Eastern Cascades Land Exchanges

How you can help RMEF protect our Washington wildlife legacy

The east slope of Washington’s Cascade Mountains is a landscape of high forests, sagebrush foothills, lush riparian areas and sub-alpine meadows that provide ideal habitat for approximately 17,000 elk and probably as many mule deer.  Also found in those habitats are a range of other wildlife species, including 15 state and four federally listed species of concern that are either threatened or endangered.  

The most significant threat to wildlife habitat in Washington’s Eastern Cascades is residential and recreational development. Rural areas are targeted both by those from urban areas in the western part of the state seeking a change in lifestyle, and by an increasing number of people moving to the northwest from other parts of the country. For example, Kittitas County, 80 miles from Seattle, is transforming from an agricultural and forest-based economy into a “bedroom community” for commuters. Its population is projected to grow by 33% by the year 2020. Population levels in Yakima and Chelan counties are projected to increase by 28% by 2020. It is for this reason, in addition to its high wildlife habitat values, that RMEF has targeted the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains as one of its major conservation initiative focus areas in the country (the East Slope Cascades Conservation Initiative or ESCI).

Wildlife habitat in the eastern Cascades is also threatened by Washington’s unique checkerboard ownership pattern. The checkerboard is a result of an 1864 congressional act that awarded land grants in vast areas of the Pacific Northwest to railroad companies in an alternating pattern of public/private ownership. The railroad companies eventually created subsidiaries to manage their lands and those firms evolved into major forest product firms, such as Boise-Cascade and Plum Creek. These corporate timber lands have long been considered “quasi-public” and have also provided important habitat.

Now, more than 100 years later, timber companies are selling their holdings and moving operations. If the checkerboard parcels are subdivided and sold to private parties, or become destination resorts, or are blanketed with housing developments, wildlife will suffer devastating effects (especially elk and mule deer), and public access will be drastically reduced on hundreds of thousands of acres of the central Cascades.

An additional challenge of checkerboard ownership is resource management. Each time a 640-acre checkerboard section is sold to private parties, lands held by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are surrounded by new landowners with differing long-term goals. That means new issues surrounding timber harvest practices, slash burning, noxious weed treatment and road maintenance – issues that could be unique on each side of the parcel. A commercial forest cannot be effectively managed in the long-term under such conditions. Yet DNR is required by law to generate revenue for the school and hospital trusts from timber sales. So, as the checkerboard ownership pattern changes in the Central Cascades, DNR is interested in “blocking-up” their ownership, allowing them to maintain roads, execute large-scale forest management plans, and manage public use much more efficiently. However, if DNR is unable to secure these alternate, checkerboard ownerships, they will likely be forced to sell their lands and use the equity to invest in properties that will allow them to maximize revenues to the trusts.

This situation is at the heart of the purpose of the ESCI, as it impacts many of the issues already facing the east Cascades. If these parcels are sold, migration corridors, calving grounds, and crucial winter range will be severely impacted. (One state official stated that the sale of these timber lands was the biggest threat to wildlife he has seen in his career.)  The 2.5 million-acres encompassed by the ESCI include more than 300,000 acres of industrial forestland. When combined with DNR’s lands, nearly 600,000 acres of checkerboard ownership are at risk of conversion to development. Assisting with the DNR land exchange (slated for completion by early summer, 2007), is currently the highest priority project in the ESCI.

The DNR is proposing to “block-up” their ownership of these lands through several large-scale land exchanges. This complex project will more than exhaust DNR’s current resources. The short-term need is to ensure the opportunity is not lost due to lack of resources. The Elk Foundation has committed to assist financially with timber cruises and appraisals, and to provide significant public input.

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Of primary importance in these exchanges are the lands previously owned by Boise-Cascade.  In 2005, Boise sold their holdings in the central Cascades and in other areas of the Northwest to Western Pacific Timber. Western Pacific has been assessing these new holdings to determine which parcels they will log and sell, which they will hold onto for the long term, and which they will develop. The development threat on some parcels is significant, such as in Naneum Basin, north of Ellensburg. A destination resort has long been considered for the Naneum Basin because of its proximity to Seattle and the Mission Ridge Ski Area. Recently, local community development groups secured funding to study the feasibility of constructing a paved, all-weather road to the ski area - a move that would greatly facilitate day use and bring the proposed Naneum Basin resort one step closer to reality.

Representatives of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) estimate that the loss of those former Boise Corp. lands and the current DNR holdings to development would force WDFW into drastic management strategies which could result in a dramatic reduction (perhaps as much as 8,000 animals) in the elk herd.  The impact on mule deer may be more dramatic, as they are highly sensitive to disruptions in migration routes (even more so than elk). WDFW sources indicate that somewhere between 12,000 -15,000 mule deer will be impacted by major changes to their traditional migratory routes between summer and winter range. The loss of these lands could be disastrous to these and other species if steps are not taken to avoid a large-scale turnover of land.

A less visible, but equally important loss would be that of future recreational opportunity.  Hunters, campers, hikers, horseback riders and others spend tens of thousands of recreation days each year on these lands in the central Cascades and are an important contribution to Washington’s economy.  Not only could those opportunities be lost, but that loss would mean increased pressure on other, nearby areas of public land, creating a domino effect: public lands will be more crowded, wildlife will be disturbed to a higher degree, and the habitat itself will be under greater stress from increased use by wildlife and more impact from humans.

The land exchange consists of four distinct but related projects:

(1)  Land Exchange between DNR and Western Pacific Timber Company (WPT) #86-079379

WPT will provide DNR with 82,000 acres in the central Cascades (including the Naneum Basin and other areas critical to wildlife) in exchange for scattered parcels of DNR’s current holdings in Chelan, Clark, Cowlitz, Douglas, Ferry, Grays Harbor, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens and Yakima counties.  The DNR will receive lands in Kittitas and Yakima counties. 

