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Brokedown Place. Jumping Jack. Goldfish. Silver Charm. Camp Draper.

Evocative? Yes. Unique? Definitely. And just like their unique names, the state-land timber harvests managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources get individualized pre-auction assessments.

DNR’s primary reason for growing forests on state trust lands is to provide a quality timber harvest opportunity capable of generating funds for public beneficiaries, primarily schools. Timber harvests have generated nearly $900 million for beneficiaries over the past five years.

“Timber sales are a vital part of how we’re able to support schools and local governments throughout Washington,” says Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, the elected official who leads the Department of Natural Resources. “Just like each school and community has unique needs, these harvests receive individualized approaches to make them sustainable and environmentally sound — and they come with creative names that reflect that approach.”

Before a timber harvest is offered for sale, state foresters make a series of assessments. They review data and make site visits asking things like… Where are the streams and wetlands located? What are the potential effects of this harvest on water quality? How will the harvest affect fish and wildlife habitat? Are there nearby slopes that require a geologic assessment? Are there other areas that will require special attention?

As DNR foresters make these assessments they commonly find areas that do need special consideration. They use this information to create a set prescriptions, or rules, that a timber harvest company will have to abide by if they submit the winning bid to log the land. It’s at this point that the timber harvest gets its distinctive name, often inspired by the land itself. Ram’s Horn. Ninebark. Summer Breeze.

If a harvest has too many special requirements, timber companies will be more hesitant to bid for harvesting rights. This may lead to a lower bid and result in less revenue for schools and public services. This situation could also leave DNR exposed to legal action for failing to meet its legal mandate to generate that revenue. Alternatively, a harvest with too few restrictions could fail to adequately protect public lands and unnecessarily damaging public lands for years to come.

That’s why the proposed harvest, including the requirements a timber harvest company will need to meet, are reviewed in a transparent process after the assessment is complete. Proposed harvests go through a public comment process, called SEPA (an abbreviation for the State Environmental Policy Act, which created the procedure), designed to ferret out any site-specific environmental concerns that may have been missed initially. Then, the proposed harvest goes to the Board of Natural Resources, which is comprised of industry and beneficiary stakeholders. The public is invited to attend and provide comments at their public meeting, where the board then decides if the proposed harvest is approved for sale.

The process takes time – normally one to two years.

Only after these steps, and with full knowledge of all the requirements, do timber harvest companies get the opportunity to bid on a timber harvest. The highest offer — the bid that will generate the highest revenue for the public beneficiaries — wins.

So what are the possible prescription restrictions that a harvest company may have to abide by? They run can be anything from stream buffers, to trees that must remain or the mix of trees to replant, to how and when the harvest should be done.

Timing timber harvests to the seasons

Timber harvests can be restricted to the drier summer months in areas where runoff may be a special concern. Alternately, colder areas at higher altitudes may benefit from a winter harvest, when the ground is frozen or protected by a layer of snow.

Based on the site conditions, DNR may also set the harvesting system that companies can use. Some systems have advantages protecting soil, water, fish, amphibians or wildlife in given situations.

Harvest systems matched to meet the need

Ground-based harvesting systems are typically used on state trust lands with less extreme terrain, on soils not easily compacted and in areas with good road access. Look for them in flat areas and on slopes of less than 35 percent in Western Washington and less than 50 percent in Eastern Washington. These operations may be combined with rubber tire skidders, tracked skidders or shovels to achieve desired protection objectives.

Rubber tire skidders are used to push or pull logs distances of up to 700 feet in Western Washington and 1,300 feet in Eastern Washington. They can disturb and compact soils, so use is generally limited to non-sensitive areas. Tracked skidders, or “dozers,” perform many different jobs on a logging site. They can pull large loads of logs, operate on moderate slopes and work in softer soils with less compaction. Shovels are a versatile piece of equipment that put less pressure on the ground than skidders. You may see these operated around riparian areas, trees not being harvested, and across uneven surfaces with stumps, boulders and heavy brush. Shovels can also be used for site preparation, road construction and installing culverts. A fully mechanized harvesting system is another option that compacts the ground less than skidders. This system performs the entire harvest process, such as cutting, forwarding and bucking.

Cable systems partially or completely suspend logs moving them to landing zones up to 1,000 feet away. Because cable systems require special crews, they’re more expensive and are generally only required when ground-based systems can’t be used. Look for them on state trust lands with slopes greater than 35 percent, areas with broken topography, or wet or easily compacted soils.

Helicopter logging may be the only option in areas where road construction would be too expensive or would adversely affect an environmentally sensitive feature. Look for it on slopes steeper than 40 percent, though it’s not common, because it’s so expensive.

Regardless of the system, state land harvests require harvesters to work where they will disturb less soil, which can cause erosion and soil compaction while making it harder for trees to re-establish. To ensure this happens, DNR has timber harvest companies plan their skid trails in advance and mark the approved areas clearly.

Regenerating forests, regenerating value

Prior to a harvest being completed, DNR silviculturists make a plan to replant the working forest, accounting for myriad factors, including elevation, aspect and seed zone.

The silviculturists start with information gathered during DNR foresters’ environmental assessments before the timber harvest, and account for any adverse conditions at the site, such as the presence of laminated root rot or pests like the spruce weevil.

