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Ode to Joyce

We're losing another mature legacy forest loved by the community

See where the DNR is logging along the Olympic Adventure Trail, just south of Joyce, WA.

The DNR timber sale named “Ode to Joyce” will log approximately 127 acres of diverse legacy forest near the Olympic Adventure Trail and Whisky Creek in Joyce, WA and add 4,710 ft of new road construction, that will never be forested again.

From the Forest Practices Application (FPA2616849):

“Access to the harvest units is complicated by multiple streams and several narrow, linear wetlands. Marbled murrelet habitat to the south as well as adjacent private ownership present additional challenges.”

This is a forest the DNR originally nominated for protection under the legislature’s 2,000 acre conservation program, because of its old age and biodiversity. Unfortunately, the proposal was rejected last year by the Clallam County Commissioners, who gave the go ahead to auction it for logging.

Logging has started in Ode to Joyce, and while it’s too late to stop the clear-cutting, we can at least recognize and remember what we’ve lost, so we stop doing this to other legacy forests on WA state land.

Clear-cut Logging Has Begun

This beautiful legacy forest used to be a habitat for wildlife and one of our best climate crisis mitigations

”I am feeling very dejected and heartbroken about the destruction of this particular forest. Even though I have hiked there about once a week for the past year, I did not realize it was about to be logged! I think one of the most important things we can do to stop upcoming timber sales is to provide information to the community so folks have a heads up and can act before it's too late.

Annie HartnettCoalition Member
What once was 10 acres of beautiful legacy forest is now a field of cut trees, laying down waiting to be removed

Ode to Joyce

The DNR is logging this beautiful legacy forest

A woman hugs a large tree in a temperate forest that is being logged.

The ‘Ode to Joyce’ timber sale is logging more mature, legacy forest on the North Olympic Peninsula, in the Lyre-Hoko River Watershed. There are trails throughout the forest enjoyed by the community.

‘Ode to Joyce’ is along the Olympic Adventure Trail, adjacent to the Joyce Access Rd and near Whiskey Creek.

The Ode to Joyce timber sale includes large, mature Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock, and Big Leaf Maple. It also includes old growth stumps from historical logging, a rich wetland area and many small streams.

Aerial view looking down into a dense forest

‘Ode to Joyce’ is a naturally regenerated forest with creeks, a complex understory, large snags, large wood on the forest floor and a mixed age canopy.

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.