URGENT Dabbler Call-to-Action by Wednesday, February 26th!
Friends, we are down to the wire.
You may recall that FOCC and our allies celebrated a recent win with the Clark County Council regarding the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Dabbler timber sale of 156 acres of structural complex, naturally regenerated, “almost old growth” forest with carbon sequestration superpowers in the Sioxion area of Clark County.
We were elated to watch our new Council demonstrate true leadership by moving swiftly to save the Dabbler. They unanimously approved and sent a formal request to Commissioner Upthegrove on January 15th for postponement of the Dabbler sale, and asked for a conversation about conserving Clark County’s older forests going forward. The language in this letter was powerful:
“Clark County sits at the western foothills of the Cascades near the area impacted by the 1902 Yacolt Burn and contains very few remaining legacy forest resources. The proposed Dabbler sale area contains structurally complex naturally regenerated forest that are approaching old growth and therefore highly valued by our community. Not only do these remnants of our original forests provide wildlife habitat, promote watershed health, and mitigate climate impacts, but they provide public recreation and economic opportunities beyond the dollars generated through harvest alone.”
However, our celebration was short-lived. Outrageously, the Dabbler went to auction anyway, despite a formal request for postponement from the trust beneficiaries, widespread local opposition to the sale, and an active lawsuit (which FOCC is a party to) underway.
Recently, Joshua Wright from Legacy Forest Defense Coalition (LFDC) explained in an email to Chair Marshall, “Clark County is the main beneficiary of the Dabbler timber sale, so DNR is in the wrong for ignoring the County’s request. They have delayed multiple other timber sales at the request of counties, including King County and Thurston County.” Furthermore, attorney Alicia LeDuc Montgomery (representing LFDC and FOCC in the Dabbler case) explained in a news article that the DNR can easily swap out the legacy forest acreage for other land that is not structurally complex as a way to comply with the law, better practice timber harvesting and fund the beneficiaries.
After weeks of silence, the new Commissioner of Public Lands, Dave Upthegrove, who ran explicitly on a promise to preserve legacy forests, sent out a blanket email to constituents claiming his hands are tied to stop the logging of the Dabbler. Yet the same day Commissioner Upthegrove sent this letter claiming sympathy, his staff at DNR gave special approval to Stimson Lumber Company to begin logging the Dabbler forest RIGHT NOW, ignoring the community and the legal process that is underway. In recent days, Stimson started cutting.
The fact is that DNR retains control over its contracts and has statutory authority to modify or cancel the terms of timber sale contracts to comply with the law.
This is where YOU come in. We are asking supporters to:
1) ACT: Keep the pressure on the Office of the Commissioner of Public Lands and support the Clark County Council in seeing this through to ensure their wishes are respected.
You can call 360-902-1000 or write an email to Office of the Commissioner of Public Lands cpl@dnr.wa.gov and bnr@dnr.wa.gov
Here are some sample follow-up responses to Upthegrove:
“DNR is wasting public time and resources fighting all these unlawful timber sales in court. Commissioner Upthegrove should pause logging and allow the Dabbler case to get to a court ruling on the issue. Pause and consolidate the cases, save taxpayer and court resources!”
“DNR is pausing timber sales to restructure them to exclude structurally complex forests. DNR can do the same with Dabbler and restructure its contract with Stimson. Your response appears to address political paths forward, not legal paths forward. You could make this change and save the Dabbler if you were willing to act, and you should be willing to act to fulfill the campaign promise you made to save these exact types of rare and needed forests.”
2) SHOW UP: Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and Friends of Clark County have made a motion for a restraining order against DNR to stop logging of the Dabbler sale, and a hearing date is set for Wednesday, February 26th at 3pm, Clark County Superior Court in Vancouver, 4th floor, before Judge Vanderwood. The public is welcome to attend, so we ask that the community come show that they support our position by sitting with us in court. Feel free to invite friends to attend and share, share, SHARE this call to action!
Time is of the essence, and during the climate emergency, we have everything to lose by accepting this apparent short-sighted compromise. Commissioner Upthegrove needs to lead, not relent. He must recognize that the people of Clark County have spoken and our wish to save the Dabbler must be honored.