Then, silviculturists focus in on the details of the site. Generally, sites below 2,000 feet in elevation are more fertile than higher-elevation sites, so the planted seedlings will face competition from other plant species. Using information from reforesting similar sites, silviculturists decide whether a site preparation treatment will be necessary. The treatments control competition from both native and invasive species, giving the seedlings a better chance to establish themselves. At higher elevations, those treatments are less likely to be necessary. Depending on the site’s aspect (which direction the slope faces), different trees may be more likely to thrive.

Another important factor in replanting is using seedlings from the same tree zone as the harvest. Knowing the origin of a seed is crucial to determining where the tree will survive and grow successfully because of different environmental and climate differences. Native conifers in the Pacific Northwest have some of the highest levels of genetic variation found in plants.

After preparing the site after the harvest, foresters come in the next spring and repopulate the forest with seedlings selected specifically for that area. At lower elevations, about 300 Douglas-fir and 100 western red cedars are planted per acre; at higher elevations, about 300 Douglas-fir and 60 western redcedars are used.

“When you plant, you control the stocking, what’s growing there and how far apart it’s spaced,” says Cory McDonald, a forester in DNR’s Northwest region.

Some other native tree species are also introduced at the time to increase biodiversity, and foresters working at higher elevations also allow for natural repopulation of the forest. Douglas-firs and western redcedars are planted because they have the best return on financial investment to fulfill DNR’s obligation to generate money for its beneficiaries, like public schools and local governments.

“In order to have trees for the future, we have to have prompt reforestation with healthy, vigorous trees, that’s the biggest thing,” McDonald says. “If we just didn’t plant, there would be a lag time before the stand became naturally reforested. It would happen over time, but it wouldn’t be as quick, and that’s tougher to manage because you don’t have the certainty over the timing.”

The minimum amount of trees to replant after a timber harvest on state or private lands in Washington is 190 trees per acre, though most landowners plant far more than that so they have a bigger yield to harvest.

DNR has a nursery where it grows many of its trees for replanting from seed, a process that takes two years before trees are ready to be planted. That means foresters need to estimate years ahead what they will need to properly re-establish our working forests.

Harvest frequency

There’s no general rule for knowing when a landscape will be ready to harvest. Different species grow at different rates. Conditions can vary from one hillside to another. Droughts can last have a significant influence. The agency’s general approach, however, is to harvest trees once their growth rate slows, for the best return on the public’s investment.

When DNR prepares a harvest auction, it considers the surrounding area, too. Weighing factors include the maturity and size of trees on adjacent land, along with the size of the harvest area itself. Timber harvests are generally limited to 100 acres, though may be up to 120 acres in special situations. They also must border areas where trees have not been recently harvested – either adjacent to 30 percent mature forest, 60 percent young forest or 90 percent newer forest with trees growing there more than 5 years. The result is a landscape with trees of various sizes. The habitat is varied and no single watershed is too heavily affected within a short timeframe.

Accommodations for recreation

Many state forest lands are also prime areas for recreation. The agency retains a no-harvest buffer around its campgrounds, but with 1,500 miles of trail on DNR-managed lands, it’s inevitable that timber harvests affect trails.

DNR Forester John Moon with one of the trees that DNR identified as one to exclude from the Pathfinder Timber Sale in 2017 in Reiter Foothills State Forest for its importance to the local 4×4 community. (DNR photo)

When a trail traverses a harvest, it is closed temporarily while the harvest completed to protect public safety. After the harvest, the DNR and volunteers clean up and reopen the trail.

Some consider newly harvested areas less attractive than mature forest. As an accommodation, the agency may locate the harvest’s leave trees along trails or roads to provide a visual barrier. However, timber harvests can also provide an unexpected benefit: enhanced views.

Special landscapes get special protections

Not every landscape is appropriate for timber harvests. In addition to potentially unstable slopes, DNR also will not harvest at the state’s most precious ecological areas as a part of the natural areas program. In addition, uncommon habitats such as talus fields, caves, cliffs, oak woodlands, areas bald of vegetation, mineral springs and large mature (“old growth”) forests are excluded from harvest areas.

Areas are also excluded when they provide important habitat for endangered or threatened plant or animal species, such as the spotted owl or marbled murrelet.

All told, approximately one-third of the state lands managed by DNR are not harvested for timber.

Protecting and sustaining people, too

DNR is a founding member of the Logger Safety Initiative, which promotes occupational safety in the logging industry. Logging is historically one of Washington’s most hazardous industries — one where workers, particularly in non-mechanized logging jobs, suffer serious injuries much more often than in any other major industry while employers struggle to afford accelerating workers’ compensation insurance costs.

In response, DNR, private land owners, logging industry employers and the Department of Labor & Industries formed the Washington State Logger Safety Initiative. The agency continues as an active landowner member of this broad-based effort to promote occupational safety, reduce fatalities, and decrease the frequency and severity of workplace injuries in the logging industry. DNR also works to include companies logging on state lands as participating members.

Sustainable forests

DNR has also achieved multiple sustainable landowner certifications. Certified forests are grown to an approved set of standards, which demonstrate environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management practices that promote responsible forestry. The agency aims to exceed best management practices, and it goes through a rigorous third-party audit of its practices every two years to identify any areas in need of improvement.

These certifications are good for harvest companies, too. Timber harvested from state lands can able to demand higher prices in the marketplace due to its FSC or SFI sustainable certification status. This, in turn, means harvest companies are willing to bid more, providing greater revenue to schools and other beneficiaries.

Case-by-case assessments and care are a big part of how DNR ensures both economically viable and environmentally sound timber harvests on DNR-managed state trust lands. Doing so protects waterways, fish, wildlife, public resources, recreation and the forest’s ability to continue growing timber (a sustainable source of revenue) for public beneficiaries in perpetuity.

