Projects

Restore, rehabilitate, replace, and/or acquire the equivalent of the injured natural resources in the Coeur d'Alene Basin as a result of the release of hazardous mining wastes.

Special Use Permit and Challenge Cost Share Agreement allowing grooming of Nordic Ski trails, closure of Road 614 only when the route is being groomed for Nordic ski and snowshoe use, with a continued area closure prohibiting motorized use.

Landowner is requesting continued use of an existing unimproved road to access private property. The access road is approximately 1,000 feet in length and 15 feet in width before entering private property.

Special use authorization

Purpose is to further delineate a known mineral deposit. Two temporary drill pads would be constructed. Drill pads would be 100' X 100' in size and contain a 20 X 30 foot sump. Proponent would drill a total of 14 drill holes between the 2 pads.

Conveyance of a Forest Service facility.

Proposed watershed improvement, commercial timber harvest, hazardous fuels treatment, fuelbreak construction, reforestation, and associated road management.

Reroute approximately 1 1/2 miles of Big Creek Trail 44. The current single-track motorized trail has long, steep grades. It would be relocated, and the existing section of trail would be decommissioned and recontoured.

Exploratory drilling program that is being driven by results obtained from 2015 drilling program. Data is being used to further define and characterize mineral potential of the claim block.

Prescribed burning, timber harvest, site rehabilitation and regeneration (tree planting), on 2,829 acres; also trail construction, road decommissioning, and barrier installation to prevent illegal motorized access.

Providing safe east-west access across the Selkirk Mtns for U.S. Border Patrol agents by repairing and maintaining portions of the Bog Creek Road (Forest Roads 1013 and 2450).

Continued authorization of three docks owned by Bonner County at Lee's Point on the Clark Fork River, Granite Creek on Lake Pend Oreille, and Kaispell Bay on Priest Lake.

Reissuance of the special use permit authorizing two navigational light aids on Priest Lake.

The Bottom Canyon project area is located approximately 10 miles northeast of the city of Coeur d'Alene, ID. The project area is approximately 11,000 acres in size and has high potential for both vegetation and watershed restoration activities.

Ecosystem restoration in various forest types. Project purposes include reducing sediment to Boulder Creek and protecting emergency communication equipment on Black Mountain from wildfire.

Vegetation management activities including timber harvest, road construction, prescribed burning and tree planting.

Vegetation management activities including timber harvest, fuel reduction, road construction, improvement, storage & decommissioning, prescribed burning, trail mtce and improvement, tree planting, and potential travel management for elk security

Maintain or improve vegetation resiliency, provide wood products, work toward full support of designated beneficial uses, and manage access

Vegetation treatment to reduce the risk or extent of, or increase resilience to insect or disease infestation; reduce wildfire risk to the local communities and surrounding federal lands; and protect critical infrastructure and primary egress routes.

Operation and maintenance of an access road to the Canfield Butte Communication Site for use by Communication Use Lease holders for the continued operation and maintenance of a communication facility.

Pre-commercially thin and/or prune approximately 2,400 acres of young trees that have been planted or re-established naturally on previously harvested sites.

The effect of the Character Fire resulted in a need to recover economic value of forest products in a timely manner, reduce hazards threatening human health and safety, and re-establish forested conditions outlined in the Forest Plan.

1,625 ac timber harvest, 82 ac Rx burn, 5.4 mi. system rd constr., 1.1 mi temp rd constr., 2.8 mi rd reconstr., 0.6 mi rd decommissioning, 5.0 mi rd storage, riparian planting and LWD placement, 5 culvert replacements, fuel treatment, planting

Perform Level III maintenance to Trail 14 between Road 406 and Chilco Saddle, including reshaping 11 dips and 13 waterbars. Reconstruct or recondition 6 switchbacks. Relocate trail (1.4 mile of new trail replacing 0.8 mile of former trail).

Convey an isolated parcel of NFS lands to the City of Spirit Lake, comprising 158.74 acres, through the authority of the Townsite Act. The land conveyance would enable the City to acquire land adjacent to its current wastewater treatment site.

Salvage dead trees that were blown down in a 2005 wind event. The salvaged trees will be used by the Kootenai River Restoration Project to provide woody debris structure to improve fisheries habitat and stabilize the river banks that are eroding.

