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The Northwest Old-Growth Campaign
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Mitch Friedman talks with Brian Evison (R) after Friday’s meeting.
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Mitch Friedman, a conservation biologist with a degree from the UW, is founder of Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, a 12,000-member organization committed to biological excellence throughout the Northwest. Mitch lives in Bellingham but spends about three days a week in the Seattle area working on his pet project.
The NWEA has formed a partnership with other groups to target specific areas that need attention. Such groups as the Cascade Conservation Partnership and the Northwest Old-Growth Campaign have resulted from these alliances.
Friedman’s topic Friday morning was the ancient forests. “I was one of the first protesters against the cutting back of the spotted owl habitat in the early 70’s,” he said matter-of-factly. “So, what about these ancient northwest forests? The Loomis Forest, in the North Cascades was threatened by prospective logging. Our organization and others raised $18 million to keep this forest alive and in its pristine form.”
Forests on the west side of the state are of particularl interest. The Cascade Conservation Partnership (CCP) was formed to solve the issue of multiple ownerships, causing the ”checkerboard” pattern that one sees while driving I-90, for example. “There are very few ancient forests on private land in Western Washington,” Friedman observed. Some 10-20% of Federal lands can be classified as ancient. “In all of these areas, there is an incredible network of roads, built through all of the forested areas, thousands of miles of roads which result in erosion, thus damaging salmon-spawning habitat.”
Friedman noted that “old forests provide homes for wildlife and help keep run-off clean and clear for salmon. We have made a lot of progress protecting our forests. Logging has been reduced 80-90% on the Federal Lands. But, not every area is equally protected. The CCP set out to buy 75,000 acres of private lands, raising $25 million private dollars and $50 million Federal dollars. We are making good progress to raise the funds to protect these lands.”
“We’re so lucky to have these great places to visit. Unless we solve the bottleneck of multiple ownerships, the checkerboard along the I-90 corridor may well expand. This endangers the entire length of the Cascades.”
In the Federal forests, Washington can count 1.1 million acres of old growth timber that is unprotected. “The sale of 110 timberlands that the Forest Service has planned adds up to 20,000 acres of old growth timber. Polls have shown that 75% of Northwest voters want the forests protected. Even in the timber counties, 67% approved”.
Critters are dependent on ancient forests. “By the way, forests more than 80 years old are classified ‘ancient.’ Today, small logs are more valuable than big logs in contemporary sawmills. Fifteen prominent economists have supported the protection of all old growth forests, coming to the conclusion that there is ‘insufficient need to log old growth forests.’
Friedman continued: “We need to fix the damage done over the past decades. Culverts need to be replaced – at a cost estimated at over $1 billion dollars. There is an emerging consensus among all sides of this debate that it’s time to bury the hatchet. There is a win-win solution with the timber communities being able to share in an economy from the forests.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep Jay Inselee (D-WA) are touting legislation that basically says “thou shalt not cut any trees over 80 years old.” Rob McKenna, King County Councilman, heads up an organization to protect some land in the Snoqualmie drainage. There is a proposed project to help the movement of habitat on key critter migration routes. Three bridges are being proposed to elevate I-90 allowing passage on known critters migration routes. There are many organizations working in general and specific areas – a great variety of folks.
President Goldfarb presented Mitch with a certificate showing the BBRC had purchased 700 pounds of food in his name for Rotary First Harvest.
Organizations forming the Cascades Conservation Partnership include:
- The Alpine Lakes Protection Society
- Kittitas Audubon
- Northwest Ecosystem Alliance
- Pacific Crest Biodiversity Project
- Seattle Audubon Society
- Sierra Club
- Washington Trails Association
- The Wilderness Society.
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Organizations forming the Northwest Old-Growth Campaign include:
- American Lands Alliance
- Bark
- Black Hills Audubon Society
- Cascadia Wildlands Project
- ForestEthics
- Gifford Pinchot Task Force
- Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
- Northwest Ecosystem Alliance
- Oregon Natural Resources Council
- Pacific Crest Biodiversity Project
- The Sierra Club-Oregon Chapter
- The Siskiyou Project
- Umpqua Watersheds
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