The one-of-a-kind names? Well, that part’s mostly just for fun.

Imagine standing at 4,700-feet overlooking a hilly, snow-dusted treeline with a view of Mount Rainier and getting some of the best powder you’ve ever seen.

But the thing is, you don’t have to daydream about it – because you can go there. Tucked away in our Tahoma State Forest awaits three huts and a yurt dotting a trail system. And it’s only a two hour drive from the Greater Seattle Area.

Here’s the hut-to-hut breakdown.

HIGH HUT

• Elevation: 4,760 feet
• Gain: 2,400 feet
• Miles to hut: 4
• Sleeping capacity: 8 people
• Find a trail map here

High hut. Image: DNR

SNOW BOWL

• Elevation: 4, 250 feet
• Gain: 2,000 feet
• Miles to hut: 4
• Sleeping capacity: 14 people
• Find a trail map here

Bruni’s Snow Bowl. Image: MTTA

COPPER CREEK

• Elevation: 4,200 feet
• Gain: 2,400 feet
• Miles: 4
• Sleeping capacity: 14 people
• Only accessible in winter in respect
  to conservation efforts
• Find a trail map here

Copper Creek Hut. Image: MTTA

THE YURT

• Elevation: 4,100 feet
• Gain: 1,740 feet
• Miles: 6.5
• Sleeping capacity: 6 people
• Find a trail map here

The Yurt. Image: MTTA So you want to go? Here’s what to know

HUT AMENITIES: Each hut provides a stovetop, pots to melt snow for water, bunk beds, kitchen essentials, a fireplace, and an outside bathroom.

WHAT TO BRING: Bring the Ten Essentials! Don’t forget your Discover Pass and sno-park permit. Find a trail map here.

ETIQUETTE: Snowshoers should stay to the side to preserve the groomed trails
for skiers. You may be sharing the huts with other groups, so be respectful and practice Leave No Trace principles.

RESERVATIONS: The huts are free to use from 7 a.m. – p.m.. An annual gala is held every November, which includes a lottery for first-round reservations. Beginning in late-November, the website opens all remaining spots for reservation. The huts are always full on weekends, but weekdays often have openings, and you can check back regularly for weekend cancellations. For more information, visit skimtta.org.

DIRECTIONS TO TRAILHEAD: The location of the 1 Road Sno-Park moves depending on the snow level. If there is a lot of snow and the gate to the upper area is locked, then use the lower Sno-park at 2,360 feet elevation. If there is less snow and the gate to the upper area is open, then head farther up the road to the Upper 1 Road Sno-Park at 3,000-feet elevation.

The location of the 1 Road Sno-Park moves depending on the snow level. If there is a lot of snow and the gate to the upper area is locked, then use the lower Sno-park at 2,360 feet elevation. If there is less snow and the gate to the upper area is open, then head farther up the road to the Upper 1 Road Sno-Park at 3,000-feet elevation.

How long have the huts been there? Who are the people behind this trail? What makes the huts different than others in the northwest? 

Looking for a conversation starter with your group on the trail? Read about how this all came together. You may discover that you love the story of how this trail system came together as much as you love the trail system itself. Story first published in Mountaineer Magazine. 

The view of Elbe and Tahoma State Forests as seen from what is now the High Hut. Building a hut system

On a winter day in 1989, Bob Brown’s mind was wandering as he explored Mount Rainier’s Paradise area during a backcountry ski. A Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) forest manager, Bob had recently read about hut-to-hut skiing trail systems. European-inspired, hut-based backcountry skiing took off in America nearly a century before his trip that day, and while hut systems were available in Eastern Washington, none had been built on the western side of the Cascades. Not yet that is.

“I thought, gee, [a hut system] would be sort of neat [in Western Washington]. And then I thought, gee, all the roads – on both the DNR land and private timber company land,
and even some forest service land – are all snow covered in the winter. So there’s ready-made trail. And you have landings, which are cleared areas, where you can build huts
on and they would have views.”

Bob called a meeting between DNR, Washington State Parks, and the Forest Service about opening a new hut-to-hut skiing trail in the Tahoma State Forests. They sent out 1,500
questionnaires to measure public interest. Only two people didn’t like the idea.

The group established Mount Tahoma Trail Association (MTTA) in 1989 as a nonprofit and started fundraising. The state gave $160,000 — money pitched by a state senator who later said the funds were the best he’s ever allocated because of how well they were used. Other contributions came from grassroots fundraising efforts and in-kind work- hours by volunteers.

By fall, MTTA was working on building the High Hut. Its completion in 1990 was followed by Snow Bowl Hut, Copper Creek Hut, and The Yurt in 1991.

The view of Mount Rainier from the High Hut.

For three decades, volunteers donated more than 4,000 hours every year to operate and maintain the huts and trails, doing everything from work parties to weekend ski patrols. This allows MTTA to be a 100% volunteer-run organization, which means every penny donated or raised goes directly back into operating the facilities.

“If you come up with a good idea, then there’s a chance it might turn into something. But the [credit goes to] all the talented people who get excited about this thing and pour their heart and soul into it and make it work,” Bob said.

‘Ready-made’ trails in our working forests

When you ski or snowshoe from the lower sno-park near Ashford, it’s not long before a sign welcomes you into in the heart of a working forest. As part of Washington’s three million acres of federally-granted state trust lands, Tahoma State Forests are managed by the Washington DNR and are legally obligated to provide an array of benefits to Washington residents. Priority is placed on perpetually generating revenue to support public institutions, like funding construction of schools, namely through timber harvests.

