HomeMy WebLinkAbout020617_cabs01County Administrator Briefing Session
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
Philip Morley, County Administrator
FROM: Leslie Locke, Executive Assistant
DATE: February 6, 2017
SUBJECT: Letter of Support for Chimacum Ridge Project; Representative Mike
Chapman, Representative Steve Tharinger, and Senator Kevin Van De
Wege
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
Letter of Support for Chimacum Ridge Project.
ANALYSIS:
It has been requested by the Jefferson Land Trust that the Commissioners review and sign a letter of support
for the Chimacum Ridge Project.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
RECOMMENDATION:
Review, finalize and potentially approve a Letter of Support for Chimacum Ridge Project; Representative
Mike Chapman, Representative Steve Tharinger, and Senator Kevin Van De Wege
REVIEWED BY:
," �, Philip Morley, County Administrator Date
Date
Reps. Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA
98504-0600
Sen. Kevin Van De Wege
PO Box 40424
Olympia, WA 98504-0424
Dear Rep. Chapman, Rep. Tharinger and Sen. Van De Wege,
As Jefferson County Commissioners, we strongly encourage you to support the $3.5M capital budget request for
Chimacum Forest.
Healthy and sustainably managed forests provide better outcomes for rural communities and the environment in
Jefferson County. Because of collaboration with conservation partners, timber companies, private lenders, and
economic development stakeholders, we support Jefferson Land Trust's efforts in finding a new approach to reach these
outcomes with the creation of Chimacum Forest.
We want to keep Chimacum Forest as a working forest that provides local jobs and timber products for our community.
This project is located on the rural edge of an area experiencing increasing growth pressure, where development
conversion to other uses threatens forestland as the local timber economy changes. The funding would secure a
prominent 850+ acre working forest near "Chimacum Crossroads," and transition the land from the boom and bust of
industrial forest management to the more economically reliable method of a sustainably managed working forest. The
project protects an area adjacent to productive agricultural valleys and headwater regions that boasts one of the most
successful community-based salmon recovery efforts in the nation.
The project boasts a trifecta of economic, ecological and community based benefits:
• Economic benefits include potential to produce high-quality wood products and non -timber resources for the
local economy, the opportunity to develop new models of local milling, and the potential for ongoing local
forestry jobs from local ownership.
• Ecological benefits include the protection of old forest, wetland and riparian areas, and management for mixed
species and age class diversity that will increase resiliency to fire, and increase retention and replenishment of
ground water that will benefit farms, residential users, and fish species.
Community benefits include recreational and educational opportunities. The view from the project stretches out
for hundreds of acres across the county. The forestry model could provide a replicable template for other
potential projects across the state.
We urge your support for the $3.5M Chimacum Forest project request in the state's capital budget.
Sincerely,
Commissioner, District 1 Commissioner, District 2 Commissioner, District 3
Kate Dean David Sullivan Kathleen Kler