Working together to support forest health
Who Are We?
The North Central Washington Forest Health Collaborative, launched in 2013 with facilitation by the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board, is a diverse group of local stakeholders represented by timber industry, conservation groups, tribal government, elected officials, and local, state and federal land managers working together to obtain the resources and community support to accelerate landscape-scale forest restoration on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (OWNF) in Chelan and Okanogan counties.
Forest Health Strategic Plan
Throughout the western United States, including Washington State, forest health has been in decline for several decades. At a broad scale, the decline can be attributed to past management practices, including past fire management practices, that have resulted in uncharacteristically overstocked forests; and episodic droughts that have increased the competition among trees for available moisture, resulting in increased stress and loss of vigor.
Conducting strategically focused treatments in unhealthy forest stands adjacent to communities and other densely populated areas can greatly reduce the risk to the public, firefighters, and communities.
Increased harvest of unhealthy timber from overstocked forests, smalldiameter wood byproduct innovations, and local wood public preferences can contribute to rural and state economies.
Nearly 2.7 million acres of eastern washington forestland need treatment to be more resilient against insects, diseases and wildfires.
– HAUGO ET AL. 2015
Communities in wildfire prone areas need to understand the risk and work together to be prepared for wildfire.
Monitoring of forest health conditions and tracking progress is critical to ensuring the success of the plan and determining continued investments in forest health treatments.
NCWFHC Blog
Find out what’s going on & stay up to date.
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What's Happening
Upcoming Meetings & Events
20-YEAR FOREST HEALTH STRATEGIC PLAN
“The goals and strategies outlined in the plan will reduce wildfire hazards to state trust lands and private forest owners, leverage additional funding, increase confidence for businesses, and accelerate the development of resilient forest ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations.”
Hilary S. Franz
Commissioner of Public Lands