(2) Land Exchange between DNR and the North Cascades Investments Company (NCI) #86-079483

NCI owns approximately 9,000 acres of lands in a checkerboard ownership pattern with the DNR in the upper Ahtanum Creek Drainage.  NCI wishes to block up their ownership to facilitate effective forest management, as does the DNR. This exchange would leave NCI as a major land owner and timber operator in the upper Ahtanum drainage, which will leave these acres undeveloped and still available for use by wildlife.

(3)  Land Exchange between DNR and the Ahtanum Irrigation District (AID) #86-079370

AID also owns lands in a checkerboard ownership pattern with the DNR in the upper Ahtanum Creek Drainage (approximately 7,400 acres) and also wants to block up ownership to facilitate management. This exchange would leave AID as a major land owner and timber operator in the upper Ahtanum drainage and protect critical wildlife lands from recreational development.

 (4)  Land Exchange between DNR and the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) #86-079794

WDFW already owns much of the critical shrub-steppe winter range in the L.T. Murray, Colockum, Oak Creek, Wenas, and Quilomene wildlife areas, but the landscape is dotted with DNR ownership. In this exchange, WDFW would take ownership of those DNR lands in exchange for parcels it holds in a checkerboard pattern with DNR at higher elevations.  In all, over 174,000 acres will change hands between the two agencies. WDFW will show an increase in acreage in this exchange due to the higher land value of timberland as opposed to shrub-steppe. Both agencies will be better able to manage their resources. This agency-to-agency administrative exchange is moving ahead quickly, and appears to have the legislative, gubernatorial and financial support necessary for completion.

If we succeed in these exchanges, there will be an additional 77,000 acres of public land on the east slope of Washington’s Cascade Mountains to provide habitat for wildlife, revenue to the public schools, and recreational opportunities for hikers, horseback riders, campers and hunters for generations to come.  

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What Can You Do???

I would like to think that RMEF can generate 300 separate pieces of public comment in favor of these exchanges.  This public input is critical, because there will be people speaking out against the exchange because of specific parcels the DNR will give up.  If more people comment against the exchanges, that will weigh with the Lands Board in their ultimate decision.  Public comment can take two forms: 

One method is written (or email) input.  These exchanges are four separate projects traveling through the DNR process in unison.  Written (or email) input must come in form of one letter for each exchange AND you must refer to the exchanges by the DNR project numbers listed above.  PLEASE don’t assume someone else will write a letter, so you don’t have to.  So far, the comment has been sparse.  Take a few minutes and use the information provided in this newsletter and visit the DNR website, then SEND IN YOUR INPUT! Those letters (or emails) should be addressed to:

Department of Natural Resources

Exchange Project manager, Asset Mgmt. Protection Division

P.O. Box 47014
            Olympia, WA 98504-7014
                FAX: (360) 902-1789        

                                bob.winslow@wadnr.gov 

A second method (and equally important) of input is verbal input at the public meetings.  At these meetings, the DNR will also gather opinions for inclusion in the package to be reviewed by the Lands Board.

The meeting schedule and maps of these exchanges can be found at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/amp/transactions/trusttransactions.html

Here are some summary level facts to assist you in preparing your input:                   

·         The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) cannot effectively manage the current trust lands in central Washington for timber production with the existing “checkerboard” ownership pattern of public and private lands.  This problem worsens if non-timber industry owners surround trust lands.

·         Public Trust lands need to be ”blocked-up” in larger landscapes to effectively manage roads, timber production, fire mitigation, weed control etc.  If the DNR cannot “block-up” their ownership in the central Cascades, they will likely explore selling their current ownership and moving their equity to Western Washington.

·         If the DNR moves their ownership out of the central Cascades, leaving vast areas to be sold to private parties, this would open the door to major destination resorts and unplanned development in critical habitat areas.  The results would be devastating to elk, mule deer and other species of wildlife.

·         Loss of habitat associated with both current and potential DNR ownership in the central Cascades would have a severe impact on critical elk transition range and calving grounds as well as migratory corridor for huge numbers of mule deer, and increasing numbers of wild turkey. 

·         Over 8,000 elk and 12,000 mule deer will face severe impacts if these lands are developed.

·         The DNR-WDFW exchange will allow WDFW to more effectively manage important shrub-steppe habitat for wildlife, and allow DNR to more effectively manage the forests held in trust.

·         The combination of ALL FOUR DNR land exchanges (WDFW, Western Pacific Timber, Shawn Montee Timber and Ahtanum Irrigation District) in the central Cascades will create large blocks of connected forestland to manage for trust revenue.  

·         If this exchange effort is successful, approximately 77,000 acres of additional public land will be available for wildlife and recreation.  If this effort is unsuccessful, the public could lose access to hundreds of thousands of acres of lands historically used for recreation, including hunting. 

·         In this exchange, the DNR will “give up” locally important lands, thereby removing them from public ownership.  We need to encourage people to look at the big picture of what will be accomplished with these exchanges.  The desired future ownership pattern will greatly benefit wildlife, and allow for continued public access.

The third (and also important) way to help these exchanges is through a habitat partnership.  RMEF has pledged $200,000 toward these exchanges, and we are working hard to raise those funds.  Cash gifts of $2,500 or more can be restricted to the East Slope Cascades Conservation Initiative.  If you are interested, or want to work with Doug Marsh (877) 826-3945 or myself (866) 632-0502 to help solicit a potential donor you know, please contact us!

Thanks for everything you do for wildlife,

Rance Block,

 RMEF Director of Western Operations