Timber harvesting techniques have come a long way over the last century, which had previously left this land nearly barren. DNR and partnering conservation groups have worked together to revitalize the area, returning it to a resilient, productive working forest to sustain healthy and diverse habitats.

“When Snow Bowl Hut was built, there was a big open clear cut in front of it, and people would ski in that clear cut…and you can’t ski in the clear cut anymore,” Bob said. “And the reason you can’t ski in that clear cut is because there’s too many trees.”

A snowshower looks out into the forest on the trail.

When the season turns to winter, logging truck roads go dormant in the snow. Utilizing these existing roads for recreation preserves nearby conservation areas while also offering a backcountry experience. The trail system also evolves and changes with timber production and forest growth. That’s why the trails fluctuate between 50 and 75 miles of terrain from season to season.

“I’m proud that my agency and our partners are able to manage the public’s lands in ways that protect our natural resources, provide millions of dollars for public services, and give us some of the most beautiful areas to explore,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, a skier who manages DNR. “The Tahoma State Forests are a great example of what our working forests can do for us, from timber harvests to recreational opportunities.”

Accessible and affordable

More than 100,000 people have stayed overnight at the huts since their inception in the 1990s, not counting the thousands of day users who’ve skied through the forest. But many still consider this trail system to be among Western Washington’s best kept secrets. Most people find out about it through word of mouth and the MTTA Communications Director was no exception. Like many of the organization’s 90 volunteers, Heath Jones was inspired by his first trip up to the huts to give back. He volunteered on ski patrol for several years, and now focuses on creating awareness and accessibility for both summer and winter users.

“Making it accessible is important, and making it fun for all ages, whether playing board games or having bachelor or bachelorette parties or things like that … getting more people to understand what the huts are capable of… I think is a huge,” Heath said.

For MTTA, accessibility means providing ongoing improvements to enhance experiences for all skill levels, and that includes adding to the trail system. As the forests and trails evolve, so do the huts. For example: once powered by screw-on propane bottles, the huts now run on solar.

The High Hut with Mount Rainier peeking around it.

These upgrades, intersecting with convenience and safety, are met with respect by the users who practice Leave No Trace principles.

“People come up and take a sense of pride in it,” Jones said. “They keep it pretty clean,
refill water, sweep up, and leave it for the next people, which is important because they’re all public use. From what I’ve seen people are pretty respectful of the property and the ability to go up and enjoy the view.”

Bob and Heath both agree that what really sets these huts apart from others in the United States is they are relatively affordable for everyone.

Take it from us: Christmas is better with a Christmas tree.

(Even Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz weighed in on this last year.)

Please don’t take your tree from us, however. You’ll have to get one from somewhere besides a state forest, just like we do.

Because the trust lands under our supervision are needed to generate sustainable revenue while managed in an environmentally conscious way, we can’t have people cutting down our juvenile trees before they reach maturity. If we did, then there would be less money generated for schools, libraries, and other public services for the agencies that depend on us.

Instead, to generate solid returns for those public services, we have to wait until the trees in the forest have reached maturity before auctioning them for harvest.

However, there are plenty of places on federal lands for Washington residents to be able to cut their own Christmas trees, and there’s also many tree farms open for residents shopping across the state.

National Forests

• Colville National Forest 
• Gifford Pinchot National Forest 
• Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
• Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
• Olympic National Forest

Private tree farms

• Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association

Here’s to hoping for a safe harvest, and a happy holiday season, too!

Outdoor burning is a leading cause of wildfire ignitions, smoke and certain pollutants. Photo DNR

With slash piles around and the cold November rain right around the corner, it’s a perfect time of year for forest landowners to consider their outdoor burning needs of branches and bark left behind after thinning, pruning or harvesting forest trees.

So, to answer the question of is it burning season: Yes, but not if the air quality is poor in your area.

Fire danger is low once again here in Western Washington as summer fades away and temperatures cool down.

Burning slash now avoids the future risk of uncontrolled fire during the summer, and it reduces the potential for nuisance smoke later amid the cold winter air.

Burning can also reduce the number of insects harmful to the forest that overwinter in slash and create more open ground for forest regeneration, which can boost forest health.

Nearly all slash burning is done under permits issued by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). These permits address how much can be burned, what equipment can be used and that attendance is mandatory on site during the burning. Other land-clearing burning typically falls under county permits. DNR also can deny burning if conditions could cause a fire to escape or if there is unhealthy air.

DNR fire personnel, county fire dispatch centers, and county fire marshals are notified daily of permitted burns.

Forest landowners are looking for those slightly breezy days ahead of or following a period of rain when there is upward movement in the air to help the fire burn hot and disperse the smoke high in the atmosphere.

Don’t be alarmed when you see columns of smoke or flames at night in the hills. Sometimes the amount of smoke or height of the flames may seem alarming and similar to what wildfires produce, but the outward spread of the slash fire is controlled during fall burning. A slash fire that burns hot and fast has more complete combustion and produces fewer pollutants than a slower-burning fire.

Always follow the Department of Ecology’s website (https://ecology.wa.gov/Air-Climate/Air-quality/Smoke-fire/Burn-bans) for air quality and burn ban information in your area.

Slash burns are usually completed and out within a week or two. If you do see smoke from a slash pile that continues to smolder for weeks, please call the forest landowner or your local DNR Region Office.

