Save the date for a hike in another timber sale near May Creek on October 25th - details coming.
On September 20, League members joined the
Center for Responsible Forestry leader Tom Hutchinson on a hike to an imminent timber sale called Tuckered Out. We walked through a clearcut before entering the cool air of the forest. We walked, rested, and listened to the stark difference. The glistening wet moss blanketed the rocks around Cherry Creek. Small fish foraged in a pond. The air was a sanctuary compared to the quickly desiccating hillside we had just walked on. The biodiversity in this forest will take generations to replace if it is logged.
We were going to ask our county council to nominate Tuckered Out through the Natural Climate Solutions Program for permanent protection. Then we learned that the Snoqualmie Tribe opposes NCS protection for this sale. We will look for another sale to recommend to the county council. But all our carbon-dense, structurally complex mature forests must be protected.
The WA Commissioner of Public Lands Upthegrove has
ended the six months pause on harvesting legacy forests with an
executive order that conserves 77,000 acres of forests. You can see a map called the Structurally Complex Forest Finder used by DNR on the linked page. This is a powerful step forward to
“protect our state’s remaining most ecologically valuable forests, without significantly impacting our state’s timber industry or funding for school construction” (Ben Avery-Sierra Club).
But the maps used to select forests need considerable revision. LWVSC has worked with the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition to map the forests in our county and consider a strategy that preserves all legacy forests, considers some conservation areas, and identifies many thousands of acres of younger forests for harvest. We look forward to getting a meeting with DNR policy folks and foresters from our NW Planning Unit for their input on our priorities and recommendations.
Join us for an hour at the link on the
calendar on the second Tuesday of each month at 10:00 A.M.