ForestsAndFish.com
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Bringing science and sustainability to our state’s working forests
Washington State’s private forest landowners manage over 8 million acres in our state—while protecting the water and wildlife that are part of this valuable ecosystem. Our industry meets or exceeds the high standards of the Forests & Fish Law, ensuring cool, clean water to protect fish habitat on over 60,000 miles of forested streams. Private forest landowners are committed to sustainable, renewable forest practices that yield healthy harvests while preserving our natural environment.
Fish Habitat Protection
More than 764,000 acres of private forest lands are permanently set aside in riparian buffers and for steep slope protections to help protect water quality. This equates to $124 million annual investment in salmon recovery.
Road Maintenance
Forest practices include a road maintenance and abandonment program to protect fish habitat. More than 3,400 barriers to fish passage have been removed, opening nearly 2,100 miles of historic fish habitat on state and private forest land.
Steep Slope Protection
Private landowners have committed to retaining mature forest on thousands of acres vulnerable to landslides. Using advanced technology these sites are identified and avoided during timber harvest activities to minimize the impact of forestry operations on steep terrain.
Harvest and Replanting
Private forest landowners harvest trees to produce wood products, which support more than 100,000 people in Washington State. Landowners replant trees as quickly as the weather allows, which begins a new cycle of forest growth.
Wildlife Habitat
Working forests provide homes for many fish and wildlife species. Generally, landowners harvest about 2% of their forest each year. On a 100 acre plot, this means 2 acres are in the harvest phase while 98 acres are in the growth phase each year, providing homes for wildlife.
Private forestland in Lewis County as seen from Johnson Mountain.
Adaptive Management: Guided by Science
The Forests & Fish Law used science to establish goals or resource objectives for protecting water quality and fish habitat. There are measurable targets for providing enough shade through streamside buffers to keep the water temperature cool; for ensuring there will be enough large woody debris delivered to streams to create pools and spawning habitat for salmon; and for eliminating excessive road runoff to minimize sediment and keep the water clean. The Adaptive Management Program uses science-based information to make changes to the rules where necessary. The Cooperative Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (CMER) Committee prioritizes and develops an annual work plan for science projects used in the Adaptive Management Program to evaluate how well Forests & Fish is working on the ground. Since 2001, more than 30 projects have been completed, helping to determine the effectiveness of rules.
Private forest landowners are making a difference
- Fish Habitat Protection
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Private forest landowners are protecting water quality for healthy salmon habitat throughout 60,000 miles of forested streams on their lands. - Road Maintenance
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Forest landowners have made significant investments in creating and completing Road Management and Abandonment Plans (RMAPs) to bring all of their roads up to the standards outlined in the Forests & Fish Law. - Steep Slope Protection
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Although landslides are naturally-occurring events in rain-soaked Western Washington, private forest landowners are committed to using technology and the best science available to minimize the forestry contribution to these events.
