Council committee backs negotiated timber sale to thin overstock Douglas‑fir in North Beaver Preserve

Council Member Liliquis’s Public Works & Natural Resources committee unanimously recommended that the mayor be authorized to enter a negotiated surplus timber‑sale agreement with Janicki Logging Construction to implement a thinning prescription on city‑owned parcels known as the North Beaver Preserve.

Mike Peraldskin, Public Works superintendent, said the city manages a roughly 160‑acre assemblage on the north side of Golberth Mountain and that about 80 acres are ready for thinning in an overstock Douglas‑fir plantation. He said staff negotiated terms under which the city will receive 20% of gross proceeds, Janicki will cover harvest and trucking costs, and the city will pay agreed road improvements to city property only. “We will be selling saw logs for $1 per ton,” Peraldskin said, describing the material as lower‑grade pulp logs. He added the city requires a $10,000 deposit and that the harvest is restricted to June 1–Sept. 30 in the summers of 2026 and 2027 to reduce soil impacts.

The timber‑harvest prescription comes from a newly created forest‑management plan, Peraldskin said, and aims to reduce stress from overstocking, improve ecological function and increase structural diversity. He said riparian areas will be excluded from harvest: staff excluded the northeast portion of the parcel that abuts two creeks to provide extra buffer, and an independent forester under contract (separate from the logger) will monitor compliance.

Council Member Lisa Anderson pressed staff on the prescription’s allowance for openings greater than 25 feet in diameter and asked whether the agreement caps how many such openings may be requested and what safeguards exist for wildlife habitat. Peraldskin said any proposal to exceed the 25‑foot gap would require consultation with staff and the forester and that contract monitoring is intended to prevent harvesting beyond the prescription. He also said the harvest will use and improve existing logging roads (no new roads are required) and that staff will pursue decommissioning and abandonment after work is complete; a subsequent final thinning would likely occur in three to 10 years depending on stand response.

Council Member Cotton moved to authorize the mayor to enter the negotiated timber‑sale contract. The committee signified approval by voice vote, and Chair Liliquis said he would bring a unanimous recommendation to the full council that evening.

The full contract and the map of the harvest area are included in the agenda packet; the committee noted that road‑improvement costs could offset much of the city’s share of revenue and that forestry monitoring and specific harvest prescriptions will guide implementation.