KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) - The state has signed a $2.1 million contract with ALCAN Timber Inc. for a timber sale on state and federal forest land in southeast Alaska.
The timber sale includes about 481 acres (195 hectares) within the Southeast State Forest and Tongass National Forest on the northwest end of Gravina Island, the Ketchikan Daily News reported Saturday.
State Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige signed the three-year contract Wednesday.
The Vallenar Bay sale involves about 16 million board feet (38,000 cubic meters) of timber from a mix of old- and young-growth Sitka spruce, western hemlock, red alder, western red cedar and Alaska yellow cedar, the state Division of Forestry said in a statement.
The project will require about 3 miles (5 kilometers) of road construction on the state and federal land, the division said. The timber will be harvested through a combination of ground-based and cable logging systems.
“We expect timber harvest activities to begin this spring,” State Forester Chris Maisch said. “It may not take the full three years to complete the sale. That will depend on markets and the purchasers’ needs for wood.”
The sale is the second to be conducted through a Good Neighbor Authority partner agreement between the state and the U.S. Forest Service, the division said. This type of agreement allows the Forest Service to work with states across land ownership boundaries to manage forests and restore watersheds, the division said.
ALCAN Timber had purchased the first Good Neighbor Authority sale in September 2017. The $2.6 million project was on Kosciusko Island.
___
Information from: Ketchikan (Alaska) Daily News, http://www.ketchikandailynews.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.