Eastside Weyerhauser land now Chelan Resources LLC?

[Cougeyes]

I noticed on Onx that Weyerhauser land that was around Blewett pass (shaser creek, iron mountain, scotty creek) now says Chelan Resources LLC. Anyone know much about this company? Is access to that land possible now? Before Weyerhaeuser, it used to be owned by Longview Timber who had a hand shake agreement with the forest service to allow access through their land for recreation. Once Weyerhaeuser purchased it, leases were sold, gates went up and it blocked access to thousands of acres of good ground to hunt. Anyone know whether access has changed to these areas with the new ownership?

[Alan K]

It was sold to Hampton and they sold permits/leases in the same fashion as Weyerhauser, then Hampton just sold a chunk of it which I think includes everything on the east side to Chinook Forest Partners...

https://www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/news/chinook-forest-partners-purchases-timberland-from-hampton-lumber/article_081c32a4-3b2c-11ec-b812-2b4ef9bef261.html

Stuff changes hands so often OnX hardly gets updated and it's already out of date.

[Cougeyes]

Thanks. Probably same story regarding access then.

[509]

I noticed on Onx that Weyerhauser land that was around Blewett pass (shaser creek, iron mountain, scotty creek) now says Chelan Resources LLC. Anyone know much about this company? Is access to that land possible now? Before Weyerhaeuser, it used to be owned by Longview Timber who had a hand shake agreement with the forest service to allow access through their land for recreation. Once Weyerhaeuser purchased it, leases were sold, gates went up and it blocked access to thousands of acres of good ground to hunt. Anyone know whether access has changed to these areas with the new ownership?

No such thing as a hand shake agreement with the Forest Service!!!   

The Forest Service easements ALL include public use easements.  The BLM and other government agencies do negotiate easements for "government use  only".

All the easements with Longview Fiber and their "survivors" are on file at the Supervisor's Office for the National Forest.  Go to Engineering and ask to see the Road Atlas.  You can then get copies of the actual easement.  The taxpayers PAID for those easements.

My favorite Weyerhauser easement story after purchase of Longview Fiber.  The Forest Service PAID the Washington State Department of Natural Resources for an public easement across state land.  The DNR lands are ALSO public lands.

Weyerhauser posted the road closed to trespass because they owned land  A MILE beyond the gate!!! 

Posting of public land is fairly common and the trespass laws need to be changed.  If you put up a no trespass sign, the land owners NAME needs to be on the sign.  With penalties for illegal posting.

That will stop posting of public lands by companies like Weyerhauser.

[Cougeyes]

I inquired with the FS regarding easement with Longview fiber and they said no formal easement was in place.

[509]

I inquired with the FS regarding easement with Longview fiber and they said no formal easement was in place.

That might be the case.

Almost ALL Forest Service easements with Longview Fiber were for timber sales.  But since the Forest Service insists on a PUBLIC easement, that gives the public access across Longview Fiber (and successors).

Take the time to recognize FS gates.  Many of them are placed off MAIN roads, where the adjacent land is private, but there is a Forest Service easement that gives the public access.  There will be a minimum of TWO locks, one for the private landowner and one for the Forest Service, usually but NOT always a YALE lock.

Take a good look at the ROAD CLOSED sign.  All Forest Service signs are made in southern California and there should be a sign ID number that starts with FS....that means there is a public easement to public lands across public property.

Weyerhauser was pretty awful about posting their lands as NO TRESSPASSING when the public, through the Forest Service had a legal easement to cross the property.  Really somebody should go to jail.

Weyerhauser sold their lands to small private owners in my neighborhood.  Yep, the Forest Service gate is still there and the Weyerhauser  NO TRESPASSING sign has been replace by a NO HUNTING sign and a PRIVATE PROPERTY SIGN.

Notice there is NO SIGN saying NO TRESPASSING!!!  That is because the new landowner knows that there is a public easement across the land and unlike Weyerhauser he does follow the law.

What we need is for the Forest Service to clearly post the roads where they have a legal public easement as such.

We also need a law to keep people from posting illegal NO TRESPASSING signs....keep companies like Weyerhauser honest.

