Help Fight Proposed Timber Sale Along Hantwick Trail
By: Emily Waters, Loo Wit Group Executive Committee
In May 2017, Executive Committee members of the Sierra Club Loo Wit Group learned of a proposed timber sale along the Hantwick Trail to Moulton Falls by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The sale, titled Michigan Trotter Timber Sale, was slated for January 2019 and will encompass approximately 63 acres, leaving no more than 8 trees per acre after harvest, according to a forester who walked the proposed cut area with Loo Wit in early Spring.
The Hantwick Trail is popular with hikers, bikers, runners and equestrian users. The 2.5 mile (one way) trail is a flat, shaded path that is paved for the first ½ mile, making it accessible for users with a wide range of abilities. It parallels the East Fork Lewis River, offering peeks of swirling rapids and sparkling pools through the trees along its length. Large, twisted snags of old-growth trees, remnants of the Yacolt Burn of 1902 dot the forest. Lining the path are native plants such as Sword and Maidenhair ferns, Salmonberries, Vine maple, Douglas fir, hemlock and cedar, alder, Big Leaf maple, and many other herbaceous flowers and shrubs.
Alice Linker and Emily Waters joined forces with local landowner Linda Lorenz to start a grassroots effort to convince Hilary Franz, the Washington State Commissioner for Public Lands, to remove this section from consideration for harvest. Since then, the coalition of activists has grown, and the group got the attention of local newspapers, The Reflector and The Columbian.
The group has been in discussions with DNR representatives, who came down to walk the trail in October with Loo Wit members Alice Linker, Emily Waters, representatives from the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad Association, which takes visitors on rides along the East Fork parallel to the trail, and Richard Dyrland, retired U.S. Forest Service hydrologist. Because of community opposition and the work of these volunteers, DNR has agreed to postpone the sale until at least May 2019, and to leave a 200 foot buffer of timber between the trail and the harvest area (by putting it into a State Trust Land Transfer – dependent on legislative funding). There is also a triangular section of property owned by Clark County that will not be harvested, leaving approximately 40 acres in the unit to be logged. At the latest board meeting (11/2017) for the Washington Board of Natural Resources, Linda Lorenz and lawyer Peter Goldman testified about concerns from logging this area, including steep slopes within the boundaries of the sale, erosion potential onto the trail or into the river, the loss of recreation area, property value and the ability of forests to act as carbon sinks. At this meeting, it a preliminary suggestion by Board members was made to include the entire unit in a State Trust Land Transfer, removing this parcel from the potential for harvest. At this point, volunteers with Loo Wit are in contact with DNR and Clark County representatives to work on moving forward with a state trust land transfer. Funding of the transfer is dependent on legislative approval, so the group’s next steps are to encourage our representatives in Olympia to support funding the Trust Land Transfer package. Our main priority is to get letters to Hillary Franz asking that the area in Unit 1 of the Michigan Trotter timber sale be removed from sale and put into a State Trust Land Transfer. We would also love to see more people at the DNR Board meetings, which are held on the first Tuesday of the month in Olympia.
Send Your Letter!
Here's a bit to get you started on your letter:
“Dear Commissioner Franz, and Members of the Board,
I am writing to ask that the Washington State Department of Natural Resources not proceed with the Michigan Trotter timber sale adjacent to the Hantwick Trail to Moulton Falls, and instead move that land into a State Trust Land Transfer to protect it from any future consideration for timber sales and preserve the beauty of this forest and access to recreation for SW Washington residents and visitors to our state.”
Contact information for Hilary and the DNR Board is below:
Commissioner Hillary Franz: cpl@dnr.wa.gov
Office of the Commissioner of Public Lands
MS 47001
Olympia, WA 98504-7001
360-902-1001
Department of Natural Resources Board email: bnr@dnr.wa.gov:
Board of Natural Resources
Natural Resources Bldg, Rm 148
1111 Washington St. SE
Olympia, WA 98501-7007
In the meantime, check out the trail for yourself! Washington Trails Association has detailed directions here: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/moulton-falls. You can start this hike at either Hantwick Road Trailhead, or at the Moulton Falls overflow lot near Sunset Falls Road. The proposed sale will affect approximately the first mile of the trail after you leave the parking lot at the Hantwick Road trailhead. Look for pink flagging marking the sale boundaries. Although winter weather is upon us, the river is visible through the bare trees and you may even see salmon jumping up the falls. This area is an important gem in the rapidly developing area of SW Washington and deserves to be protected.
The Loo Wit Group is part of the Washington State Chapter of the Sierra Club, proudly serving Southwest Washington including Clark, Skamania, Klickitat, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, and Pacific Counties. The group publishes "St. Helen's Rumblings" and sponsors many hikes and outings.