ENTERPRISE — The Wallowa County Board of Commissioners at its March 19 meeting reversed an earlier decision and accepted the donation of a 33-acre parcel at the south end of Wallowa Lake.

The Wallowa Land Trust gave the land to be included in the East Moraine Community Forest.

Kel Hoffman of the land trust said he is a member of the East Moraine Community Forest executive committee, which took possession of the parcel several years ago with the intent of giving it to the county for the community forest.

In giving some background on the parcel, Commissioner John Hillock said the steeply sloped land is difficult to maintain. He said it needs to be thinned and it has fire-hazard concerns.

At a prior meeting, then-Commissioner Todd Nash and Commissioner Susan Roberts voted against accepting the parcel, while Hillock voted in favor.

Of the three, only Hillock was present March 19, as Nash is now a state senator and Roberts was out on sick leave.  Lisa Collier succeeded Nash on the county board.

Collier said she has attended some of the meetings on the matter and asked about the possibility of accepting the donation but not actively managing it.

Katy Nesbitt, the county’s natural resources and economic development director, said that upon transfer of the property, the property management will be included in the forest’s management plan and its stewardship fund.

Hillock said the county has reached out to a logging firm that should be able to access the project when it is in the county this year. This may be a steep-slope logging project, raising additional liability concerns due to the risk of rolling rocks and the proximity of nearby homes.

He said the logging volume — especially if it can be combined with other logging projects the U.S. Forest Service may be implementing — may be able to offset the cost of thinning, with the goal of breaking even. Timing and safety are the county’s biggest concerns, he said.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved the initiation of a grant application that totals $603,620 from the state Criminal Justice Commission for the county’s Drug and Alcohol Treatment Court. Grants manager Caprice Locke said the amount may be more or less, based on this year’s legislative actions.

• Heard a request for funding from Janis Carper of the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance. She was to request $2,500 each for the Courthouse Concert Series and for the Juniper Jam. The commissioners decided to table the matter and revisit the issue April 2 pending more information.

• Appointed Brenda Micka as the budget officer for the county, for the county’s Road Service District and for the Wallowa Lake County Service District.

• Appointed members to the Wallowa County Compensation Board. Appointed were Adrian Harguess, Bill Williams and Mark Piper.