The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will have a new supervisor starting in September. Kristin Bail, currently the acting director for the U.S. Forest Service’s Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air and Rare Plant programs in Washington, D.C., will oversee the more than 4 million acres of the forest, which includes the Methow Valley Ranger District. Bail has more […]
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Commissioners object to North Cascades grizzly proposal
Transplanting grizzly bears into the North Cascades would threaten the “local economy, customs and culture” of Okanogan County, county commissioners said in a letter to federal officials who are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a grizzly bear restoration plan.
The letter was written in …
A forest health prescription
The U.S. Forest Service truck shuddered over the dirt road as Sara Billings, fuels assistant fire management officer at the Methow Valley Ranger District, drove up into the Okanogan/Wenatchee National Forest outside of Winthrop last week. She was visiting a prescribed burn that was underway in …
Critics question potential impact of 735-acre DNR logging plan
A logging and a timber sale proposed by the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on hillsides above Big Valley and below Sun Mountain Lodge would create “a 600-acre clear-cut in the middle of the valley,” according to one critic.
That assessment by Peter Goldman, an attorney with the Washington Forest Law Center, …
Methow delegation in D.C. to promote Headwaters protection
Advocating for protection of the upper Methow Valley from future mining, a three-person delegation from the valley traveled to Washington, D. C., last week to meet with Congressional representatives and federal agency officials.
The goal of the trip was to push for progress on a …
Public comments sought on headwaters protection proposal
The public is invited to submit comments during the next month on a proposal that would protect more than 340,000 acres of federal land in the upper Methow Valley from mining.
The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is beginning an environmental analysis of a proposed mineral withdrawal …
Forest Service receives $1 million for repair work on flood-damaged roads
Flood repair work is expected to begin this month on several U.S. Forest Service roads on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, including four in the Methow Valley. The roads suffered significant damage from fall 2015 and spring 2016 heavy snow melt-off and rain that caused debris flows, road washouts and other damage, the Forest Service said […]
Federal, state and county lands ban all campfires
Campfires and charcoal grills are prohibited everywhere in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, including in developed campgrounds, dispersed campsites and wilderness areas, as of Friday (Aug. 4). Worsening fire conditions and continued hot and dry weather prompted fire officers to impose the complete ban.
Diamond Creek Fire Update for Wednesday, July 26
From the U.S. Forest Service, current for July 26, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. Yesterday: Diamond Creek Fire is about 18 air miles north of Mazama, Washington and is estimated at 350 acres. Fire growth is toward the east, and the fire is moving up the Diamond Creek Drainage. Fire behavior included single and group tree […]
Proposal would restore grizzly bears to North Cascades ecosystem
Grizzly bears would be captured and released into the North Cascades in order to restore the bears to their historic habitat, based on proposals detailed in an environmental study released last week.
The grizzly bear restoration proposals are …