The diversity of our employees’ experience gives shape to the work of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Lalena Amiotte has been with DNR since 2008. She is currently working as the Aquatic Resources Division’s Habitat Stewardship Unit Supervisor, where she specializes in environmental stewardship of overwater structures and endangered species recovery. Lalena previously served as the department’s interim tribal liaison. This essay is brought to you by our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council.

I often find myself thinking of the teachings that come with the species we are trying to protect at DNR. Take the beaver, for example: In my culture, the beaver brings life; water, water is life. Without water, we cease to exist. Beaver are also the most industrious of all the creatures (and probably my favorite aquatic species) – they remind us to keep working and to not give up.

Lalena Amiotte, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is the supervisor of the DNR Aquatic Resources Division’s Habitat Stewardship Unit.

I am constantly reminded at work of these stories and songs, and somehow this gives my work added meaning and importance.

As an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe from South Dakota, and the wife of a Skokomish tribal fisherman, the connection to the water and forests is who we are. We are raising our children on the Skokomish Indian Reservation in Mason County, teaching them to know the lands, the waters, and all the creatures big and small that call those places home. But we are also passing onto them how to use their voices to protect these precious resources for future generations.

Our teachings tell us that each one of us has a role in our family, our community and this world. My husband’s role is that of the fisherman and head of family by bringing the bounty of the sea home to our family and community. My role has always been to use my voice and be the example for the next generations – especially young native women in my community – by showing that women belong in natural resource management and that tribal perspectives matter in Washington state and across this country. Our daughter’s role might be the hardest – to remember everything we have taught her, so that when we are gone our family’s traditions and culture are not lost.

Teaching our next generation is so important. Without my education, my path in life would have been incredibly limited. Thanks to my parents and grandparents, I was encouraged from a very early age to go for higher education. I’m fortunate – without those people pushing me, I imagine my life would be very challenging. I try to pass this on to the next generation, both to my daughter and to the children in my community: Once you have a degree or a trade certificate, that can never be taken away. You earned that.

I like to share my culture’s teachings with my co-workers at DNR to add to their perspective about the conservation work we do here, and I feel like my perspective and experiences are welcome here. For someone with such a diverse background and traditions, for someone who cares so deeply for this land we are charged to manage, working for DNR is a natural fit.

As the Puget Sound resident orca population continues to dwindle, reaching a 30-year low, we have a ray of hope.

Or three – a trio of female orcas are pregnant right now, researchers announced recently.

But we haven’t seen a juvenile orca survive in three years in Puget Sound waters, and the populations of salmon the iconic sea mammals feed on have continued to decline in quantity, too.

Orca populations in Puget Sound are at a 30-year low. (Photo by Candice Emmons, NOAA Fisheries)

That’s why Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources today announced a $90 million environmental funding request to conserve critical aquatic habitat, improve water quality, and grow the trees and forests to ensure clean, cool waters necessary for salmon to survive.

“The existential struggle of many of Washington’s native species requires us to make immediate and significant investments in our landscapes,” Franz said. “This funding package allows DNR to take the next steps needed to protect and restore salmon habitat and water quality, helping secure a future for our orcas, our salmon, our way of life.”

According to the Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery and Task Force, the decline in orca and salmon populations is primarily driven by vessel traffic and noise, toxic contaminants in the water, poor habitat, and declining prey.

The funding package is designed to support the work of the task force and other entities by protecting and repairing habitat damaged by toxins, development and barriers to fish passage. By repairing salmon habitat, populations of salmon have more places to rebound, providing food for orcas and sufficient salmon to support tribal treaty fishing obligations, while also reopening closed commercial and recreational fishing opportunities.

Several of the actions recommended by the state’s Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery and Task Force would be fully funded and implemented, as well as proposals from the Puget Sound Partnership and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Here are a handful of different ways this proposal would improve salmon and orca habitat:

A worker segments a polluting piling removed from Washington’s waters so that it can be removed from the beach. (DNR photo)

• $7 million from the state operating budget would provide permanent funding to protect the aquatic food web by removing legacy toxins, restoring eelgrass beds, and removing marine debris.
• $1.5 million would help DNR’s scientists assess the impact of ocean acidification in Washington, advancing research critical to the continued viability of oyster harvesting and other aquaculture.
• $2.1 million would enhance urban forestry, keeping more stormwater runoff – the top pollutant of Washington’s waters – in the ground and out of salmon and orca habitat.
• $8 million would fund Puget SoundCorps workers performing critical salmon habitat restoration.
• $5 million would pay to remove several large derelict boats that are dangers to both fish habitat and public safety.
• $1.5 million would allow DNR to perform conservation work on its natural lands, preserving threatened environments while providing natural resilience to climate change.
• $1.6 million would fund experts to help small private landowners protect salmon habitat in their lands, and $23 million would be set aside to help landowners maintain protective buffers around streams and unstable slopes.
• $31 million would go toward removing barriers to fish passage, including the removal or replacement of undersized culverts, on both state and private lands.
• $1.4 million would go toward glacial landslide research, so DNR can understand and limit slides into streams and rivers.
• $820,000 would be used to ensure that roads built for forest practices purposes are safe and do not add sediment to salmon-bearing streams.

How you can help

You can help protect the Puget Sound ecosystem at home, too.

