New Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests office opens in Kamiah

Construction on a new supervisor’s office for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests is complete, U.S. Forest Service officials said in a news release.

The new $9 million, 15,000 square-foot Forest Service office was built with timber from the region. The office, which was designed to highlight what makes the surrounding forests unique, will house 80 Forest Service employees. It will also recognize the Nez Perce Tribe, whose tribal members have called the land home for centuries, Forest Service employees said.

“We are proud to offer this facility as a showcase for tourists and visitors in Kamiah, Idaho, to share an example of what is possible within the modern forest management and wood products industries,” Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests Supervisor Cheryl Probert said in a written statement.

Some of the features of the office include a high-efficiency mechanical system and heat pumps designed to reduce energy consumption, a fire-rated wooden elevator shaft built from cross laminated timber and lodgepole ceiling beams.

“Besides the facility costing less than a traditionally constructed building of the same size due to its innovative use of timber technologies, the construction cost of the new Supervisor’s Office is expected to be recuperated in approximately five years as the new office allows us to terminate two high-cost leases and reduce deferred maintenance costs on old, inefficient office spaces,” Probert said.

The new office is located at 1008 Highway 64 in Kamiah and open to the public from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Time Monday through Friday. Forest Service officials will announce a formal public open house in the future.

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