Conveyance of National Forest System land and facilities at the Clarkia Work Center.

Construct a subsurface wastewater treatment and disposal system for the St. Joe Ranger District's Clarkia Work Center.

Reissuance of an expired Special Use Permit for the continued operation and maintenance of 14.4 kV or under distribution overhead and buried lines within the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

Replace and widen the Cliff Creek Bridge on Road 326 and realign the approach.

Replacement of nine aging greenhouses and adjoining structures at the Coeur d'Alene Nursery to improve safety and efficiency, helping to meet increasing demands for seedlings for reforestation.

Mineral sale of approximately 825 tons of decorative rock

New Jersey Mining Company is proposing to utilize Forest Service roads and trails administered by the Idaho Panhandle National Forests in order to access privately held mining claims over a five year period.

The activities associated with this project include timber harvest, timber stand maintenance, fuels treatments, and road maintenance.

Excavate panel 600' x 30' x 10' and haul pay gravel offsite (private) to process for gold. Gravel returned for reclamation.

Placer Trenching Project

Reduce the hazardous fuels and the risk of high severity fires; create a comprehensive road system that provides access to the area for vegetation management and fire suppression needs; maintain and improve aquatic habitat and watershed health.

Vegetation and hazardous fuels management project to include: timber harvest, fuels reduction, watershed improvements, and roads management.

This project will keep the public sluicing operations at the current location and build a road from 281 Gulch to Garnet Gulch, construct a parking area, improve Road 3781 and implement other improvements for operations.

Commercial and non-commercial timber harvest, fuels reduction, tree planting, and trail maintenance/repair activities would occur to restore sustainable forest conditions and improve trail conditions in the English Point Recreation Area.

Excavate 140 sq. ft. panel to bedrock and haul pay gravel offsite (private) to process for gold

Fuels reduction and stand improvement in and around the Wildland Urban Interface, possible watershed restoration or wildlife habitat improvement activities. Supplemental analysis of management activities proposed outside of the 1.5 mi interface zone.

To authorize the continued operation and maintenance of a target range. The target range has operated under the special use permit since 1990. Permit may be issued for up to a 20-year term.

Placer Gold Exploration Trench

Commercial thinning of six acres of dry forest type of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir.

Whitebark pine restoration project in the vicinity of Gisborne Mountain. The project area is approximately 60 acres; 11 acres occur on Idaho Department of Lands ownership and the remaining 49 acres occur within the Canyon Creek Research Natural Area.

Exploratory drilling from a single drill pad

70 acres of commercial thin with 1/4 mile of temporary road construction

Provide a safe transportation system free of unstable fire-affected trees; re-establish forested conditions to increase the representation of early seral conifer species; and recover the economic value of forest products.

This project will manage the road system to bring the Grouse Bear Management Unit into compliance with the Forest Plan and the 2011 Motorized Access Amendment.

Replenish large wood for fish habitat enhancement in Grouse Creek. Hand crews will place approximately 350 pieces of large wood in four to five reaches over about six miles in Grouse Creek.

Vegetation management and watershed improvement including timber harvest, road construction, road storage & decommissioning, prescribed burning, culvert removal, tree planting, and travel management changes to address elk security.

Eight sites on existing road prisms used for drill core mineral exploration.

Construct 0.3 mile of road across NFS to give access to Molpus lands.

Activities include forest vegetation management and hazardous fuel reduction, including timber harvest, temporary road construction, road maintenance, prescribed burning, tree planting, pre-commercial thinning, ski trail mtce, aquatic restoration.

Vegetation management and fuels reduction.

Trail relocation and bridge construction.

Vegetation management activities, including timber harvest, road construction, prescribed burning and tree planting.

Project will be designed to improve ecological/social conditions, including but not limited to improved forest health, reduced potential for high-intensity wildfires, improved watershed conditions, and sustainable recreation opportunities.

Rocky Mountain Research Station two-part forest research study involving approx. 390 ac. commercial harvest, 220 ac. fuels treatment, 16 mi. road reconditioning, 3 mi. reconstruction, 10 mi. road decommissioning, with culvert upgrades or removal.

