Activity Report Explorer

Polly Dyer – Seattle • Entered by Penelope Peterson on December 31, 2023

Legacy Forest Talk

September 21, 2023 – September 21, 2023

Key Issue: Landscape Planning (Forest Plans, RMPs, TMPs, etc.)
Activity Type: Education & Outreach (tabling, films & lectures, regional B-walks/works)
Key Partners: Center for Responsible Forestry

Short Description of Activity

Brel Froebe, Interim Director of the Center for Responsible Forestry, gave a talk on “Legacy Forests” to our Broadband via Zoom. He began by defining “Legacy Forests” in the state of Washington. These are pre-1945 forests that may have been logged once or destroyed by fire before then. While these forests are not old growth, they are important for watershed health and for carbon storage among other things. In Washington, “Legacy Forests” have a special role because they have been designated to be logged on a regular basis with the proceeds from the timber sales going to support education in the state. The Center for Responsible Forestry is trying to bring public pressure to the Department of Natural Resources to stop this practice of logging these particular “Legacy Forests.” The Center is working county by county to try to do this. The Center would be eager for us to join them in their efforts.

Reflection/Evaluation

While only ten Broads tuned in for this talk on “Legacy Forests” by Brel, it was a worthwhile event as it provided a good introduction to the topic. In addition to this talk, we held two hikes to two different Legacy Forests with the Center for Responsible Forestry, and many of our Broads participated in these hikes. Genia Moncada, our Advocacy Chair, also later circulated Brel’s Powerpoint slides so that other members of our Broadband were able to view them. Educating ourselves about “Legacy Forests” has been an ongoing process for the last five months, and we expect this process to continue as we develop our plans for advocacy for protecting “Legacy Forests” in the state of Washington.