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.
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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
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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