Land exchange

Restoring the meadow hydrology, enhancing wetland species and improving fish habitat are the primary goals for this project.

Wildlife habitat and big game browse improvement. Also, use prescribed fire to reduce fuels.

Forest Plan Revision

Implement site preparation where needed and plant rust-resistant white pine, western larch, ponderosa pine, or white bark pine on appropriate sites severely burned in the wildfires of 2015.

Annual dog sled race on the Hanna Flats/Priest Lake Airstrip

Construction of a new interagency office for the IPNF Supervisor's Office, Bureau of Land Management Coeur d'Alene Field Office and US Fish and Wildlife Supervisor's Office on lands located within the Forest Service Coeur d'Alene Nursery

The Idaho Panhandle NF is proposing a project in the Jasper Mountain area to reduce the risk or extent of, or increase the resilience to, insect or disease infestation. This project would occur in an area designated under section 602 of HFRA.

8-acre timber salvage and tree planting in a 1,500-acre area that burned in 2009

Treatment of hazardous fuels reduction and prescribed fire. Proposed activities include non-commercial mechanical and hand treatments to thin continuous fuels, limb ladder fuel vegetation, reduce canopy bulk density and increase canopy base height.

Vegetation and fuels management to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfires. Maintain and improve aquatic habitat and watershed health.

Hazardous fuels reduction on about 2,319 acres

The Larch Gold Project Area is located in the Simmons Creek Drainage of the St. Joe River approximately 24 miles east of Avery, Idaho. The project will consist of commercial thinning on approzimately 62 acres.

Exploratory Placer Pit, 25 feet by 35 feet located on National Forest Lands up the Lost Creek Drainage. Excavation will be down to bedrock with the top 7 feet being overburden and 12 inches being pay gravel to be processed and returned.

Excavate ~35 sq. ft. panel to bedrock and dredge inside hole

Vegetation and fire regime restoration

BPA has requested to upgrade and expand the electronic site used to monitor the Dworshak to Taft transmission line.

The Idaho Panhandle National Forests proposes to sell approximately 136 acres of undeveloped lands within the Lone Mountain Seed Orchard administrative site, approximately 20 mi. north of Coeur d'Alene, no longer needed for seed orchard development.

Commercial thinning of ponderosa pine on approximately 70 acres using ground-based yarding systems.

Proposal by Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area to expand its special use permit to upgrade and develop new lifts, ski terrain, parking, access roads, and guest service facilities.

Vegetation management at Lookout Pass Ski Area administrative site. Salvage of dead and beetle-infested lodgepole pine trees. Approx. 129 acres of harvest treatment, 0.5 mile of temp road construction and obliteration.

Vegetation and fuels management.

The St. Joe Ranger District is partnering with the USFWS, Idaho DEQ, Idaho Dept. of Fish & Game, and Avista Corp to breach two historic splash dams on Marble Creek to increase amount of habitat available for bull trout.

Relocation of single-track motorized trail and decommission existing section that needs to be replaced because of a sustained, steep grade and erosion.

Salvage/sanitation harvest on approximately 175 acres of forest that experienced low-, moderate-, and high-fire severity in the 2015 Marble Creek Fire. Approximately 0.5 miles of temporary road would be constructed to facilitate harvest operations.

Mineral exploration at seven drill sites

Watershed Restoration project aimed to improve water quality and stream habitat across 21,600 acres in the upper Little North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. Watershed improvement activities include road, riparian area, and in-stream activities.

Preparation of a Supplemental EIS to amend land and resource management plans for the Idaho Panhandle, Kootenai, and Lolo National Forests to address motorized access management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones.

Excavate a 250 ft x 70 ft panel for locatable mineral exploration. Operations would includ constructing approximately 400 feet of access road off of FR 1505 to access the panel location.

Mineral test pit exploration

North Idaho College (NIC) has requested a temporary Outfitter Guide Special Use Permit to conduct guided activities such as cross-country skiing, avalanche education, kayaking, fly-fishing, hiking, biking and camping on the CDA River RD.

North Idaho College (NIC) is requesting a Special Use Permit to construct a yurt on West Willow Peak to be used for academic and extracurricular programs, such as avalanche education, natural resource management, etc.

