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Cancel the Parched timber sale!

Protect the Elwha River Watershed!

Zoom in on the interactive Google Map to see where the DNR plans to log in the Elwha River Watershed.

Please help us save the Elwha River Watershed from more extractive logging!

The proposed DNR timber sale named “Parched” will log approximately 192 acres near the Elwha River and Little River.

Parched is planned to be approved by the Board of Natural Resources as soon as Nov 5th, 2024. The Board of Natural Resources and DNR can cancel this sale and save this forest. Please tell the Board of Natural Resources and DNR to cancel this sale NOW. Click here to send a pre-written email.

Parched

Yet another mature forest timber sale in the Elwha River Watershed

The Parched timber sale would log more mature, legacy forest in the Elwha River watershed and is currently scheduled to be approved by the Board of Natural Resources as soon as Nov 5th 2024. It is very close to the Aldwell logged area and the Alley Cat timber sale. It would also create over 10,000 ft of new forest roads, that will never be forested again.

Parched is east of the Elwha River and Highway 101, in the Dry Hill mountain bike area and above the Little River, a tributary of the Elwha River.

The Parched timber sale includes large, mature Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock, and Big Leaf Maple. It targets a high-elevation primary forest, on a mountaintop above the Elwha River dam site. Most of the forest originated after a fire in 1880, and units 3 and 6 have never been logged before!

A close-up photo of a beautiful western fairy-slipper orchid native to the Parched timber sale

Parched is a naturally regenerated forest with seasonal creeks, a complex understory, large snags, large wood on the forest floor and a mixed age canopy.

A survey by Joshua Wright with the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition discovered Whipplea modesta, a critically imperiled S1 ranked plant within Unit 3A of the Parched Timber Sale. See his SEPA comment with photos here (6MB PDF): 20241013 – LFDC Letter – Whipplea modesta in Parched Unit 3A

Parched also includes steep hillsides and the potential for landslides, which would be made worse by clear-cut logging. A geotechnical review by a licensed engineering geologist concluded that the DNR had not adequately reviewed the deep seated landslides and active faults in the timber sale area (specifically Units 1 and 2). See the geotechnical review here (1.5MB PDF): OFCO Geotechical Review for Parched

SEPA Comments:

Elwha River Watershed

With the removal of the 2 dams on the Elwha River, there’s over a $320 million dollar effort to restore the Elwha watershed. This includes work to restore salmon access up the Elwha and its tributaries. The Power Plant and TCB23 forests are part of the watershed that feeds directly into the Elwha River.

Legacy forests play a crucial role in protecting water quality. Trees in these forests act as natural filters, removing pollutants and contaminants from the water before it reaches streams, rivers, and lakes. They also help to prevent soil erosion and sedimentation, which can clog water sources and decrease their quality. Additionally, the root systems of trees in legacy forests help to regulate water flow and reduce the risk of flooding. Cutting down these forests would impact the quality of water sources in the area.

The Elwha River is the sole water supply for the City of Port Angeles and also a key source of salmon for the critically endangered southern resident orcas.

An aerial view showing the Elwha River and the 6 timber sales in the watershed.

Graphic showing some of the legacy forest timber sales in the Elwha Watershed.

Aerial drone view of the milky blue Elwha river, traveling through a dense green forest.

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.
Beautiful curves in the Elwha River, across from the TCB23 timber sale