Rayonier Inc. has added its Washington state timberlands to its Web site to allow hunting clubs to search and bid on hunting licenses for the company’s tracts of land.

The Web site, www.rayonier

hunting.com, offers simple searches to locate available hunting tracts on Rayonier land in six states.

Hunters can use the site to identify available timberland tracts and from Aug. 8-25 use an online auction process to compete for license agreements in the 2008 season. The online auction bidding allows hunt clubs to bid for an exclusive hunting license on their selected tract. The minimum bid price per acre varies depending on habitat features, accessibility, and variety and number of game species.

"The lands are located in Grays Harbor and Clallam counties. They total 6,900 acres of Rayonier’s 420,000 Washington acres," said Eric Fanelli, director of the company’s Pacific Forest Resources division.

Hunters also can register on the Web site to receive e-mail alerts on hunting opportunities and nominate areas for club hunting for future bidding. Land available for licensing is listed geographically by state and county. If a preferred county is not listed, Rayonier does not have any property for hunting available in that county.

Each tract is shown on a map and is identified by a Recreational License Unit (RLU) number and a colored marker:

Green – Available for renewal (now) or bid

Red – Already licensed

Yellow – Pending; please check back for changes

To view detail information, click on the marker for each parcel’s total acreage, adjacent properties and topographical maps that include water and road features.

Hunt clubs are allowed to bid on as many tracts of land as they like but must create an account before participating in the bidding process.

Potential license holders should review the terms and conditions associated with licensing land from Rayonier.

See the user guide for more information.

Aerial photographs and topographic maps improve efficiency and speed in evaluating and selecting available tracts and help hunters identify likely habitat for their chosen game.

Since Rayonier manages its timberland to "sustainable forestry initiative" guidelines, its lands span a range of forest maturity and density. Quality habitat exists for a wide array of wildlife.

"We are pleased to expand the range of recreational opportunities on our privately-owned forestlands to include recreational hunting areas for license by hunting or recreational clubs," Fanelli said.

"License agreements will be offered to recreation-seekers who are willing to pay for a superior hunting or recreational experience," he said.

Rayonier has provided access to recreational opportunities such as hiking, fishing and hunting on its privately-owned forestlands for more than 80 years.

The company will continue to offer free public access for hunting, hiking and other recreational opportunities on lands not licensed to hunting clubs.

In addition, Rayonier continues to invite members of the public to its two parks, Tumbling Rapids Park, (north of Forks) and The Promised Land Park, (north of Hoquiam).

Both offer free camping, picnicking and fishing and have been enjoyed by Washington residents for more than 50 years.