Zoom in on the interactive Google Map to see where the DNR plans to log for the ‘Doc Holliday’ timber sale.
Please help us save the ‘Doc Holliday’ legacy forest!
The ‘Doc Holliday’ forest was auctioned off to a timber company in August 2024 and will result in the clear-cut logging of 74.5 acres of mature legacy forest, turning it into a plantation tree farm. It will also create 5,005 feet of new forest roads, which will be a permanent loss of carbon sequestration potential.
Walking through ‘Doc Holliday’ Unit 5 is like walking through Olympic National Park. It’s a complex, biodiverse and naturally regenerated legacy forest, containing large diameter trees, standing snags and large dead wood on the forest floor. It’s a critical resource for our climate crisis and loss of biodiversity.
See the the Forestry Practices Application (FPA) and State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA checklist). Unit 5 of the Doc Holliday timber sale was previously classified by DNR as “Higher Quality” murrelet habitat and the SEPA checklist acknowledges that Unit 2 has the endangered marbled murrelets on or near the site!
It’s near the amazing ‘On the Line‘ forest, which we weren’t able to save.
Updates:
- In late August, eight elder Western Washington residents removed the timber sale boundary signs and flagging from Unit 5 and delivered them to DNR along with a letter taking responsibility and urging the DNR to cancel this sale. Despite this, the sale went through with only one bid from Webster Logging, who purchased all units for just over $600,000. Logging will likely begin next year.
Quick Links:
”"Effects of human disturbance on biodiversity are poorly known, and some impacts may be irreversible. Others such as synergistic and cumulative effects can be extremely difficult to quantify or predict…. [and] for some species will probably never be known… Ultimately, this makes large ecological reserves valuable as 'safety nets' relatively free from human disturbance."
Lindenmayer and Franklin (2002)
Help Us Protect Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the key to resilience in the time of the climate crisis. These complex forests are critical for preserving at-risk species.
Climate Change
Conserving mature and old-growth forests is one of the most affordable and effective tools for fighting climate change. No human-made technology can match big trees for removing and storing climate pollution. If they are logged, most of that pollution is quickly released into the atmosphere and it takes many decades or centuries for younger trees to recapture it.
We have lost most of our mature and old-growth forests across the country due to past logging. This is a serious problem because healthy mature and old-growth forests provide drinking water to communities, protect fish and wildlife, and absorb and store vast amounts of climate pollution. To protect what we have left and recover what has been lost, it is critical that we protect both mature and old-growth forests from being cut down in the future.
See the declaration from Dr. Dominick DellaSala (Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage) regarding climate aspects associated with logging on lands managed by the WA State DNR.
In the WA SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) checklist for ‘Doc Holliday’, there was no climate impact analysis done for this timber sale. With an estimated 2,309 MBF (thousand board feet) of forest to be cut down, this sale could release tens of thousands of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Numerous life cycle analyses have found that between 75% and 85% of the carbon stored in a timber sale will end up in the atmosphere in a relatively short period of time.
They include the emissions associated with the decay and combustion of logging residuals, and carbon released from disturbed soils. They include fossil fuel emissions associated with diesel and gasoline powered machinery used during logging and road building. They include the carbon lost to the atmosphere as logging residues decay or are burned. They include the fossil fuel emissions generated by transport, and during the manufacturing process.
'Doc Holliday' legacy forest rivals the beauty and majesty of forests in Olympic National Park.
Mature Trees
This forest contains a large number of old growth, mature trees. It features large spruce, douglas fir, western hemlocks, western red cedar, big leaf maple and red alders.
Complex Forest
'Doc Holliday' is a complex, biodiverse and naturally regenerated mature forest. It has many snags and large wood on the forest floor, providing critical habitat. There's a complex forest canopy and understory, with a wide variety of plant species.
Read the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition’s letter of opposition to the WA DNR SEPA approval regarding ‘Doc Holliday’: LFDC SEPA Comments
And the Earth Law Center’s letter of opposition to the SEPA approval: ELC SEPA Comments
What can we do?
Take Action!
1. Contact your Representatives
Use this link to send a pre-made email to the DNR:
Add any of your own words & personal details to your email to make it even more effective!
2. Volunteer to protect our Elwha and other Legacy Forests
- Center for Responsible Forestry is helping us coordinate volunteers, provide your info here.
- Sign up for the CRF’s newsletter and action alerts at the bottom of their website
- Sign a Petition to protect all Legacy Forests
3. Spread the Word
- Host a presentation in the community
- Tell 5 friends/neighbors about the Doc Holliday timber sale & pass on the actions info
- Email olympic@c4rf.org if you want to help spread the word!
4. As a bonus action, let your State and Federal representatives know that you support preserving our older forests:
State legislative representatives:
- Senator Kevin Van De Wege kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov
- Representative Steve Tharinger steve.tharinger@leg.wa.gov
- Representative Mike Chapman mike.chapman@leg.wa.gov
Federal legislative representatives:
- Senator Maria Cantwell 206-220-6400 or message via website
- Senator Patty Murray 206-553-5545 or message via website
All images are ©Forest2Sea unless otherwise noted. Please contact us if you’d like to use any of these images to help save our legacy forests!
