Bonner County residents oppose timber sale on Sunnyside Peninsula

Residents of Bonner County are organizing to stop a proposed timber sale called “Sunnyside Cedar.”

The timber sale would allow a rare, low-elevation mature cedar stand to be logged for state revenue. Those who are against the sale see this cedar grove as an uncommon and significant part of the Sunnyside Peninsula. The grove is adjacent to a popular state-owned public beach on Lake Pend Oreille.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) owns this 52-acre parcel of old, large cedar trees. IDFG will be assisted by the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), which plans to conduct the timber sale in early 2017.

Ali Hakala, a Sunnyside community resident and landowner, discovered the project after seeing a state worker mark trees in the grove near her home. Since then, she has organized a petition drive of area residents who oppose this timber sale, and those residents got together to form a group called Friends of Sunnyside Cedars (FSC). Hakala, who represented the FSC in a recent meeting with the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, delivered at testimony in an attempt to stop the proposed timber sale.

According to the FSC, there will be severe impacts from logging this parcel, which is surrounded by residences on and near Lake Pend Oreille. These include: a loss of wildlife habitat, increased mortality of remaining trees, heightened fire danger, probable storm blowdown, and impacts from the logging road such as increased sedimentation. The group has a Facebook page called Sunnyside Cedar Grove, which features photos, maps, and an aerial video of the forest.

Friends of Sunnyside Cedars members who contacted the IDFG and the IDL have been told varying accounts of why the state plans to log off this unique, mature cedar grove.