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Forest Service outlines Highway 57 linear fuel break and Sandpoint salvage plan; Chloride Gold draft to go to public
Summary
District rangers said the Highway 57 linear fuel break will use Good Neighbor Authority with Idaho Department of Lands and categorical exclusion allowances (up to 3,000 acres, up to 1,000 ft width), and that salvage timber sales and a draft Chloride Gold proposed action will be released for stakeholder review with environmental analysis expected later in June.
Chris Noise, district ranger at Priest Lake, and Andrew Scowland, district ranger for the Sandpoint Ranger District, briefed Bonner County commissioners on several landscape‑scale forest projects on April 14.
Noise described the Highway 57 linear fuel break as a corridor‑based treatment using Good Neighbor Authority with the Idaho Department of Lands to identify units along the highway corridor from Priest River to the Lamb Creek community. "We're using ... categorical exclusion ... allows us to treat up to 3,000 acres and up to 1,000 ft in total width to a linear feature," Noise said, adding that actual widths will vary with terrain and available linear anchors such as roads and power lines.
Scowland said the Sandpoint South decision was signed in December and that the first timber sale from that project — the "Flame Sandwich" salvage sale tied to last summer's Sunset Fire — is expected to go to auction in late June or early July to move material off the hill while it still has value. He said additional timber sale offerings are planned in subsequent years.
On the larger Chloride Gold vegetation‑management proposal, Scowland said he will send a draft proposed action to county commissioners, the Panhandle Forest Collaborative, tribal partners and prior commenters for review. He expects a draft environmental analysis by late June and plans to post that analysis for a public comment period of about 10 business days, while remaining open to stakeholder input up until any final signature.
Scowland described the Forest Service's NEPA decision process: projects that fit categorical exclusions may proceed with less documentation, while those with potential significant effects may require an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. "The level of analysis depends on what the project is, what the potential effects to resources are," he said.
The rangers said coordination with partners — including the Idaho Transportation Department on right‑of‑way work — is part of project planning. Noise said the linear fuel break aims to modify fire behavior, reduce hazardous trees and improve suppression opportunities, while acknowledging it is not intended to fully stop fire.
The Forest Service will notify stakeholders when the Chloride Gold draft analysis is posted and accept public comment during the announced comment window as it completes its environmental review.
