Hurdygurdy acquisition postponed

Fed funds delayed for local land deal

An impending acquisition that would transfer about 5,400 acres of private timberland in the Hurdygurdy Creek watershed to the U.S. Forest Service will likely take longer than expected because of the loss of some federal money.

Initially, the U.S. Department of Agriculture allocated $1 million in its 2010 fiscal budget to help the Smith River Alliance buy the property from ALCO Holdings, LLC and turn it over to the Smith River National Recreational Area.

But according to Smith River Alliance Executive Director Grant Werschkull, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., decided to eliminate that funding from the budget to allow more time for his agency to work with Del Norte County and come to agreeable terms on the acquisition.

“It would have been great if we got it,” Werschkull said of the $1 million. “It just means things will happen on a slower basis.”

The Smith River Alliance — a local non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring natural resources in and around the Smith River watershed — has been working closely with Washington-based ALCO Holdings to buy the 5,400 acres in Hurdygurdy Creek watershed.

 It’s one of the last private inholdings in the Smith River National Recreation Area, and the creek is considered by both the U.S. Forest Service and California Department of Fish and Game to be an important spawning tributary for salmon and steelhead.

Representatives from ALCO have said they want to get rid of the property because it’s not viable timberland due to poor soil conditions and steep terrain that makes logging difficult.

But Del Norte supervisors have largely opposed the acquisition of Hurdygurdy Creek because it would convert more private property into public ownership and therefore take it off the county’s tax rolls.

To help mitigate this impact the county has begun working with the Smith River Alliance on a deal that could include land exchanges or cash payments that would make up for the loss of tax revenues.

“We’re still in the back and forth,” said Assistant County Administrative Officer Jay Sarina, who sits on an ad-hoc committee that was formed to help in the county’s Hurdygurdy Creek negotiations. “We’ve asked for more time, essentially in allowing the (Smith River Alliance) to respond to the issues and sit down and see if we can come to a conclusion or agreement.”

Werschkull estimates it will cost about $3 million to purchase Hurdygurdy Creek from ALCO Holdings. He said that even though the federal government didn’t provide money this year for the acquisition, he’s confident there will be other sources to complete the deal.

“There are always opportunities for other funding,” he said.