Index timber sale will proceed after landslide review

INDEX — The state Department of Natural Resources is moving forward with a $1.2 million timber sale after taking a second look at landslide risk.

The 119-acre harvest on state land near Index known as the “Deer Wrap” timber sale was approved in 2014. But the state halted the process earlier this year after an environmental group in Seattle raised concerns about what it calls potentially unstable slopes below the harvest area.

The Washington Forest Law Center says logging the site might compromise the safety of people nearby because fewer trees would likely mean more saturated ground, which could cause a slope to slide.

“This isn’t about aesthetics,” said Peter Goldman, managing attorney of the nonprofit Forest Law Center. “This is about public safety.”

Proceeds of the timber sale benefits public education, including Washington State University, and local taxing districts. Statewide, the Department of Natural Resources manages 2.1 million acres of trust lands to generate income as well as provide for recreation.

The western hemlocks and Douglas firs to be cut are on a mountainside above U.S. 2, a railroad, Forks of the Sky State Park, the North Fork Skykomish River and popular rock climbing walls just northwest of Index. The town of Index also raised concerns about the timber sale.

Information missing

State forestry officials said the harvest was put on hold because it became apparent that DNR’s application to log the property did not provide enough detail about the evaluation of a licensed geologist.

“You need to be willing to call a time out and go back and take a closer look,” said Aaron Everett, the state forester. “The review we’d like to have seen done is now done.”

Kara Whittaker, a Forest Law Center scientist, raised the concerns that led the state to do more research. She worries that logging the site will leave fewer trees to soak up water in the ground. Wetter earth could cause an ancient “deep-seated” landslide area to be reactivated, Whittaker said.

But after visiting the site recently with geologist Dan McShane of Bellingham, the Forest Law Center decided not to appeal the sale. Although it still has concerns, the group determined that it did not have the resources to study the effects of logging on groundwater and to quantify potential hazards to successfully appeal the sale, Goldman said.

The sale “poses risk to the public below and is an irresponsible timber sale given the magnitude of the potential harm if a landslide occurred,” he wrote in an email to the Herald. “Once again, DNR has put cranking out board feet of logs ahead of the public interest.”

The state plans to auction the Deer Wrap timber on June 17. Last year, had the timber been sold at even the minimum bid price of $1.2 million, $523,600 would have gone to Washington State University; $212,621 to the state’s K-12 school trust; $102,219 to Snohomish County and other taxing districts; and $4,102 to the state Capitol Building trust. DNR would use the remainder for land management.

Heightened concern

After the Oso mudslide killed 43 people in March 2014, state forestry rules were changed to allow for more careful examination of timber harvests. The state Forest Practices Board in February made clear that those who want to log landslide-prone areas might be required to provide more scientific data to show public safety is not an issue.

The logging application for the Deer Wrap timber sale was put together by DNR staffers based in Sedro-Woolley. Colleagues in the same office reviewed and approved the application.

The Forest Law Center is now calling on the state to conduct a groundwater study for the Deer Wrap harvest to evaluate potential hazards before cutting. But Bob Redling, a spokesman for DNR, said there are no plans for further research.

“We feel the technical reports we have reveal what we need to know,” he said.

After the Forest Law Center raised questions, the state had licensed geologist John McKenzie take another look. He concluded that while an ancient deep-seated landslide zone might be under the sale area, the slopes in question are relatively stable and are not likely to be affected by the harvest.

McKenzie also pointed out that a larger portion of the Deer Wrap harvest area was logged in the 1940s. After that cut, there were several seasons of higher-than-average rainfall, but his research found no subsequent adverse effects.

A team that included officials from DNR, the Tulalip Tribes and the state Department of Ecology also took a second look at the implications of a timber harvest.

Everett, the state forester, said his staff budget has been cut by 30 percent since the recession. At the same time, he said, the number of applications to harvest timber has increased by 40 percent statewide.

He now has 45 people to review 6,000 new logging applications and to check on another 10,000 approved applications each year. His department has asked the Legislature to provide more money for staff to review proposed logging.

“It makes it extremely challenging with fewer boots on the ground,” Everett said.

Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.