An auction of nine parcels of forested land near Williams, Ore., last week went better than concerned community members could have hoped, they said.

The most contested parcel, 600 acres comprising the bundled Pipe Fork Creek area and Thompson Creek area, was not purchased during an online auction.

Community members and coordinators for the Williams Community Forest Project, an ecological nonprofit, raised concerns to the Josephine County Board of Commissioners in recent years and as late as Wednesday about potential destruction of the biodiverse area and impacts to water and wildlife in the event those areas were poorly managed or clear-cut.

The group negotiated with county officials over the past four years to purchase the Pipe Fork area land and recently appealed to commissioners when plans were advertised Oct. 2 to list Pipe Fork and other parcels for auction. 

Calls to the Josephine County commissioners’ office were not immediately returned Thursday.

In addition to the Pipe Fork bundle, other parcels listed for auction included 160 acres dubbed Little Sugarloaf, 320 acres made up of Munger Creek and Cedar Flat, 320 acres of the Clapboard Gulch area, 160 acres dubbed “Little T,” 80-acre Bear Wallow and 160-acre “Low Divide.”

Combined, the nine parcels are reportedly valued at more than $10.4 million. Josephine commissioners previously signed a letter of intent to sell Pipe Fork to the Conservation Fund in January 2023, for the Yellow Book Appraisal price of $2,020,000.

Commissioners in July said assurance had not been made by the Bureau of Land Management that the land would be publicly accessible and would not be logged. In September, county appraisers determined the land held more value and moved forward with plans to hold an auction.

Bidding closed Wednesday afternoon, and the opening of the bids took place at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

The results brought some relief for community members, who held a rally in Grants Pass in late October.

Bids were made for purchase of Little Sugarloaf, the bundled Munger Creek — known as Mungers — and Cedar Flat properties, Bear Wallow and Low Divide, but not for the Pipe Fork and Thompson Creek bundle, Clapboard Gulch or Little T.

WCFP board member Cheryl Bruner said she was relieved to see that no bids had been made for any parcels located in close proximity to residential areas.

“Five sold and four saved. … Pipe Fork, Clapboard (Gulch) and Little T didn’t get bid on, and that’s really positive because those are all properties right next to landowners,” Bruner said Thursday after the auction. 

Bruner said some of the parcels — including Mungers and Cedar Flat — had already been subject to clear-cutting, a concern for residents due to ecological impacts of herbicides and destruction of topsoil involved with clear-cutting versus selective logging practices.

“Mungers and Cedar Flat are further south, a little more isolated and not right up next to people,” she added.

“The only concern is Mungers and Cedar Flat both have water on them that is crucial to us. … Obviously it would be better if whoever bought them didn’t clear-cut, and they used selective logging. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

Bruner said local residents and business owners rallied by sending letters to local timber companies, urging them not to bid on the available parcels. A letter also was sent to Josephine commissioners and local media outlets from 20 business owners expressing “opposition to Josephine County’s November 14th land auction involving nine parcels located in Williams.”

Businesses that signed the letter stated that their combined businesses generate “more than $50 million annually in gross sales and employ over 250 local residents.” They said the planned auction, and likely clear-cutting, would jeopardize the future of their businesses in a number of ways.

“If this auction moves forward, business owners intend to hold the bid winners and Josephine County accountable for any damages, losses, or negative impacts that affect our businesses and our employees,” the letter stated.

“The negative consequences of this auction have the potential to ripple through our entire community — and we will not stand idly by.”

WCFP board member Chas Rogers, a geologist who specializes in stream restoration, said he left Wednesday’s commission business meeting — where community members made their final pitch against the land auction — feeling depressed about the possible outcomes. The non-sale of Pipe Fork Thursday was a big relief for community members, Rogers said.

“Pipe Fork did not have any bids. Either no one thought they wanted to spend that much money or they just didn’t want to mess with it. Either way, that’s a good thing,” Rogers said.

“We contacted all the timber companies and told them, ‘Hey, we still wanna buy this thing.’ I don’t know what the commissioners will do at this point. We’re hoping what they’ll do is take it off the closed bid auctions, unbundle it from the other parcel and offer it up as a real estate sale.”

Rogers said the WCFP group, which worked to secure a promise by the Conservation Fund to purchase Pipe Fork for the appraised value of $2.02 million, was still in discussion with community members.

“Our hope is that it becomes available to the Conservation Fund for the appraised value, which is $300,000 less than they were willing to sell to us for at one point,” he said.

“Either way, Pipe Fork did not sell at auction … so it’s a relief for now.”