Exec's home | News | Site map | E-mail Working Together to Conserve and Manage Forestland Effectively Sustainable Landscapes Support Livable Communities King County Executive Ron Sims encouraged collaborative forestland planning to maintain ecological systems and a sustainable forestry industry in keynote remarks to a regional forestry workshop Wednesday, June 19, 2002. The "Working Together to Conserve and Manage Forestland Effectively" workshop took place at the Cedar River Watershed Educational Center. Executive Sims addressed a group of nearly 125 people interested in converving and managing forests in Puget Sound region and I-90 corridor. A variety of affiliations were represented at the workshop including various forest agencies, forest managers, forest landowners and other parties interested in forest conservation and management. The workshop involved a panel discussion on forest management, new tools to fund forestland conservation, education and outreach, and planning, including developing and committing to collaborative efforts in these areas. Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland was also a keynote speaker at the workshop. Introduction All of you are here because our region is in a critical situation with regard to forest conservation and management. Our growing population creates an economic climate that favors converting forests to residential development. At the same time, tight government budgets are putting the squeeze on resources available for managing the forest landscape. With 1.7 million people, King County is now the 12th largest county in the country. Our population has increased by almost half a million people between 1980 and 2000 - almost the size of a new Cleveland, New Orleans or Long Beach, California. Statewide, our population is expected to double by 2045. All of these people need a place to live and this means an incredible demand for new homes. Between 1970 and 1995, the amount of land used for houses and businesses doubled in the Central Puget Sound Region. If this trend continues, we will continue to witness the conversion of forestland to residential development. Never has it been more important for agencies, private landowners and non-profit organizations to work collaboratively to conserve and manage our forest landscape. I am confident that your time today will be well spent and I challenge you to come up with innovative strategies to address these issues together. Value of Forests King County has a strong interest in retaining forests for their many economic, environmental and social benefits: Forests act like a sponge, absorbing surface water that would otherwise cause flooding. Forests provide cool, clear water to streams and rivers to support healthy fish populations. Maintaining large forested landscapes is the single most cost-effective strategy we can pursue for the protection of salmon. They improve air quality by removing nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone and particulates. Forests store carbon dioxide, naturally offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. In a recent study, we determined that King County forests are storing 55 million metric tons of carbon and each year remove an additional 240,000 tons from the air. Forests provide employment in wood, paper, recreation, tourism and fishing industries. Despite the perception that King County is an urban County, we still rank 7th statewide in timber production. Properly managed forests are fundamental to a healthy, diverse economy and environment. Regional Efforts We are fortunate to have a wide variety of people here today representing government agencies, non-profit organizations, corporations, and individual private forest landowners throughout the Puget Sound region (and even east of the mountains). This geographic and constituent diversity is exactly what this workshop is all about. While I have worked hard to conserve forestland and forestry, King County’s forests alone cannot provide all of the benefits that forests provide this region. The low elevation forests in the foothills of the Cascades are a unique ecosystem that spans several counties. We need to conserve them without regard for jurisdictional boundaries. Wildlife does not stop at political boundaries, and the mills that process local forest products rely on a supply of timber from throughout the region. Even more important than the geographic representation here today is the representation from so many different constituent groups, for as the title at the top of your agenda suggests, this workshop is about how we can better work together to conserve and manage forestland. Today’s difficult economy and changing ownership patterns have resulted in a situation in which forest conservation and management is more challenging than ever before. Faced with limited resources, tight budgets and public desire for accountability, we must work together across our boundaries. This is not news to many of you. You have identified the need for collaboration in past workshops. Today we are here to take the discussion another step forward and develop specific recommendations as to how we can all better work together. We want to leave this workshop not simply with agreement that collaboration is good, but with detailed action items that will result in more effective and efficient conservation and management of our forests. Examples: Collaborative efforts to conserve and manage forests are not new in King County. Indeed, we have been very successful with a number of recent projects. Forest Legacy Funds In cooperation with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the US Forest Service, and the Mountains-to-Sound Greenway Trust we have been able to apply $8 million in federal Forest Legacy funds to the acquisition of 2,400 acres of forestland critical to water quality and wildlife. These include parcels along I-90, on Mitchell Hill, Grouse Ridge and Rattlesnake Ridge, and on Taylor Mountain. In the case of Rattlesnake Ridge the County shares ownership and management with the state, a good example of interagency cooperation. Biosolids for Soil Enrichment A unique method of conserving forestland and encouraging forestry is the Biosolids Forestry Program — a partnership among King County, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, and the University of Washington. Treated biosolids from the County's wastewater facilities are being recycled locally as fertilizer on public and private forests in eastern King County. Wastewater funds are used to purchase key parcels of forestland for long-term, public forestry. Applying biosolids to local forests saves thousands of dollars over other