Forest Advisory Board
Natural Resource Lands
FOREST ADVISORY BOARD
|
"Forestry for a sustainable future"
| Chamberlain, Dave Chair | District 1 appt. | Dchamberlain1776@gmail.com |
| Craney, Al | District 1 appt. | al1@skagitcd.org |
| Iverson, Gordon | District 3 appt. | candgiverson@gmail.com |
| Hillery, Jamie | District 3 appt. | jhillery@merrillring.com |
| McCall, Kris | District 2 appt. | KrisMcCall@hamptonlumber.com |
| Nielsen, David | District 2 appt. | david.nielsen@comcast.net |
| Vacant | District 2 appt. | |
| Parker, Chuck | District 2 appt. | Chuckparker61@msn.com |
| Raschko, Tim | District 1 appt. | tim.raschko@comcast.net |
| Stargell, Aubrey | District 3 appt. | astargell@greatwesternlumber.net |
| Tift, Steve | District 3 appt. | srtift@longviewtimber.com |
| Janicki, Peter | District 1 appt. | peterk@janickilogging.com |
| Gold, John | District 2 appt. | johngold21@gmail.com |
Updated:
- 04/14/2010
- 1 02/13/2012, R20120041
- 2 05/21/2012, R20120164
The FAB is comprised of a 12 member County Commissioner appointed board as set forth in Resolution R20040418
The members serve a three year term that can be reappointed and the terms are staggered to ensure a consistency on the committee. Each Commissioner has four appointmentsThe current principle issues the FAB is working on include:
1. Forest Practices and Timber Supply. Washington State forests are among the highest quality, most productive and efficiently operable in the world. Washington has very stringent Forest Practice rules and a federally approved Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which has caused the elimination of additional acres of productive timber land in attempting to provide some regulatory certainty. It is imperative that rules affecting forest management be developed pursuant to complete scientific analysis to ensure that the viability of both the public resources and the forest practices industry are protected.
a. Regulatory restrictions on domestic timber supply have pushed demand outside the Country, where environmental laws are less stringent or non-existent.
b. With the shut down of the Federal lands to timber harvesting and the ever increasing demand for forest products, the pressure for resource materials has shifted to private land owners.
c. The cost of regulation is making it more attractive for forest landowners to convert their forest land to uses other than timber production.
2. Forest Health. Forest health, which is the result of the affects of both disease and fire threat, is a major concern for all Skagit County residents. Recreational users, forest managers and urban dwellers are all affected by declining forest management that would otherwise promote healthy forests. Skagit County must adopt policies that allow and encourage improvement of forest health and reduction of fire hazard.
a. Lack of management on Federal lands may cause devastating forest health issues that can migrate to all other adjacent land owners.
b. The County should encourage participation in fire planning such as Firewise Program.
c. Encourage forest land owners to utilize programs and available funding sources to help in managing forests.
3. Economic Contribution. Government ownership and special land use set asides shift the tax base and land use options to smaller areas and fewer users. Government entities should manage their lands to provide an economic base for the local economy. Lands set aside should not enjoy special tax incentives; and recreational opportunities on those lands must be available to all citizens.
a. Although rich in renewable natural resources, the largest landowner in Skagit County, the United States Forest Service, provides little to the tax base or economy of Skagit County.
b. GMA supports maintaining the viability of resource based industries - conflicting land uses should be eliminated.
c. Global Warming - Active intensive management of lands to generate forest products is known to increase levels of carbon sequestration as compared to no action. Actively managed forest lands provide carbon sequestration, which provides cleaner air, clean water, habitat for fish and wildlife and provide an overall benefit to the public at the expense of individual landowners.
4. Local Issues. Continue to monitor and support issues of statewide long-term significance.
a. Blanchard Mountain Plan
b. Whatcom County lawsuit
c. Skagit County Comprehensive Plan
d. No net loss of productive forest land
Links to related information: