Baucus taps Hurst for roadless panel to advise Bush

The Daily Inter Lake

Longtime lumber-mill manager Jim Hurst of Eureka has been nominated to serve on a national panel that will advise President Bush on managing the nation's roadless areas.

Hurst, manager and co-owner of Owens & Hurst for 25 years, was nominated by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

The Eureka lumber operation is closing this summer.

Hurst has said the mill is closing because there is little reason to think that a turnaround in timber sales will occur on the Kootenai National Forest.

An auction for the mill's equipment has been scheduled Aug. 16 and 17.

Baucus nominated Hurst to serve on a 12-member Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee to assist the secretary of Agriculture implement a new plan for managing roadless areas.

The plan calls for governors to propose locally supported regulations for conserving roadless areas in their states.

In his nomination letter, Baucus wrote: "Inviting individuals like Jim Hurst who possess field-level experience to serve upon committees like this can benefit us all by providing common-sense guidance to decision-makers and elected officials called to make important decisions about balanced management of our public lands."