By Mary and Tim Gallagher – January 16, 2021
With this being a budget year in Olympia, a lot of important decisions are on the table. The session runs from January 11 until April 25, 2021 and will be a predominantly remote session due to Covid-19.
For this upcoming session, the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) has recommended a funding level of $22 million for the 2021-2023 capital budget. There are 15 grant requests adding up to a total of $33,489,342. Nason Ridge ranks #1.
So why ask that the 3,714 acres on Nason Ridge be funded as the newest Washington State Community Forest?
Nason Ridge is the premier statewide example of how extensive local support and fundraising of over 1 million dollars in just a few months led to protection of land from a single use industrial forest to all resource values and recreation. With approval of the funding and designation as a Community Forest, Nason Ridge will be a model for a sustainable, multi-use forestland locally owned and managed.
Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) working with the local community and the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust (CDLT), negotiated a purchase agreement after Weyerhaeuser halted logging plans and agreed to sale the property. WRC’s main concern was to protect Nason and Kahler Creeks, both crucial sources of cold water for the Wenatchee River and prime habitat for chinook, coho, sockeye, steelhead, and bull trout.
WRC is continuing to work with CDLT and now Chelan County and the state to raise the millions of dollars needed to allow the county to become the long-term steward of Nason Ridge and create a Community Forest. To date, Chelan County has received a $750,000 grant from the Washington Salmon Recovery Board and a $500,000 grant from the Chelan County Public Utilities District Tributary Committee. The additional $3,000,000 grant from the RCO will ensure that Nason Ridge will stay in local control.
As a Community Forest, 3,714 acres of forestland will be protected for habitat preservation, ecological restoration, recreation, and sustainable forest management. The overall goal of the Community Forest is to combine ongoing community participation in land use decisions with active forest management that provides benefits from job creation, restoration that can meaningfully contribute to salmon and steelhead recovery goals, forest health improvements for fire and climate change resiliency, and recreation and environmental education opportunities.
Mary Gallagher
HOW CAN YOU HELP TODAY?
Please email or mail a letter of support to your state representatives encouraging them to support funding for the Community Forest grant program and mention that Nason Ridge is the top priority grant recipient. Go one step further and contact the members of the Capital Budget Committee. Representative Mike Steele, from the 12th District where Nason Ridge is located, is a ranking member of the Capital Budget Committee. He is in the best position to help get this funding accepted.
The three Chelan County Commissioners, Yakama Nation, NCW Audubon, Weyerhaeuser, Trout Unlimited, and many others stand in support of the Nason Ridge project and funding for the Community Forest grant program. The Commissioners have met with the 12th District representatives and communicated their support. Senator Brad Hawkins supports the program, as he was a co-sponsor of last year’s SB 5873. The County has applied for one of the grants to secure funds to take over stewardship of Nason Ridge from Western Rivers Conservancy.
Nason Ridge is a classic example of how grassroots community efforts successfully coordinated resource priorities, recreational needs, and the development of habitat improvements in the short-term. YOUR efforts are now needed to move this project into a Community Forest designation and long-term sustainability.