SEQUIM — Two Clallam County parcels will be up for auction next month as part of a state Department of Natural Resources land exchange.
A 67.6-acre tract of forest land south of Port Angeles near the east end of Fors Road and a 7.2-acre pasture near 1072 E. Anderson Road north of Sequim are tentatively set to go to auction March 27.
The auction will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Clallam County commissioners’ board room (160) at the county courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles. Potential bidders can sign in at 10 a.m.
The appraised value and minimum acceptable bids are $460,000 for the Fors Road property and $110,000 for the Dungeness-area property.
As part of the land exchange, the DNR Common School Trust will gain a 57.5 percent interest in a 368-acre parcel southeast of Mount Vernon in Skagit County.
The Skagit County property will provide revenue to support future school projects around the state and broaden the Clallam County tax base, DNR officials said.
Revenue from the auction will be used to buy replacement trust lands that have a greater potential to generate revenue or appreciate in value.
“With this transaction, we continue to support public education while strengthening communities and conserving working forestland,” Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said in a news release.
The property near Sequim is not currently leased and produces no trust revenue, according to the news release. The land near Port Angeles is not currently leased.
DNR intends to make the entire Skagit Valley parcel part of its Common School Trust through future land exchanges, which must be performed at a dollar-for-dollar value, agency officials said.
The land exchange was approved by the state Board of Natural Resources on Feb 5.
Clallam County Commissioner Bill Peach is vice chair of the DNR board, which is chaired by Franz and composed of six members.
For information on DNR’s land exchange program or the Clallam County tracts being auctioned, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-DNR Auction.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
