Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition

Congress to hold hearing on The “Evolving West”

Press Release

28 October 2007

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Russ Vaagen, Vaagen Brothers Lumber Company, (509) 684-5071
Lloyd McGee, president of NE Washington Forestry Coalition (509) 680-1468
Tim Coleman, Conservation Northwest, (509) 435-1092

Congress to hold hearing on The “Evolving West”

Members of the NE Washington Forestry Coalition share their stories

Washington , DC . This Wednesday, February 28 th, the House Natural Resources Committee held a full committee oversight hearing on the “Evolving West.”

Members of the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition were present to share their success stories in creating a new model of cooperation in the management of our national forests. Russ Vaagen, vice-president of Vaagen Brothers Lumber Company and vice-president of the Coalition presented testimony along with a broad panel of other speakers from around the West. Tim Coleman, secretary of the Coalition and wilderness campaign director for Conservation Northwest also attended the hearing.

The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition was highlighted a striking example of the common ground that is emerging within a broad cross section of individuals and organizations from both the timber industry and the conservation community. For five years this Coalition has gathered loggers, mill owners, educators, professional foresters, environmentalists, business owners, local governments and citizens at large in an effort to break the deadlock over public forest management practices. The Coalition is committed to finding workable solutions to challenges facing national forest management and is currently working on developing a blueprint for management of the Colville National Forest .

“The West is indeed changing, and my community is evidence of that,” said Russ Vaagen in his testimony to Congress. “But while everything about our community is now more diverse and dynamic, we’ve found that collaboration through groups like the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition can help us find our common values and work together on solutions that meet all our needs.”

“Four years ago our group was formed to discuss our concerns with the management of the Colville National Forest and out of that we discovered that the interests of the local timber industry and the environmentalists were very similar. Both wanted healthy forests and healthy communities, but weren’t seeing enough progress on either front.”

“Sawmills and the resource industries are not the cornerstone of these rural western communities that they once were, but they play a vital role in the overall economic picture. It is very important to create a balanced economy in these communities so they are able to weather the storms of economic downturns.”

“I truly believe that by treating our forests in a sensible way led by collaborative groups like the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition we can add real economic and ecologic stability to communities where it has been missing for far too long.”

Information on the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition:

The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition has brought mill owners, loggers, private landowners, the environmental community, local government, educators, and citizens at large to the same table with the Forest Service and the Washington Department of Natural Resources in order to work with one another in collaboration on issues within the Colville National Forest . The mission of this coalition is to demonstrate the full potential of restoration forestry to enhance forest health, public safety, and community economic vitality. The Coalition formed in 2001 with the hope that including diverse perspectives in a collaborative fashion would minimize litigation and gridlock and facilitate exemplary forest management.

Overcoming initial distrust among environmental groups, commercial interests, and the Forest Service required years of relationship building. During that time, the parties recognized contentious subjects such as ancient forests and new road construction, and learned to focus on common interests rather than individual positions. As a result the Coalition has been aggressively working to protect communities from wildfire, restore damaged forests and create positive relations between very disparate groups.

Examples of collaborative projects on the Colville National Forest include:

Quartzite - This was the Coalition’s initial involvement in the collaborative work on a significant project of over 4,000 acres. This project is now being prepared for a stewardship project.

Bangs WUI project - This project is located south of Kettle Falls and extends south to the National Forest Boundary with lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation. The NEW FC recently gave the FS a high level of support because the project was focused around communities, did not have new road construction, and did not include old growth. As a result, around 1,200 MBF of timber will be removed, and the project will proceed with the support and help of the coalition.

Burnt Valley – This is the first project completed with the coalition’s involvement. This project expects around 1.4 MBF of timber and focuses on the area of greatest priority for the Forest Service, and of high priority identified by the Chewelah Wildfire Plan. Parcels of forestland have used stewardship contracting to thin areas and create fuel breaks. This is currently being used as a template for future WUI projects and a great example of the collaborative effort.