The Bureau of Land Management will offer two competitive timber sales in Idaho starting Aug. 10, together covering nearly 600 acres of public land and producing about 6.5 million board feet of timber. The agency says the work will support Idaho jobs and supply materials to local mills and construction projects. It is also meant to lower wildfire risk on the acreage.
"More than 20 percent of BLM-managed lands nationally are forest and woodland ecosystems," said Meagan Conry, BLM Idaho Acting State Director. She said timber sales also help maintain forest health and wildlife habitat, in addition to reducing wildfire risk.
Two sales, two deadlines
| Sale | Location | Acres | Volume | Bids due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennett Mountain | Near Mountain Home, Elmore County | 434 | 5.7 million board feet | 10 a.m., Sept. 1, 2026, Four Rivers Field Office, Boise |
| Sheridan Ridge #2 | Near Kilgore, Clark County | 158 | 850 thousand board feet | 2 p.m., Aug. 27, 2026, Pocatello Field Office |
The Bennett Mountain sale involves thinning, which removes selected trees from a stand to reduce density. The Sheridan Ridge #2 sale involves commercial thinning treatments. Both are sealed, written-bid sales.
Tied to a federal timber push
The BLM said the two sales support Executive Order 14225, "Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production." The agency also said timber sales generate around $20 million annually for Idaho's rural economies.
The BLM manages about 245 million acres of public land, primarily across 12 western states including Alaska, and administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate nationwide.
