Riparian Buffer Rules and Water Temperature Introduction: The application of science in environmental policy is crucial for ensuring the delicate balance between ecological preservation and economic activities. In the context of riparian buffer rules, the Department of Ecology’s (Ecology) temperature criteria for salmon streams have been under scrutiny, with scientific studies suggesting that current forest practices effectively maintain suitable water … Read More
Learning from the Past, Shaping the Future of Forest Policy
At the 125th anniversary celebration of the Society of American Foresters, Cindy Mitchell and Jason Spadaro of the Washington Forest Protection Association offered a reminder that forestry has always been a story of adaptation to forest policies that shape how working forests are managed. Cindy began by taking the audience back to WFPA’s roots when the 1902 catastrophic Yacolt Burn … Read More
Compliance Monitoring Report Shows Strong Performance in Washington’s Forest Practices
Washington’s forest practices regulations have evolved since the Forest Practices Act (FPA) was introduced in 1974. The goal of the FPA has been to ensure sustainable forest management that balances timber harvesting with the protection of the environment. Over the years, the state has refined its compliance efforts, shifting from addressing complaints to proactive monitoring, focused on both education and … Read More
No Time for a Forest Tour? Here are some videos to help.
What do Foresters do? Washington is one of the best places in the world to grow trees – see how foresters reduce catastrophic wildfire, and maximize wood products. The Riparian Zone: 60,000 miles of streams protected with more than 2 million acres of forests to protect cool, clean water for fish. Upland Wildlife: A wide range of upland wildlife, … Read More
2024 WFPA Annual Meeting and Video Links to Panels
Olympia, WA. – Washington state’s forestry sector leaders gathered Thursday (November 21st) for the 2024 Annual Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) annual meeting. WFPA, the trade association representing the interests of the state’s private forest landowners for 116 years, is a trusted authority on sustainable forestry practices and a leading voice on the important role private forest landowners play in … Read More
Why a balanced approach leads to healthy forests
Forests play a critical role in our ecosystem, economy and quality of life. However, the misguided notion that the best way to preserving forests is leaving forestlands untouched is not only outdated but also potentially harmful. Actively managing forests to reduce wildfire severity is a long-held indigenous practice that has gained renewed support among individuals and organizations representing diverse interests, … Read More
Working Forests help achieve Washington’s Climate Reduction Goals
Washington State is one of the best places in the world to grow and harvest trees. The state has the highest percentage of land in the high-site productivity class, which leads to extremely high growth rates. A stand of intensively managed Douglas fir, for example, absorbs more than 9 metric tons of CO2 equivalents (CO2e) per acre at its peak … Read More
Labor and Management work together in the Forest
Washington’s forest products industry is a cornerstone of the state’s economy, providing crucial support to rural communities and offering over 102,000 family wage jobs across all counties. These jobs contribute significantly to local economies, with the forest industry injecting $5.6 billion in wages and $300 million in taxes annually. However, the sustainability of these jobs is at risk due to … Read More
Working Forests Carbon Blueprint Helps Meet State’s Carbon Reduction Goalsts
Working Forests Carbon Blueprint Helps Meet State’s Carbon Reduction Goals NEWS PROVIDED BY Washington Forest Protection Association 11 Jan, 2024 Active forest management is key to mitigating climate change, and promoting forest health, visit workingforestscarbonblueprint.org. An online resource illustrating the critical role active forest management and wood products play in mitigating climate change is now available. Multiple forest management groups launched … Read More
WFPA highlights benefits healthy, working forests provide at Annual Meeting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 17, 2023 Contact: Cindy Mitchell, 360-791-9372 WFPA highlights benefits healthy, working forests provide at Annual Meeting Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) members and forestry sector partners convened Thursday (November 16th) at the Indian Summer Golf & Country Club for the 2023 annual meeting. WFPA, the trade association for the state’s private forest landowners, is a … Read More
2021 Tree Farmer of the Year – a love of the land and legacy of stewardship
A Lewis County tree farm received the highest praise and recognition for its active role in sustainable forest management and outreach efforts. The Washington Tree Farm Program acknowledged Chuck and Nan Higgins, owners of the Michigan Hill Tree Farm, as the 2021 Tree Farmer of the Year. Said Chuck and Nan in an email to The Chronicle: “We feel very … Read More
Q&A with Jason Spadaro
The Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) executive committee recently appointed Jason Spadaro as interim executive director for the 113-year-old organization. Jason’s unanimous appointment follows the sudden passing of longtime executive director, Mark Doumit, in late June. Jason, who will serve as interim executive director has more than 30 years of forestry sector experience and is currently the owner of Noble … Read More
Remembering Mark Doumit Public Gathering at Wilcox Family Farm 2pm 7/13/21