Be mindful of when you use fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, and try using non-chemical alternatives, like compost or pest-deterring plants. Make sure your car, truck or SUV doesn’t have any leaks, and recycle used oil whenever possible. Use commercial car washes or wash your car on your lawn or in other areas where the water can be absorbed, so it doesn’t go into storm drains. And if you have a septic tank at your property, make sure to service it regularly so it does not fail and release sewage into the environment. (Find a full collection of water-friendly tips at the state Department of Ecology’s website.)

The Blanchard Forest Strategy is one step closer to full completion.

The plan, funded to completion by legislators last year, calls for the conservation of the 1,600-acre central portion of the state forest in Skagit County, with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources acquiring other lands nearby to replace the revenue once generated by timber harvests in the forest’s core.

Today, the state Board of Natural Resources approved DNR’s proposal to purchase nearly 200 acres of working forest next to Blanchard State Forest at its monthly meeting in Olympia.

“Completing this purchase ensures continued financial support for Skagit County students and local forestry jobs, all while protecting the core of Blanchard State Forest for present and future generations to enjoy,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, who leads DNR and chairs the Board of Natural Resources.

A series of trails winds through the Blanchard State Forest in Skagit County. The core of the forest is being conserved as part of a Legislature-funded plan, and replacement working forests have been acquired nearby. (Photo by Ashli Blow, DNR)

Blanchard State Forest is a 4,800-acre forest in Skagit County managed by DNR. It is located on the southern end of the Chuckanut Range, north of the city of Burlington. The forest is state trust land that DNR manages to generate revenue to support Skagit County public services.

The acquisitions — two parcels of forest land offered by the Goodyear Nelson Lumber Co., totaling 193.25 acres and costing $1.22 million — will help replace the timber revenue that Skagit County once received from the popular, scenic portion of the inner forest that is being put into conservation status, while also increasing public access to the area.

DNR’s purchases are part of the Blanchard Forest Strategy, which calls for placing the 1,600-acre core zone that includes Samish Overlook, Oyster Dome and backcountry camping areas at Lily and Lizard lakes into permanent conservation status. That core zone was used to provide revenue to several Skagit County junior taxing districts, which prompted DNR to acquire replacement working forest elsewhere in the county.

Funds for these purchases are part of a recent $2 million legislative appropriation for DNR to continue the Blanchard Forest Strategy. The beneficiaries include Skagit County, Medic One, the Port of Skagit and United General Hospital, as well as the Burlington-Edison School District. The purchase of the other two private parcels in the appropriation, totaling 76 acres, was approved by the Board of Natural Resources in September.

One more land transaction is expected before the Blanchard Forest Strategy will be completed.

Looking to learn more about Blanchard State Forest or the recreation opportunities there? Visit dnr.wa.gov/Blanchard for more information.

It’s World Tsunami Awareness Day, and you should know that Washington faces one of the highest tsunami risks in the U.S. That’s why we are working hard to learn about tsunami hazards and produce maps and evacuation products to help you stay informed about the hazards for you and your family.

Here’s a not so fun tsunami awareness fact for you: all of Washington’s coastline is at risk for tsunamis; if you feel an earthquake get to high ground as soon as possible. Learn about tsunami hazard areas and evacuation routes ahead of time so if you are near the coast when the next earthquake happens you will already know where to go to get to safety.

As we saw in September in Palu, Indonesia, tsunamis can be devastating events that re-shape the ground, destroy structures and claim thousands of lives. Washington is also vulnerable to this type of event.

Tsunami deposits, submarine landslides, and buried trees remain reminders of the 1700 A.D. Magnitude 9 megathrust earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone that produced a tsunami that flooded much of Washington’s coast. These clues have been located in numerous places along the Washington, Oregon, California, and Vancouver Island coasts.

Large waves generated by the 9.2 magnitude Alaskan earthquake in 1964 destroyed this bridge in Washington State.

We’re also vulnerable to tsunamis caused by distant earthquakes. A magnitude 9.2 earthquake shook the coast of Alaska southeast of Anchorage in 1964. The quake last almost 4.5 minutes, impacting many in Alaska. The ensuing tsunami traveled more than 1,300 miles to unundate the coast of Washington, Oregon and California, killing 16 people.

Another remarkable tsunami struck inland, when a series of landslides into Lake Roosevelt produced tsunami waves as high 65 feet.

This is why The Washington Geological Survey helps communities across Washington identify how they may be vulnerable to similar tsunami events and how they can craft innovative strategies for preparing for those threats.

We work with scientists and emergency managers to map results from modeled tsunami scenarios to show where waves would likely strike after a Cascadia quake, identify evacuation routes, and help communities with vertical evacuation strategies. Earlier this year, we released new tsunami inundation hazard maps for Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Bellingham, Anacortes, and the southwest Washington coast.

Earthquakes

In addition, Washington faces the second highest risk from earthquakes in the U.S., and one of the highest for tsunamis, yet remains the only west coast state that does not have an inventory of the seismic hazard for critical infrastructure. We’re working every day to identify and map faults, so you can know where your nearest hazards lie.

The Washington Emergency Management Division says the best way to survive any type of disaster is to have a plan, keep informed, and have a mobile survival kit.

Find your best routes

Want to find the best evacuation routes for your community? Our Geologic Information Portal has a tsunami layer that shows tsunami hazard zones, evacuation routes, and designated assembly areas. Use the address locator tool to find evacuation routes and assembly areas near your home, school or workplace.

Using our interactive maps, you can create, save, and print custom maps, find more information about map features, and download map data for use in a geographic information system (GIS). In addition to a variety of geoscience layers that can be turned on and off, each interactive map has many base layers to choose from, so you can customize your map in any number of ways.