Replace up to 17 road culverts that are impeding or completely blocking upstream fish passage to beneficial spawning and rearing habitat.

Thin and/or prune approximately 5,200 acres of juvenile sapling sized stands that were established through planting and natural reforestation means on the Bonners Ferry, Priest Lake and Sandpoint Ranger Districts.

Provide community and economic stability and wood products by salvaging dead standing and down timber from alongside roads. Road maintenance consisting of spot gravel placement, removing vegetation from cut/fill slopes, and improve public safety.

Pre-commercial thinning and white pine pruning.

Addresses issuance of a 10-year outfitter/guide permit to NW Outfitters, authorizing 150 priority use days to conduct "walk and wade" fishing activities on the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River.

Sanitation/salvage one 22-acre area to reduce competition for WL, WRC, & WWP; reduce existing root & stem decay in the GF, WH, & DF to enhance the growth & vigor; and capture timber value of GF, WH, and DF before value is lost to root & stem decays.

Reissuance of a special use permit for the continued use and maintenance of an access road and waterline to serve private property.

Construction, use and maintenance of a 136' section of road on NFS lands to facilitate timber management activities on adjacent private lands.

Activities are proposed to establish/maintain resilient forests, improve water quality/aquatic habitats, improve big-game wildlife conditions, reduce high-intensity wildfire potential, and contribute economic benefits to the public.

Precommercial thinning and white pine pruning in 31 stands on a total of approximately 792 acres at multiple locations on the Coeur d'Alene River R.D.

Livestock grazing

Installation of a backup generator, load transfer switch, and four 25-gallon liquid propane fuel storage tanks for use in the event of a power outage.

Continue two on-going research timber management projects and initiate one new 5-acre commercial thinning research study in a young white pine stand. Activities include limited timber harvest, timber stand improvement, and biomass thinning.

A series of commercial thinnings to demonstrate logging practices. Thinning would focus on removing trees with low crown ratios, weak boles, and poor form.

The Quartz Beetle project is 19 miles East of Avery in the Quartz Creek drainage of the St Joe River. The Project will consist of commercial thinning on approzimately 65 acres.

Issuance of 5-year permits for recurring recreation events: North Idaho Trailblazers Cabin Fever Run, Back Country ATV Fun Run/Shootout, Jeep Jamboree USA Silver Valley Jeep Jamboree, Trail Maniacs 4th of July Ultra, and High Mountain ATV Jamboree.

Forest stand management, fuel reduction, road construction, road reconstruction and road decommissioning.

Red Horse Properties, LLC (dba Red Horse Mountain Ranch) has purchased a dude ranch, outfitting & guiding business previously owned by Terteling Co., also dba Red Horse Mountain Ranch, through a corporation by the same name. See Other Project Info

Shrubfield burning on 103 acres in collaboration with Benewah County's work on private land to extend a fuelbreak adjacent to the St. Maries municipal watershed

200 ac western larch/white pine commercial thin, 20 ac lodgepole pine overstory removal and western larch thinning, yielding 2.5 mmbf. Forwarder/skyline yarding. 50 ac ecoburning. 4.2 mi. new road construction, 4.8 mi. road decommissioning.

The project seeks to improve forest health conditions and provide timber products to support the local economy. Review tabs below for more details about the project and https://usfs-public.app.box.com/s/v8mfub27gpvh5oimb2wurmd5y5endb0c

Issue a temporary, one-year permit the current permit holder for 2016 and a 20-year permit based on competitive proposals for the operation and maintenance of the Route of the Hiawatha Trail.

Route of the Hiawatha 20 year permit.

Remove approximately 65 trees that blew down in a wind event on the Sam Owen Peninsula in November 2013.

The primary objective of this environmental assessment is to decrease the quantity and modify the arrangement of hazardous forest fuels to reduce the current and future wildfire risk to people, private lands, and resource values.

Reduce hazardous fuels adjacent to private property/residences in the Wildland Urban Interface by removing storm damaged and insect prone trees and thin remaining trees to improve stand health.

Fuels treatment.

Exploratory Drilling Project

Guided horseback rides parallel to existing roads near the Priest Lake Ranger District.

Travel management plan for motorized winter recreation use within the Selkirk Mountain Range on the Bonners Ferry, Priest Lake Ranger District and Sandpoint Ranger District.

