LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) -- Officials with the Bureau of Land Management are preparing an environmental assessment as part of a plan to salvage timber burned last summer in a wildfire in west-central Idaho.

The Lewiston Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/SisfFA) that BLM officials want to log about 10 million board feet on 940 acres in the John Day drainage burned in the 75-square-mile Sheep Fire near the town of Lucile.

Agency spokesman Robin Boyce says the agency is taking public comments and hopes to finish the assessment so the timber can be offered for sale by February.

The salvage area includes Ponderosa pine that's susceptible to blue staining caused by beetles. Officials say blue staining doesn't harm the wood but some buyers won't use it, so the timber should be salvaged quickly before beetles arrive.

___

Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com

Copyright 2012 The AP.