Weyerhaeuser Co.’s real estate company is selling about 6,500 acres of timberland at Merrill Lake and Shultz Creek near Mount St. Helens, saying the land is no longer profitable for timber management.

The move has outdoor enthusiasts worried that the land, which includes year-round hunting and fishing opportunities, could be developed into small parcels by a new owner. It comes about two years after the company’s controversial sale of the 4,100-acre “High Lakes” area sparked the same concerns.

The 1,410-acre Merrill Lake property is north of Cougar and adjacent to the southern edge of the Mount St. Helens National Monument.

The 5,095-acre Shultz Creek tract is popular elk-hunting land off Spirit Lake Memorial Highway. It’s located in the blast zone of the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens.

The company conducted extensive salvage and reforestation operations there after the blast.

The two parcels go on the market next Saturday. Weyerhaeuser has not determined a price.

The company transferred the Merrill Lake and Shultz Creek lands from its timber division to its real-estate division this spring because it was no longer profitable to harvest, said Brad Johnson, sales and marketing manager for the Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Development Co.

The lands are remote and difficult to reach. In addition, Shultz Creek is packed with Noble fir trees, whereas Weyerhaeuser harvests primarily Douglas fir. Also, the company has extracted a lot of the value of the nobles already, harvesting lower branches for wreaths and other Christmas decorations.

The company is marketing the properties for their timber value and recreational opportunities but has no control over its use after the sale, Johnson said.

“We think of it as forestland. That’s how we’re selling it,” Johnson said.

Weyerhaeuser, which owns 2.3 million acres of timberland in Washington and Oregon, has been looking to raise revenue after suffering through a nationwide decline in housing starts over the past two years. The Federal way-based company reported last month a $106 million loss for the quarter ending in June.

Fears of sudivisions

Jessica Walz, conservation director of the Portland-based Gifford Pinchot Task Force, said she’s concerned about a repeat of the 2007 High Lakes deal, where Weyerhaeuser sold 4,100 acres of forestland in Cowlitz and Skamania counties to two Tacoma men, who then subdivided the land into lots ranging from 38 to 107 acres. Shultz Creek is immediately west and north of the High Lakes area.

Conservation groups have been trying to raise money to buy the High Lakes parcel to ensure public access.

The Gifford Pinchot Task Force is watching to see who buys the Merrill Lake and Shultz Creek parcels, and the group wants to ensure it remains forestland, Walz said.

“Our primary concern is (the) increasing development in that area.”

Skamania County has a building moratorium in place that prevents development in most of the High Lakes area. The rough roads leading into the area also inhibit emergency services to the area. The Shultz Creek area could face similar roadblocks to development because of limited access roads beyond Spirit Lake Highway.

A Merrill Lake resort?

The Merrill Lake area is large enough to support a large recreational resort, which could bring much-needed jobs to Cowlitz County, said Mark Smith, owner of the Toutle-area Eco Park Resort and a member of the county’s planning board.

“A lot of these are the last properties left for commercial recreational development,” Smith said.

County officials need to update their 1976 comprehensive growth plan and enact a building moratorium, Smith said. Putting a halt to growth now would help the county better plan for future development and protect the Merrill Lake and Shultz Creek areas, he said.

Cowlitz County Commissioner Axel Swanson said a moratorium is unlikely because county attorneys aren’t sure if it can be done legally, but the public should have a say in the future of Merrill Lake and Shultz Creek.

“It’s really not a good option to say, ‘because the land is changing hands, we need a moratorium,’” he said.

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