[fireweed]

The only way to know for sure is to dig into the records of the auditor office.  There may be old easements that predate the Longview Fibre/Timber ownership.  When Weyco. got Burlington Northern the title included exceptions for "existing public roads" and RS2744 roads (mine-to-market) roads.  Look for the OLDEST road system.  I have found no proof that every USFS easement includes public access, and many have an administrative use component.   It is absolutely correct that  Weyerhaeuser signs are often wrong.  I've found them on county roads, other private property, on on clear public easements. They just plaster them up willy-nilly in convenient places.
 I believe this is unethical and unprofessional behavior, and should be reported on their ethics online reporting system.  https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/48098/index.html

[NOCK NOCK]

Bumping this back up. Any new intel? I’m Hearing rumors.

[hunter_sean08]

All the Chelan Resources LLC land is owned by Chinook Forest Partners. CFP has a deal in place with the Trust for Public Land to seek a future public owner of their Chelan County parcels. I believe federal funding was just secured earlier this year for a “phase 1” transition of some of the parcels near Blewett over to the Forest Service.

It’s encouraging that most of this land will hopefully become public at some point down the road, but until it officially transitions, CFP does not allow any recreational access due to liability concerns surrounding fire risk, dumping, etc.

[NOCK NOCK]

thanks for the info. Prolly a decent chance that CDLT will buy some of it....kiss hunting goodbye there.

[hunter_sean08]

I know CDLT has their hands in the pot, but they are just one player. There are lots of stakeholders involved with this process, including advocates for sportsmen. Shon Smith has been heavily involved behind the scenes, and he is a great voice for us. Overall, I believe the hope is that ownership of most of the 35,000 acres of former Weyerhaeuser/Longview Fibre land will be conveyed to the USFS. As long as TPL continues to make incremental strides in securing funding, they are hoping to transition all of it by the end of 2030.

I know we all have our opinions of the USFS, but if the land remains private, there is fear of future development down the road. Most, if not all of the harvestable timber has been taken from these parcels, meaning the value remaining lies mostly in the land itself. There are folks from the Seattle area, as well as from out of the area, that would love to turn parcels like these into their own private recreation sites. That would be disastrous for everyone, the wildlife especially.

[bearhunter99]

I know CDLT has their hands in the pot, but they are just one player. There are lots of stakeholders involved with this process, including advocates for sportsmen. Shon Smith has been heavily involved behind the scenes, and he is a great voice for us. Overall, I believe the hope is that ownership of most of the 35,000 acres of former Weyerhaeuser/Longview Fibre land will be conveyed to the USFS. As long as TPL continues to make incremental strides in securing funding, they are hoping to transition all of it by the end of 2030.

I know we all have our opinions of the USFS, but if the land remains private, there is fear of future development down the road. Most, if not all of the harvestable timber has been taken from these parcels, meaning the value remaining lies mostly in the land itself. There are folks from the Seattle area, as well as from out of the area, that would love to turn parcels like these into their own private recreation sites. That would be disastrous for everyone, the wildlife especially.

This is good news.  As Nock said, here is hoping that CDLT does not get it.  Not only do they close it down to hunting, the hippies, bikers and skinny skiers  that use their trails and property have no respect for the surrounding property and treat everything like it is their own little playground. 

[Cougeyes]

Thanks for the info. Anyone know if access is still blocked on the north fork shaser road where you used to be able to access the Three Brothers trail? You used to be able to ride the road through the timber company that ties into USFS.

[hunter_sean08]

I would call the Forest Service for clarity. There are some main roads that have Forest Service easements allowing access for some motorized vehicles. It's when spur roads get involved that CFP gets cranky about access. You can also reach out to Wes Worden with CFP if you have road specific questions within the Chelan Resources land.

[NOCK NOCK]

Thanks for the info. Anyone know if access is still blocked on the north fork shaser road where you used to be able to access the Three Brothers trail? You used to be able to ride the road through the timber company that ties into USFS.

Is NF the road to right? If so, the gate 3/4 way up is gone, but the road down to the old cabin....bridge is in very poor condition (I wouldn't dare take a quad across it, but some folks look like they did) 
The other bridge on the same road, but to the left is in a teeny bit better condition, but still would not take a quad across it.

[Cougeyes]

Thanks. Yeah its the right most road that winds up towards Iron Mountain.