State forestry officials put in motion Jan. 3 a controversial 1,286-acre timber sale in the Matanuska Valley, a transaction that could prove to be only a break-even deal for the state, while generating revenues for the local government.
Marty Freeman, manager of the state's forest resources program, said that barring any appeals in the 20 days allowed, the state would go forward with an auction for the West Petersville timber sale. "Our minimum bid will be set to cover costs of preparing the sale," she said.
Documents compiled by the state Division of Forestry said the state budgeted $65,256 for the sale, and anticipated possible sale revenues of $75,240, if the birch and spruce stands turn out to be worth $58.51 an acre. The net income to the state would be about $10,000.
But the state also acknowledged in its documents mailed to residents that recent field work and timber sale layout work has led them to believe the volume of commercial timber in the sale area is lower than originally estimated. "These lower volumes are likely to mean less revenue, which may even mean a net loss to the state," the document noted.
Opponents of the sale, including Robert B. Gillam, who has invested approximately $1 million in property in the immediate area of the sale, said the proposal would essentially cut down all viable timber in the area.
Gillam said Jan. 3 he plans to take all means necessary to prevent this sale - even bidding on the sale himself.
With the minimum bid equal to the state's costs, the people will get nothing, he said. "What is in the best interests of state may not be in the best interests of the people of Petersville," Gillam said. "The state is going to denude an area 12 miles by 5 miles in their back door.
"There are hundreds and hundreds of families in the Petersville area that moved there because of the rural lifestyle; and now to have the state and the (Matanuska-Susitna) Borough come along and sell the Petersville timber for a net wash of zero, the people of Petersville will suffer for the next 50 years," he said.
The state's decision comes on the heels of a public comment period, during which Freeman said testimony was received from 20 individuals mostly opposed to the sale, and eight organizations or other entities mostly in favor of the sale.
Many area residents have said they see no direct benefit to the Petersville area from the timber sale and are calling it a sweetheart deal for NPI LLC, an Oklahoma-based firm that has been logging extensively in the Mat-Su Borough.
NPI spokesman Terry Nininger said his firm has an interest in the sale because of woodchips. "It is a free and competitive sale, and anyone else is free to bid on it," he said. "Calling it a sweetheart deal for NPI is ridiculous."
NPI cuts the timber into wood chips that are exported for use in Japan and Korea. Every time the wood chips are loaded onto the ships at Port MacKenzie, the borough earns wharfage and dockage fees. In 2005, borough officials said port revenues from wharfage and dockage fees totaled $217,600.
"Now that we have the port, we have basically a virtually unlimited market for the timber," said area resident John Strassenburgh. "The demand for the trees is huge.
"The impact on the local communities, the quality of life and other competing forest uses is potentially significant," he said. "Right now, there does not appear to be a good mechanism in place to manage this industry. My feeling is there should be a good mechanism to manage it, in order to protect our communities, (and) other competing uses of the forest. Local businesses that are adversely impacted should also be considered. The first stab at West Petersville didn't meet that."
Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.
