Timber buyback proposal on Mt. Emily falls through

Union County, Local Interest and Forest Capital Partners have failed to come to an agreement on a proposed buyback of timber in the Mount Emily Recreation Area’s Trails Unit.

Forest Capital owns two-thirds of the timber value on the MERA and is scheduled to log the Trails Unit later this year. Under certain conditions, Union County, owner of the MERA, may buy timber back unit-by-unit.

Local Interest, a citizens group hoping to preserve the old-growth trees and establish a “community forest” within the Trails Unit, offered to give the county the price of the timber buyback, estimated between $500,000 and  $600,000.

The county said it supported the plan in concept, but could not adopt it as the official management plan.

County commissioners said such a move would run counter to commitments made to the public and to agencies who granted funds for the MERA purchase.

The county did offer a two-page list of goals, objectives and criteria for the Trails Unit that was in line with the group’s plan, but insisted that all management decisions rest with the county.

The county has yet to complete its master management plan for the MERA property, which it purchased in 2007.

Forest Capital had set a Feb. 1 deadline for notification from the county of a timber buyback. The timber management company extended the deadline to today at 5 p.m. to accommodate negotiations.

County Commissioner Mark Davidson said Friday that Local Interest had rejected a county-formulated buyback proposal, which included the list of goals, objectives and criteria but not Local Interest’s management plan.Mary McCracken, who originally proposed the community forest idea to the county board of commissioners, said in an e-mail today that fundraising for the buyback depended on “the commissioners’ commitment to a management action plan based on best forest science.

“Without commitment, even local major matching funds were regrettably withdrawn,” the message said.

Davidson and Local Interest representatives could not be reached this morning.