciate the update Sandra. Just received a call from Will Whelan that Eric Barker of Lewiston Tribune left him a voic . David and I will visit in the AM and get back to Eric. How have the rest of your meetings gone? Let me know if you'd like to set up a time to visit. Thanks! Craig -----Original Message----- Sandra Mitchell [mailto:smitchel@alscott.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 10, :03 PM <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Greetings from Grangeville Met with the ATV club tonight and they are interested in exploring the idea. I few outright said they like the idea. No one opposed it. Sent from my iphone

20 Sandra Mitchell RE: Lochsa LEX Concept - Revised Monday, March 26, :55:54 PM I have meetings set up the week of April 10 in Grangeville and surrounding areas. <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Sent: Friday, March 16, :22 PM Sandra Mitchell <smitchel@alscott.com Cc: <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov FW: Lochsa LEX Concept - Revised Hello Sandra, Here s the updated LEX Concept, per message below. I ll forward the Monday meeting invite in separate . Thanks, Craig David Groeschl Sent: Tuesday, March 13, :21 PM markrey8@aol.com; larrycraigllc@gmail.com Cc: <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov RE: Lochsa LEX Concept - Revised Hi Mark, I made your suggested edit along with some additional edits based on the meeting Craig and I had with Will Whelan (TNC) and Sandra Mitchel today. It was a productive meeting and they both thought the concept had merit. Sandra will be scheduling her next round of visits to Idaho County the first week in April. Will Whelan is also going to touch base with some of the conservation groups this week as well as TNC leadership to get some thoughts on the concept. If you are all agreeable, Will would like to participate on a conference call on Monday to discuss specifics around potential bill language. Let me know if you are agreeable to that and whether you are both available for a call on Monday. I ve also attached the revised 1-page LEX concept document. Thanks. David David Groeschl Director & State Forester Idaho Department of Lands

21 Sent: Monday, March 12, :10 PM David Groeschl Cc: Re: Lochsa LEX Concept - Revised Thanks Dave: I have looked at the revised diagram and have one important comment. In the next steps section, bullet 7, delete the reference to 2 years. Keep the reference to providing resources to the Forest Service to get the job done, but do't put a time horizon on the post legislation work at this point. We don't know what form the legislation will take, and it might provide direction that will allow things to proceed more quickly (eg, expedited NEPA procedures) if there is a strong mutual desire to get it done. The 2 year time horizon will not, by itself, assure that the job is done in 2 years if complications arise Agencies miss statutory deadlines all the time. So let's let the process play out a little more before we set up timeline expectations. Happy to talk if you want to discuss. I can be reached at Original Message----- David Groeschl <dgroeschl@idl.idaho.gov Mark Rey (markrey8@aol.com) <markrey8@aol.com; Larry Craig (larrycraigllc@gmail.com) <larrycraigllc@gmail.com Cc: <cfoss@idl.idaho.gov Sent: Fri, Mar 9, :11 pm Lochsa LEX Concept - Revised Senator Craig & Mark, Attached is the revised Lochsa LEX Concept 1-page handout based on our discussions today. We will send this out to Will and Sandra for our meeting next Tuesday and have Renee schedule a follow-up meeting for next Thursday at 12:00 noon Pacific (1:00 pm Mountain) for us to discuss the outcome of that meeting. Thanks. David David Groeschl Director & State Forester Idaho Department of Lands