Integrity, kindness, savvy, wisdom, generosity and fun-loving are the oft-used words that people used to describe beloved friend, colleague, lifelong public servant and forestry sector supporter Mark Doumit. The Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) lost a dear member of its family and the forestry sector one if its most passionate champions with the announcement that Mark passed away unexpectedly June … Read More
Working forests lead the way
Washington’s working forests have long led the way on environmental stewardship and sustainability. Recognizing early on that working forests require resilient trees and a healthy environment, Washington’s private forestland owners have embraced the guiding principle of using the best available science to improve and evolve forest practices. The certainty that good science will lead the way has contributed to a … Read More
Addressing climate change requires working forests
Sustainably managed working forests sequester a lot of carbon. How much you ask? For the first time, Rayonier has released a report that provides a clear accounting of just how much of its own sustainable forestry business has helped remove CO2 gas from the atmosphere. According to the report, Rayonier’s measured timberland assets sequestered an estimated 5.7 million metric tons … Read More
Private working forests help mitigate climate change
Forest landowners and wood products manufacturers across the United States are well-positioned to optimize the carbon potential of sustainable working forests. Leaders from 48 environmental, conservation and forest business leaders across the country recognize that private working forests and forest products can play an important role in mitigating climate change. Among the signatories are Washington Forest Protection Association members Green … Read More
2020 Tree Farmer of the Year – a love of the land, legacy of stewardship
The Washington Tree Farm Program announced this week that a family-run tree farm in Lewis County is the recipient of this year’s top tree farmer honor. Patty Vance, owner and manager of the Elmore Vance Tree Farm, was named 2020 Washington State Tree Farmer of the Year. Elmore Vance Tree Farm, located six miles south of Randle, is a 148-acre … Read More
View of a working forester
Is a forest merely a collection of trees? The dictionary defines forests as a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth. But at least in the case of working forests, there is much more than what a cursory glance or dictionary definition can convey. To help illustrate the complexities and thoughtful planning that is required of a working forest, … Read More
Working forests represent hope, optimism
Forestry has always been about the future and taking a long-viewed approach. By the very nature of what they do, the stewards of sustainably managed working forests must plan decades ahead since it can take a half-century before the saplings planted today are harvested. Encapsulating the forward-looking mindset of working forests, the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) has introduced a … Read More
Wood products could turn urban areas into carbon sinks
Urban centers made primarily of sustainable, renewable wood products could be key to mitigating climate change and even function as carbon sinks, and Washington state and its working forests are helping to lead the charge. Vox recently reported that wood has become “the hottest new thing in sustainable building” and points to Washington state as a forerunner of mass timber … Read More
Modern-day forestry increasingly relies on technology, latest science
(Above: Sierra Pacific Industries’ state-of-the-art mill in Shelton.) The forestry industry of today is more complex and sophisticated than ever. Twenty-first-century foresters rely on expertise from a variety of scientific disciplines including dendrology, hydrology, biology and geology to study silviculture, wildlife, soils, insects, plants, disease and tree physiology when creating their forest management plans. In addition to science, the modern-day … Read More
Forest products sector can help mitigate climate change
A tree’s ability to capture and store carbon long-term throughout the life of the tree and in wood products can be a significant contributor to our state’s climate change mitigation solutions. In Washington, we are blessed with one of the best places in the world to grow and harvest trees, and manufacture carbon-storing wood products, which all support more than … Read More
A wooden city featured at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show?
Futuristic innovations and the latest cool gadgets are what people expect to see at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. But Toyota Motor Company and Danish architecture firm, Bjarke Ingels Group, garnered media attention this week when they unveiled plans for a prototype town that would be built at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan called … Read More
Working forests vital to healthy waterways
Well managed forestlands play a vital role in maintaining water quality and supporting biodiversity, and a Snohomish County program that assesses local waterway health is underscoring just that. A Snohomish County State of Our Waters report identified the Olney Creek waterway, which is surrounded primarily by public and private working forested lands in the Gold Bar area, as “excellent” for … Read More
111th WFPA Annual Meeting: Grow more trees, use more wood
Working forests and a robust wood products industry are a natural answer to reducing carbon emissions. Researchers, private forestland owners and policymakers attending the Washington Forest Protection Association’s (WFPA) 111th annual meeting met in Olympia this week to discuss the critical function private forestland owners play in the state’s economy, way of life and environmental stewardship. This year, more than 120 … Read More
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