LWVSC is close to presenting to our county council a Sustainable Forest Management Plan to consider the future of forests on state lands in Snohomish County. We will try to meet with the Washington Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) before beginning a conversation with the council. The plan will protect legacy forests and priority conservation areas that have important contiguous habitat with forests that are approaching maturity. The conservation areas may be managed for some revenue with selective thinning, while advancing forest health leading to maturity. Most of our forest land is already plantation land that may be harvested for the on-going need for timber and revenue. We will ask our Council to adopt this plan and seek implementation by DNR for all the forests on state lands in Snohomish County.
We began outreach to the community to promote the plan alongside the Sierra Club Sno-Isle Group in August. We presented to Indivisible, describing challenges and opportunities surrounding forests on the national, state, and county level.
Meanwhile, we will ask our council to nominate one legacy forest called Tuckered Out near the southern border of our county through the Natural Climate Solutions Program for permanent protection. Ten million dollars is available this year through the Climate Commitment Act Natural Climate Solutions Program that also provides replacement lands to be managed by DNR for revenue when legacy forests are taken out of production. Our county can participate, but only if the county council tells the DNR they are interested. The county has the option of getting a portion of the replacement value of the trees in cash up front, in addition to replacement lands that grow the total number of acres managed in trust for beneficiaries. That means schools, hospitals, fire departments, and libraries are funded as usual without a delay.
Join us for an hour at the
link on the calendar on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 10:00 A.M.