Forestry Coalition Finds Balance in the Woods

August 15, 2008

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Lloyd McGee, President
NE Washington Forestry Coalition (509) 680-1468

Claudia Michalke, Executive Director,
Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition (509) 684-3281

Forestry Coalition Finds Balance in the Woods

Celebrates six years of successful collaboration in the Colville National Forest

Colville , WA – Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, a broad coalition of forestry, timber, business, and conservation groups working collaboratively on management of the Colville National Forest , is celebrating its sixth year of successful cooperative forestry work. It’s most recent success story is the Malo-Eastlake Project in Ferry County .

Malo-Eastlake Project encompasses a project area of approximately 16,500 acres across the west-central Kettle River Range . The Forestry Coalition worked with Colville National Forest officials to craft a project that reduces wildfire risk, restores old growth forest and safeguards water quality and wildlife across 6,900 acres. According to coalition president and forester Lloyd McGee the project will produce approximately $3.25 million of economic activity and provide forestry employment in Ferry County .

“The Coalition has helped improve forest management, streamline the process and literally save the Forest Service tens of thousands of dollars – for free,” said McGee. “Our team of forestry professionals has more than a 100 years of forest management collective experience. We apply this experience to projects on the ground and to public processes that has in the past often slowed down the process. Our interest is in resolving conflicts and getting people to work together.”

The Forestry Coalition has gone beyond project level involvement, developing a forest-wide management proposal it has discussed with the public and revised many times and which the group used to guide its decision making during development of the Malo-Eastlake Project. Over the last six years the Coalition has fostered agreements that assisted the Forest Service to move forestry projects from design to implementation all without appeal or litigation that has dogged the agency for much of the prior decade. “These projects have produced in excess of $25 million of economic activity across the Tri-County area,,” said McGee.

The group calls its collaborative “blueprint” process a model for cooperative forest management. “We consider this to be a working draft proposal,” McGee said.

A decline in forest health; an increase in the risk of hotter, more intense fires; expanding and competing recreational needs; and shrinking agency budgets have converged to create a very challenging situation for the 1.1 million acre Forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service announced yesterday it would cut its budget.

On the bright side, the coalition is seeking private funding sources to help move forest restoration and fuel reduction projects forward. We have a lot to show for our six years of investments,” says McGee. Look for more information about the coalition in the coming weeks.

Background

The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, a local, citizen-led cooperative effort that includes mill workers, conservationists, business owners, recreationists, loggers, and foresters, came together in 2002 to begin a dialogue about possible solutions to these challenges. The coalition has over two dozen active participants, including businesses such as Vaagen Brothers Lumber Company and Avista Utilities and conservation groups such as Conservation Northwest and The Lands Council, and has been highlighted by Congress as one of the most successful community collaborations in the West.

The Coalition recently developed a management proposal for the Colville National Forest that strives for a balanced approach in managing forests and which promotes a variety of activities in three different management zones: Responsible Management Areas, Potential Wilderness, and Restoration Areas.

Because projects developed under this proposal are based on a collaborative, science-based approach, the Coalition believes they will gain broader public support and move through the public process much more quickly, resulting in more wood getting to the mill in a timely way, while protecting clean water, important wildlife habitat, roadless lands and old-growth forests.

A recent economic analysis of the the Coalition’s draft Blueprint proposal, conducted by Headwaters Economics for the coalition ( http://www.headwaterseconomics.org/newash.php ) found that the proposal has the potential to create 220-440 jobs in the woods products industry, assuming that other influential factors such as markets and log prices remain steady.

Under the coalition’s proposal, timber mills would be able to continue operating with a more secure supply of timber into the future and in turn reduce fire risk near communities through careful thinning and provide a sustainable timber harvest with a minimum of new road construction using methods that conserve soils, water, and wildlife habitat. This area would also provide opportunities for non-motorized and motorized recreation.

The economic report also found that wilderness and other protected public lands are associated with local economic growth and well-being and that no evidence exists which shows designation of wilderness to be harmful to rural economies.

Above all, the economic report highlights the importance of moving away from adversity and towards and collaborative, problem-solving approach to land management. Though difficult to quantify, creating a “can-do” atmosphere that is attractive to people and business may be the most effective way of encouraging economic growth and local investments.

The coalition’s proposal identifies sixteen roadless areas with wilderness characteristics, such as the Thirteen Mile Basin in Ferry County and Abercrombie Mountain in Pend Oreille County , which provide for high-quality backcountry hunting, fishing, hiking, and equestrian opportunities. These areas would be managed to maintain and restore their wilderness characteristics while safeguarding primary sources of clean waster, secure habitat for wildlife and solitude.

The coalition proposes to link active stewardship and enhancement projects for wildlife habitat with recreation including the construction and maintenance of motorized and non-motorized trails.

This summer and fall the Coalition will be hosting presentations and community meetings to solicit feedback about its plan. Following community involvement and input, the Coalition will seek funding for implementation of projects.