LAKE WENATCHEE — A group of Lake Wenatchee residents concerned about clearcutting on a highly visible ridge near here has begun negotiations with Weyerhaeuser to buy the land tagged for logging.
The group of mostly property owners from Lake Wenatchee housing developments and lakeshore homes met with Weyerhaeuser execs last week to forge a deal to buy the 206-acre piece on Nason Ridge and halt a proposal to clearcut much of the land.
“It’s a case of buy it or lose it,” said Rob Shurtleff, co-editor of the website Lake Wenatchee Info and a coordinator of the community effort to end Weyerhaeuser’s plans for the clearcut. In the past two weeks, Shurtleff, a 20-year part-time resident, helped gather more than 1,500 signatures on a petition opposing the logging plan.
The petition helped persuade Weyerhaeuser to pause the launch of logging operations, Shurtleff said. Weyerhaeuser began last weekend to build logging access roads on the property but voluntarily halted all work Monday after purchase discussions got underway. The company did not confirm the pause.
Weyerhauser also agreed — for the time being — to reopen the Nason Ridge Trail, which cuts across the proposed logging area.
“Support from residents and people who love the Lake Wenatchee area have driven the dialogue (to buy the property),” Shurtleff said. “Now, things are coming together fast.”
Weyerhaeuser acknowledged Tuesday that the company was open to purchase discussions but, depending on the outcome of those discussions, had plans to begin harvesting the parcel sometime later this fall or early next year.
The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust and other regional and national conservation groups have joined with the Lake Wenatchee group in the effort to obtain and manage the land. If a purchase deal is struck, the Land Trust would likely assume ownership of the property, adding it to 95 acres the nonprofit owns along nearby Nason Creek.
“We’re actively engaged in support of efforts to buy the property,” said Curt Soper, the Land Trust’s executive director. “But we’re early in this process, and we’re figuring out our role and the next steps we need to take.”
Community members rallied, Shurtleff said, when the state Department of Natural Resources began taking public comment on Weyerhaeuser’s pair of Forest Practices Applications (FPA)for the Nason Ridge property in June and July. The FPAs reviewed Weyerhaeuser’s proposal for a clearcut of 161 acres and selective cutting on an adjacent 45 acres.
Community members emphasized that they’re not opposed to logging — just the clearcut of timber from the visible and “steep, unstable slopes directly above dozens of homes.”
Community concerns over the clearcut included a potential for avalanches and landslides, flooding from denuded slopes, worsening of water quality, increase of fuel loads for wildfires and the bare ridgetop seen by residents and the thousands of annual visitors to Lake Wenatchee State Park.
The group also expressed concern over logging along the Nason Ridge Trail, a scenic path used by hikers, motorcyclists, horseback riders, skiers and snowshoers.
On July 26, DNR approved the FPAs, stating that Weyerhaeuser met regulatory requirements for slope stability, stream protection, avalanche hazards, road construction, reforestation, fire hazards, and wildlife and fish impacts. Under the FPAs, the company has three years to harvest the property. Aesthetics are not regulated under Forest Practice rules, the DNR said.
Approval of the Weyerhaeuser FPAs is followed by a 30-day appeal window.
“Representatives from the DNR — including department geologists — local citizens, tribal representatives and our internal foresters examined the (Nason Ridge) site,” said Anthony Chavez, government relations manager for Weyerhaeuser. “After extensive review, the site has been deemed safe to harvest.”
