For Pristine Cedar Grove, Options Are Down To Two
UPPER PRIEST LAKE, Idaho--From a shadowy trail at the north end of this pristine lake, hikers crane their necks to gawk at trees that are 20 stories tall and a millennium old. If they leave the trail and make a way through the cedar cathedral, they see thigh-high ferns, lush ravines and a crystalline river. What they will not see is a sign noting that they have left a national forest and entered private property. But they have. These 520 acres, which environmentalists call a national treasure, belong to Marc Brinkmeyer, owner of the Riley Creek Lumber Company in Laclede, Idaho. Mr. Brinkmeyer bought the land in 1992, expecting to swap it with the United States Forest Service for other land. The deal nearly collapsed last year, but will be back on the table this winter. If it does not come to pass, Mr. Brinkmeyer says he may begin logging. Real estate agents approached Mr. Brinkmeyer, 51, after the Forest Service urged them to arrange a land swap. He wanted timberland in exchange, but after watching the Federal Government offer cash to protect redwoods in the Headwaters Forest of California, he said he would consider taking money and land. Some local environmentalists say Mr. Brinkmeyer is asking for too much, and one of them, Bill White, said he had heard "reliable figures" that Mr. Brinkmeyer paid less than $2 million for the land. Mr. Brinkmeyer will not say what he paid for the property, but in an interview he said , "We're not holding out for top dollar." "Quite frankly," he added, "I'd like to cut part of it. The lumber there is quite valuable and unique, but we're not going to do that until the last resort." Mark Elsbree, director of the northern Idaho office of the Nature Conservancy, a national organization that works to preserve wild places, gives Mr. Brinkmeyer credit for being willing to continue negotiations. Botanists say the oldest trees on the property, 13 miles south of Canada, have escaped fires, insects, and logging for 1,500 years. The largest is nine feet in diameter; the tallest, 201 feet high. The site also contains old-growth cottonwoods, five kinds of plants considered rare in northern Idaho, and the largest population of the Braun's holly fern found anywhere in the West. The fern is considered sensitive, or not-quite-endangered, by the Government. A 1995 appraisal of the trees put their value at around $9 million. Another appraisal was done this year, and will be the basis for the discussions this winter. But in 1995, when David Wright, supervisor of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, turned down the chance to give up 2,800 acres of national forest land for Mr. Brinkmeyer's 520, he declared, "I do not have leeway to say any piece of property is so unbelievable that we'll pay any price for it." The Forest Service is unlikely to come up with enough cash to pay for the entire grove, but is requesting $4 million from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to help with the purchase. That request has been turned down in past years. The Forest Service got only $40 million nationwide from that fund this year, and annual requests total more than $200 million. If the cash does not come through, Mr. Wright may have to reconsider giving up the acres he refused to turn over last year. The most outspoken champion of last year's deal was a timber industry spokesman, Ken Kohli. Mr. Kohli, who died in July in a plane crash, worked for the Intermountain Forest Industry Association. Mr. Brinkmeyer said Mr. Kohli "fell in love with the place." When Mr. Wright backed out of the discussions last year, a frustrated Mr. Kohli lashed out at him. "Anybody with two eyes over the age of six would have to realize this is an ecologically unique place," Mr. Kohli told a reporter. "Most people in the industry would say that's the kind of place that should be set aside." For Pristine Cedar Grove, Options are Down to Two
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