 

 

 

 

After a very long fire season, the management of the Klondike Fire is being returned to a local Type 4 management organization Monday morning. Patrols will be ongoing in the Agness area. Repairs and patrols will be ongoing from the Cave Junction. The Evacuation Level 1 (READY) will remain in place for all residences in the area of Oak Flat Road, Old House Creek Road and all residents on the north and south sides of the Agness Road (3300) from the Illinois River Bridge to Coon Rock Bridge. The need for this level will be evaluated frequently and reduced as appropriate. For evacuation updates, check the Curry County Sherriff’s Office Facebook page. This will be the last update on the Klondike Fire from Northwest Incident Management Team 8, Doug Johnson, Incident Commander and for the incident unless there is significant activity. The G-mail, Facebook and Inciweb pages for this incident will be suspended today. Any additional information will be posted to the Rogue River – Siskiyou...

The Klondike Fire is being managed from Gold Beach by Northwest Incident Management Team 8 (Team 8), Doug Johnson, Incident Commander, with a camp in Cave Junction. Team 8 is preparing to transition to a local type 4 management organization who will monitor the fire from Agness and Cave Junction. Facebook and Inciweb accounts will be suspended Saturday unless there are any significant changes. An infrared flight over the fire area yesterday detected several heat signatures near containment lines. Firefighters are checking these locations. Restoration of the pastures near the Agness Work Center is underway. Resources will initially focus on fence repairs. Crews and heavy equipment have made significant progress in suppression repair work. Resource advisors are guiding all repairs. Crews will work to clear ditches of Forest Road (FR) 2308 of woody debris and piling the debris for later disposal. An additional local crew will assist with the covering of debris piles created during hazard...

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently acquired 24 acres of land in the Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area. Rattlesnake Mountain provides an important connection between the Cascade Mountains and the Puget Sound lowlands by protecting critical wildlife corridors and recreation in the lower Snoqualmie Valley.

Co-managed by DNR and King County, this Scenic Area is a 1,771-acre Natural Resource Conservation Area that protects wildlife habitat and numerous riparian systems.
The acquisition completes a cluster of protected lands between the Raging River State Forest, Cedar River Watershed, Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area, Meadowbrook Farm, and Three Forks Natural Area.

“This makes the Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area a true example of partnership in the Snoqualmie Corridor for conservation and recreation opportunities,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, who leads DNR.

“The completion of this conservation will benefit our local communities and economy by providing connecting trails on public lands and wildlife corridors.”

Jon Hoekstra, Executive Director of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, said this conservation acquisition represents the final piece of a 25-year effort to connect public lands, enable trail connections, and protect wildlife habitat on beautiful Rattlesnake Mountain, a popular recreation destination just outside North Bend.

“These incremental conservation success stories are ones we need to celebrate and diligently pursue in order to stitch together a landscape that will ensure ecological integrity and livability of our region,” said Jon.

Bald Mountain from Cutthroat Lakes

The 24-acre acquisition was funded by a grant from the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Program through the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It represents a coordinated effort by both DNR and King County, as well as Forterra, Trust for Public Lands, and the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust to conserve the scenic and ecological character of Rattlesnake Mountain.

The Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area represents one of the first conservation acquisition efforts within the Mountains to Sound Greenway. In 1993, DNR and King County purchased 1,800 acres on the northern flank of the mountain. Over the last 25 years, the Trust for Public Land has partnered with DNR, King County, and the U.S. Forest Service to purchase 2,150 additional acres of conservation land, working forest, and easements along Rattlesnake Mountain and the Raging River State Forest.

Natural Areas Program

Under the oversight of the Commissioner of Public lands, DNR conserves nearly 159,000 acres of lands and ecological features in designated natural area preserves and natural resources conservation areas, protecting the highest-quality examples of natural Washington and providing opportunities for research, environmental education and low-impact recreation.

In addition, the Commissioner manages 2.5 million acres of trust lands for public benefit to ensure forested watersheds for clean water, wildlife habitat, recreation access, and wildfire protections. Commissioner Franz also oversees the state’s 3 million acres of aquatic lands, as well as industrial activities within forested areas, statewide geologic information and forest health efforts.

The Klondike Fire is being managed from Gold Beach by Northwest Incident Management Team 8, Doug Johnson, Incident Commander, with a camp in Cave Junction. Fire resources working on suppression repair relocated to the Curry County Fairgrounds in Gold Beach. Restaurants in the Agness area will continue to feed these resources. Restoration of the pastures near the Work Center used as fire camp will be completed by disking, seeding, and fertilizing. Fences will also be repaired. West Zone – Crews and heavy equipment have made significant progress in suppression repair work. Suppression repair is focusing on primary dozer containment lines by installing waterbars and spreading straw. Firefighters are also on the watch for smokes near containment lines and mopping up any heat. East Zone – Road repair work is ongoing along Forest Road (FR) 4105 and FR 2509. All work along FR 25 and FR 2512 has been successfully completed. The goal of repairing roads is to effectively drain water off...

The Klondike Fire is being managed from Gold Beach by Northwest Incident Management Team 8, Doug Johnson, Incident Commander, with camps in Agness and Cave Junction. Agness camp, located at the Forest Service Work Center, will be closing today. Fire resources working to complete suppression repair will be relocated to the Curry County Fairgrounds. Restaurants in the Agness area will continue to be utilized to feed these firefighters. Plans are underway to restore the pastures near the Work Center used as camp during the Klondike Fire including: disking, seeding, and fertilizing. West Zone – Crew and heavy equipment are making significant progress in suppression repair work. Suppression repair includes: removing berms on dozer lines, installing waterbars, and hazard tree abatement. Firefighters are also on the watch for smokes near containment lines and mopping up any heat. East Zone – Road repair work is ongoing along Forest Road (FR) 4105, FR 2509, FR 25, and FR 2512 near Flat...