disposal options. Not only is this a financially positive program, but it encourages productive, healthy forests, supports environmental goals and produces multiple benefits for the public. Although we are only at the 7-year mark in this 50-year program, we have demonstrated that the program works: We have fertilized 1,300 acres of state and Weyerhaeuser land every year for the past seven years. Trees grow faster and the need for chemical fertilizers is reduced. We have purchased 2,200 acres and transferred a total of 4,600 acres of forestland to the state for long-term forestry; Timber revenue to date exceeds $1.2 million; and Countless youth volunteers have helped to restore and reforest old logging roads with biosolid compost through the Greenway's summer Re-Greening program. The Snoqualmie Preservation Initiative Last year, King County was approached by Mayor Fuzzy Fletcher of the City of Snoqualmie to help preserve the viewshed of Snoqualmie Falls. At 268 feet, Snoqualmie Falls is higher than Niagara Falls and the second most visited tourist attraction in the State just behind Mt. Rainier National Park. It is also a sacred site for the Snoqualmie Tribe. A large mixed use development proposal for land adjacent to the Falls had been proposed years ago and now threatened to destroy the views of the forest from the Falls. We worked with the City, the landowner and the Weyerhaeuser Company to complete a privately financed transfer of density from the Falls to Snoqualmie Ridge - an urban area, up the hill and out of sight from the Falls. This will preserve this sacred site and the view while providing a privately financed acquisition of this 150-acre site. To permanently conserve commercial forestry in the adjacent I-90 Corridor, all parties agreed to a land use study to increase residential density inside Snoqualmie’s Potential Annexation Area in exchange for Conservation Easements on an additional 3,200 acres of threatened forest land. Technical Assistance The King County Forestry Program works with Washington State University Cooperative Extension to provide technical assistance and education programs to non-industrial private forest landowners in King County. Two staff foresters help landowners develop forest stewardship plans to address their goals for their land, whether those goals are timber enhancement, improvement of wildlife habitat, or protection of water resources. We conduct three classes each year that teach landowners the basics of good forest stewardship. Since the initiation of the program in 1997, we have provided assistance to 340 landowners resulting in management plans on over 3,000 acres. This is a very cost-effective way to achieve conservation and keep the land in private ownership. The classes have been so successful on Vashon Island that several forest landowners have come together to form the Vashon Forestry Cooperative. They hope to manage multiple properties cooperatively, achieving an economy of scale and ultimately retaining viable working forests on Vashon Island. The Cooperative is in its infancy but shows a great deal of promise. I expect the King County Forestry Program to continue to provide technical assistance as the Coop develops. I encourage the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, a major landowner on the island, to become involved! We want to keep private owners on the land in King County. Particularly in light of the recent budget constraints, we feel that responsible stewardship of private land is THE BEST way to retain a forested landscape in King County. Forest Outreach Network Finally, King County has partnered with 14 other agencies and organizations that are active in this area to form the Forest Outreach Network. FON, as we call it, is an effort to develop a common message about forest conservation that we all need to bring before the public. We cannot continue to cross paths and confuse uninformed citizens about what is right and wrong with regard to forest conservation and management. Forest practices have been a controversial topic in the Northwest, but they have evolved, and Washington now has the strictest forest practice rules in the country. At the same time, we have reached a crisis situation in dealing with forestland conversion. We need to reach out to citizens, both rural landowners and city dwellers, and help them understand that sustainable timber production is part of maintaining the forest landscape in the Puget Sound foothills. The Forest Outreach Network is a step in that direction. Needs All of these programs and projects have been successful in large part because of the collaboration of a variety of groups and individuals with a stake in this region’s forestland. Partnering has not been easy in any of these examples. The different groups involved have different agendas, and the goals do not always line up. However, none of these projects could have been successful without finding the common goals and working together to achieve them. While much has been accomplished, much remains to be done. As you know, King County must reduce the amount we spend to manage land. I know that the Forest Service and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources are faced with similar budget constraints. I believe there are ways we can save money by working together. We can share expertise and resources across ownership boundaries. Our programs, both education and land management, can certainly benefit from the expertise you all bring to this workshop. Let’s put our heads together and develop new tools to make the conservation of forestland possible. You will hear about the forestry bonds that will be used by the Evergreen Forest Trust. How can we ensure that there will continue to be mills where they can harvest their logs? How do we encourage Puget Sound consumers to choose local wood products when they shop? Are there opportunities for value added manufacturing that we might pursue to make forestry more profitable for landowners? Only by working together closely in our planning efforts will we end up with a connected landscape of protected forestland rather than scattered fragments that do little to maintain ecological systems and nothing to retain a sustainable forestry industry in this region. Collaborative efforts take work, but the results are well worth it. I commend all of you for participating today, and I look forward to the outcomes that will surely result. — End — Related information: Department of Natural Resources & Parks' Forestry Topics menu Updated: Feb. 7, 2008 Executive's home | Executive's news Executive's e-mail King County | Executive | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details.