PUBLIC LANDS -- The Clearwater National Forests' attempt to block up public lands in the upper Lochsa drainage has a lot of supporters, including elk hunters.

The hitch:  finding land to trade to the timber company that owns the private land in the checkerboard ownership.  Much of the scattered parcels, including some near Potlatch, are prized lowland hunting  and recreation areas.

The U.S. Forest Service wants to find land to exchange in Idaho for 40,000 acres on the Idaho side of Lolo Pass in the upper Lochsa now owned by Oregon-based Western Pacific Timber. Tim Blixseth, co-founder of the Yellowstone Club in Montana, has a stake in that company.

Here's a report on the situation from the Alliance for the Wild Rockies.