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Show TimberSale regulations outlined Under new permanent regulations, all National Forest timber will be sold by sealed bids except in dependent communities, Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland announced this week. The new regulations, which implement procedures for selling National Forest timber under the National Forest Management Act of 1976, are effective on publication in the June 2 Federal Register. They replace interim regulations which have been in effect since last November. In dependent communities, com-munities, 75 percent of the timber will be sold by oral auction and 25 percent by sealed bids, unless timber sales to mills outside the dependent community exceed ex-ceed the normal rate, the secretary said. In such cases, the secretary, at his discretion, may authorize 100 percent of the timber to be sold by oral auction. So far, 183. communities have been identified as dependent, Secretary Bergland said. "Following a lengthy and complete review of public comment on proposed permanent regulations published in the Federal Register on February 23,iwe have concluded these regulations provide a reasonable balance between the requirement of the Act to prevent collusion and to protect local, dependent communities," Secretary Bergland said. Another provision of the new regulations would give timber purchasers, who qualify as small business the option of requesting the Forest Service to build the permanent roads necessary to log the timber sale. The option will be effective on timber sales advertised after July 1, the secretary said. |