On Day 2, 14 of us joined Joshua to take the field portion of the survey training in the proposed ‘Baker’s Dozen’ legacy timber sale in Port Angeles, WA. With Joshua’s help, we discovered an example of a rare plant community made up of Western Red Cedar / Grand Fir / Sword Fern (Thuja plicata – Abies grandis / Polystichum munitum). This plant community is considered globally critically imperiled (G1 conservation status)!

Joshua taught us how to do variable area plot sampling using a basal area factor (BAF) angle gauge to determine tree distribution and how to do point line intercept transect sampling for determining the makeup of the understory. Joshua also taught the group how to measure the diameter-at-breast-height (DBH) of trees using DBH tape.

Under DNR’s own policy and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) requirements, DNR cannot log rare plant communities. But, DNR often still includes these protected areas in timber sales. It’s been up to citizen surveyors to find these special places and bring them to DNR’s attention. Joshua and other experienced surveyors have found rare plant communities and as a result have saved several legacy forests in Clallam County, including Power Station, TCB23 and the legacy portion of ‘Dungeness and Dragons’. Our goal is to increase the number of local community members that can act as citizen surveyors, in order to discover and save these rare plant communities before they are wiped out by logging!

Photos by Scott McGee / Forest2Sea.com

This is such a beautiful portrayal of the pain and the value of this time and work. We need to realize that beyond what seems like one simple thing is ‘death by a thousand cuts’. May it go far and wide to further help people connect the dots that everything is sacred and has it’s important place in the tapestry of Life.

Thank you to those who shoot high for change…it happened, this is a part of it!

-Mary Minton

Part of the process is showing community support!! Use the above Action Network form to voice your support or send your own email:

​TLT Advisory Board: dnrtltprogram@dnr.wa.gov

Kenny Ocker, TLT Program Manager
kenny.ocker@dnr.wa.gov
Robert Winslow, TLT Program Coordinator
robert.winslow@dnr.wa.gov
Be sure to CC Board of Natural Resources: bnr@dnr.wa.gov

To: dnrtltprogram@dnr.wa.gov, Kenny Ocker <kenny.ocker@dnr.wa.gov>, Robert Winslow<robert.winslow@dnr.wa.gov>
CC: Board of Natural Resources <bnr@dnr.wa.gov>
Subject line: Elwha Watershed Protection Project

Example Letter:

Dear advisory members of the Trust Land Transfer Committee,

I am writing to express my support for the City of Port Angeles’s Elwha Watershed Protection Project under DNR’s Trust Land Transfer program. I support the City of Port Angeles in managing these areas for drinking water protection, habitat restoration and climate resilience. The Elwha River is the sole water source for over 25% of the county, including all of Port Angeles’ residents and businesses. DNR’s industrial logging is incompatible with the millions of dollars spent to restore this iconic watershed. I ask that the DNR stop logging older forests in the Elwha Watershed and permanently protect and restore these lands.

**Make your letter stronger by including who you are, where you live/work and your relationship to the Elwha river!**