Bids sought for Libby area timber sale following state approval

State officials gave the thumbs-up on a timber sale just outside of Libby last week at the Land Board Commission meeting in Helena.

According to information from the State Land Board, which includes Gov. Greg Gianforte, Secretary of State Christi Jacobson, Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Hedalen, Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown and Land Board Secretary Dawnell Fuller, the Montana Department of Natural Resources Libby Unit is planning a timber harvest on 318 acres on State Trust Lands northeast of Libby, just off the Jennings Haul Road.

"As Lincoln County's state senator and a retired mill manager, I want to thank Secretary Jacobsen and the rest of the Land Board for improving our forests and funding our schools," said Mike Cuffe (R–Eureka). "Go Loggers!”

"I'm proud to join my colleagues in championing the Montana way of life," said Secretary Jacobsen. "These timber sales remain a win-win for Montana and our Montana students, and it's important for us to responsibly manage our forests to reduce fire fuel, promote regeneration and generate revenue for our schools."

DNRC is currently accepting bids for the 8% Timber Sale, which would provide about 8,677 tons of mostly Douglas fir sawlogs. Sealed bids will be opened at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at the DNRC office in Missoula.

For more information, visit http://dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/trust/forest-management/timber-sale-information for upcoming sales and bid results.

DNRC officials say tractor logging would be used on about 151 acres and cable logging on the rest. The sale would generate between 1.5 million and 2.5 million board feet of timber. The sale will generate money for the state’s Common Schools Trust and will help meet annual timber harvest levels mandated by state law.

Money generated by the sale goes to the state Office of Public Instruction which then distributes the revenue accordingly. The minimum bid is $5.98 per ton, which would generate nearly $52,000.

The location of the planned sale is adjacent to timber thinning operations on private land just off the Haul Road outside of Libby.

Moira Davin, the Communications Director for Montana DNRC in Helena said the 8% sale will be a good complement to the currently thinned adjacent land. 

“These projects reduce fuels within the Wildland-Urban interface, which helps reduce wildfire risk to structures,” Davin said in a statement to The Western News.

For those who recall the human-caused Haul Road Fires in 2023, the four acres burned are on the state parcel where the timber sale is planned. Davin pointed out Libby’s “L” is about one-half mile south of the timber sale area.

The state is proposing 2.2 of new permanent roads be built to access the land and 3.5 miles of existing roads would be maintained and improved. Access would be obtained through a temporary road use agreement with the Stimson Lumber Company.

Davin also said the sale would promote the retention and regeneration of Ponderosa Pine and Western Larch to improve stand health and vigor of the forest, promote the development of historic stands, reduce fuels and wildfire risk, and increase accessibility to the parcel for DNRC.

There were two public comments by local residents. One voiced support and the other questioned where the money from the sale would go.

Monday’s approvals by the state Land Board will provide about $645,432 for Montana schools.