An administrative action to continue protection from locatable mineral entry in the Settler's Grove of Ancient Cedar, to protect the area's unique botanical, historical, aesthetic, recreation and research values.

Replacement of Shadowy St. Joe Campground docks on the St. Joe River that were damaged winter 2009-2010.

Removal of dead standing and down larch trees above and below a road for commercial firewood on 17 acres.

Commercial thinning 70 acres western larch stands to promote health and vigor by removing competing trees.

Silver Hammer Mining Corp. proposes to drill from 4 pads on their mining claims on the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District using low-impact drilling techniques. The project will use existing roads with a total surface disturbance of 0.22 acres.

Rx burning w/ some planting on 8500 acres to facilitate fire mgmt; reduce natural fuels; provide protection to values at risk; enhance conditions for regeneration of whitebark pine, WP & WL; enhance fire resiliency; increase forage for big game.

Fuel reduction project that includes hand felling small trees, hand piling slash and forest debris, and burning piles.

A pre-fabricated 8-ft X 8-ft building to house communication equipment would be placed east of the existing Snow Peak Lookout. The structure would be delivered and set by helicopter.

Improve browse conditions for big game, improve vegetation conditions to increase resilience to insect and disease, and reduce fuel loading.

Promotion of timber stand health and vigor through commercial thinning activities intended to complement recent vegetation treatments on adjacent lands. Approximately 300 feet (0.056 miles) of a temporary road construction to access harvest unit.

Approximately 6,500 acres of precommercial thinning with white pine pruning in some areas to be completed in the next five to ten years.

Approximately 1,600 acres of timber stand improvement work inlcuding precommercial thinning and white pine pruning in previously harvested areas.

Bridge replacement on Road 1268 across the Little North Fork of the Clearwater River. This bridge was part of the original St. Joe Remedial Bridge Repair and Replacement Project.

Improvement of vegetation conditions to increase resilience to insect and disease, provide better browse for ungulate species, and reduce fuel loading

Renewal of outfitter & guide permits for 5 areas on the St. Joe RD: Slate Ck, Shefoot, Upper St. Joe, Snow Peak, & Sherlock. Authorized uses would be the same as in the original permits. Previously approved campsites would remain the same.

Repair and replacement of bridges in various locations on the St. Joe Ranger District. These bridges cross streams that are occupied by bull trout.

Repair and replacement of bridges in various locations on the St. Joe Ranger District

Designating roads and trails for public motorized vehicle use on the St. Joe Ranger District.

Protect the health and safety of the public by removing hazardous trees, capture the economic value of the dead and dying timber, and reforest areas burned by the Tower Fire.

Designate those roads, trails and areas open to motorized vehicle use on the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District, and identify them on a motor vehicle use map that will be published annually and free to the public.

Prescribed burning and thinning of small trees.

Several projects encompassing trail reroute and reconstruction, ATV trail bridge construction, snowmobile warming hut construction, and mountain lake boardwalks.

Approximately 6500 acres would be treated in previously harvested areas that were then planted and naturally regenerated with trees.

Reduce the risk of sediment entering the drinking water through road improvements, road decommissioning, vegetation and fuels management, and to improve grizzly bear habitat.

The project would reduce fuels at a landscape scale, while maintaining and improving the quality and quantity of big game forage.

Improve stream habitat quality for bull trout, a threatened species and to restore aquatic ecosystem function.

The US Border Patrol is proposing to expand the communication system in and around the north Idaho border to increase surveillance and operate more safely. The additional radio equipment would be installed on Hall, Copper and Saddle Mtn. comm. sites.

Vintage snowmobile races on an oval track.

Exploratory Drilling program that is going to be used to define a mineral resource.

Vegetation management activities including timber harvest, road construction, prescribed burning, tree planting and recreation improvements.

Commercial thinning on approx. 70 acres using skyline and tractor logging systems to improve the health and vigor of the remaining trees, maintain long-lived early-seral tree species, and provide timber products.

Vegetation management and water quality improvement in the Cat Spur Drainage on the St. Joe Ranger District

Replace the existing treated timber bridge with a new, longer spill-through design, pre-fabricated bridge.