By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – The harvest of a 126-acre patch of timber along the Elwha River known as the Power Plant Forest has been cancelled, despite having been auctioned off to the highest bidder in July.
Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz announced on Monday that, not only was the sale cancelled, but 69 acres of that patch of timber are now part of the 2,000 acres of new state forestland proposed to be set aside for conservation as funded by the Climate Commitment Act.
Here’s Kenny Ocker from Commissioner Franz’s office.
“The Commissioner’s determined that it is more valuable to the community and conservation than it is being harvested to support services in Clallam County. So, the 69 acres that’s being set aside is inside the Elwha Watershed. The other parcels that were included in that sale are outside the watershed and are still on base and may be harvested at a later date if we put up another sale. And so, you’d have to restart the process if we were to do that. So it have to go back through another environmental review period.”
The announcement must come as a shock to the Murphy Company based in Eugene, Oregon, who bid $656,000 for the right to log it and, as far as we know, could have harvested those trees by now. We reached out to the CEO of the company for comment but have not yet received a response.
Also part of the 2,000 acres of set-aside forests is the single largest tract, around 950 acres, which will be preserved in two sites in east Jefferson County. 670 acres of those acres are adjacent to the boundary of the Dabob Bay Natural Area.
Opponents of the decision include the American Forest Resource Council, who said Monday they believe the 2,000 acre set-aside is driven by politics, not climate science. In a statement released Monday, they describe the claims of some local elected officials, including City of Port Angeles Council members, that the project would negatively impact the City’s primary source of drinking water, the Elwha River, as baseless.
One of those elected officials is State Representative Mike Chapman who, as chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, praised the decision, calling it “a landmark endeavor that reinforces our commitment to sustainable forestry that benefits…the environment, local economy, and our public health.” Chapman said he was grateful for the collaboration between the DNR, Port Angeles and the Legislature.