Curry County Sheriff’s Office lowered the evacuation level in the Agness, Oak Flat, and Illahee areas to a Level 1 (Ready). All evacuation areas near the Klondike Fire previously at Level 2 are lowered to Level 1. Klondike Fire, in its entirety, is managed by Northwest Incident Management Team 8, Doug Johnson, Incident Commander, from Gold Beach, Oregon with camps in Agness and Cave Junction. West Zone – Firefighters and equipment were able to safely re-engage yesterday after the heavy precipitation events and proceed with repair work. Suppression repair work will include but not limited to: removing berms on dozer lines, returning drainage elements to functioning stable conditions, and installing waterbars. East Zone – Road repair work is proceeding along the Forest Road (FR) 4105, FR 2509, FR25, and FR 2512 near Flat Top Ridge. The goal of repairing roads is to return drainage elements to functioning stable condition to effectively route water off of the road, minimize...

Please see attached files for closure area on the Klondike Fire for 10/30/18.

Northwest Incident Management Team 8 Doug Johnson, Incident Commander, (NWIMT8) assumed management of the entire Klondike Fire last evening. The incident command post remains in Gold Beach at the Curry County Fairgrounds while spike camps remain located in Agness at the Forest Service Guard Station and in Cave Junction at the Wild River Ranger District. NWIMT8 would like to thank NWIMT7, Eric Knerr, Incident Commander, and Rogue River-Siskiyou Type 3 Team, Monty Edwards, Incident Commander, plus all the firefighter and cooperators for all the worked completed thus far on the Klondike Fire. West Zone – Fire operations are quickly shifting from suppression to suppression repair. Suppression repair work will include but not limited to, removing berms on dozer lines, returning drainage elements to functioning stable conditions, and installing waterbars. East Zone – Road repair is on-going. The goal of repairing roads is to return drainage elements to functioning stable condition to...

Klondike Fire West Zone – Yesterday, fire activity was limited to smoldering and continued consumption of heavy fuels. Repair work on heli-spots, heli-bases, and spike camps has been completed, as well as 50% of the hand line and dozer line in need of repair. Camp crews in Gold Beach are dealing with muddy hose and wet weather. Staffing levels continue to be reduced because of the changing conditions and operational needs. The heavy rain and high winds present a new set of hazards for the fire fighters which need to be mitigated before crews re-engage. With the heavy rainfall last night and forecasted weather, Division Supervisors are checking conditions on the roads to determine if it is safe and feasible to deploy fire resources today. NW Incident Management Team (IMT) 7 will transition command of the Klondike Fire West Zone to NW IMT 8 (Incident Commander – Doug Johnson) this evening at 7 p.m. IMT 8 will manage the entire Klondike Fire with an Incident Command Post in Gold...

Klondike Fire West Zone – It was wet and productive on the firelines yesterday and fire crews were able to gain an additional 5% containment. The Klondike Fire is now 80% contained. All divisions continued to mop-up containment lines and hose lays and other equipment no longer needed were pulled off the firelines. Resources continue to be released from the incident due to the increased containment and decrease in fire behavior. Fire managers are working to balance the workforce needs with the operational objectives and weather concerns. Hazard tree falling continues to be important since fire-weakened trees are extremely dangerous during the weeks after a wildfire. Other dangers include slick road surfaces and poor footing on the wet, steep and rugged slopes. Fire Weather/Fire Behavior: It will be damp again today with just a few hours of dry weather before a much stronger front approaches the coast this afternoon. Rain and south wind are expected to increase as the front...

Klondike Fire West Zone – There was minimal fire activity again yesterday. All the spot fires are contained and in patrol status. Suppression repair was completed on the spot fire across the Illinois River on Spud road. Firefighters continue to find and extinguish hot spots where fire is burning in heavy fuels or has burned into a ‘stump hole’. Crews have started backhauling equipment and hose from portions of fireline that are fully secure. Today, crews will continue mopping up hot spots within 200’ of containment lines today. Fire managers are evaluating suppression repair needs that can be completed without interfering with the ongoing suppression efforts. Resources have started to be released from the incident due to the increase in containment. An objective of incident management is to fit the size of the organization to the need of the fire. Personnel expand and contract in concert with the complexity of the fire. Fire Weather/Fire Behavior: Today’s forecast calls...

Klondike Fire West Zone – Yesterday, due to fire suppression efforts and moderated fire behavior, Level 3 Evacuation Levels that affected the residents of Agness have been reduced to Level 2. The Red Cross Center that was located at the First Baptist Church has shut down. Relative humidity continued to stay high and fog hung over the fire area for most of the shift yesterday. Fire crews made good progress with mop-up operations near the 2308 Road and have gained several hundred feet of depth along the containment line. Crews further secured the fire’s edge on the southwest corner of Raspberry Mountain and all spot fires in the Agness area are lined and in monitoring and patrol status. The road repair work was completed on the west flank of the fire. Timber falling teams will continue to eliminate fire-weakened hazard trees and firefighters will mop-up deeper into containment areas along fire lines to further secure the fire perimeter. Crews will continue to monitor and patrol...