South Paw Timber Sale Explained

Hikers on Tiger Mountain may have been surprised to see a notice of yet another logging sale, this time on South Tiger. IATC works closely with our land manager partners at DNR to ensure that logging is conducted in the most environmentally benign way possible and that negative impacts to recreation are minimized. 

Recreation Impacts

Ben Mayberry and Doug Kennedy from DNR joined IATC’s Advocacy Committee meeting in September to discuss the upcoming South Paw logging sale. Ben Mayberry, Recreation Manager, shared the above map showing the changes to trail infrastructure following the logging. The Tiger Mountain Trail and Horse Bypass Trail will be rerouted (in green) to allow for a lower grade (i.e. less steep) route, which will reduce trail erosion over the long term. The existing trails highlighted in red will be decommissioned. Existing trails highlighted in yellow will require cleanout and re-grading following the logging. Ben emphasized that this timber sale provides the justification and mechanism for doing these trail reroutes. These will be long-term improvements to the trail system, even as the trees regrow. 

Land areas with blue dots are riparian buffer zones around creeks or streams and will not be logged. Wetland areas and ponds, denoted with little green plant icons, also will not be logged. The remaining variable retention harvest, denoted by orange shading, will be logged. 

DNR’s Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) requires the retention of 10 trees per acre in the variable retention harvest. In this 67-acre harvest area, that means that 670 trees will be left as “leave trees.” The areas for these 670 leave trees are highlighted in green. DNR aims to preserve the largest trees, nurse logs, and old growth stumps, wherever possible. 

History: Tiger Mountain as a Working Forest

IATC has been intimately involved in land management on Tiger Mountain since the late 1970s, when the biggest threat to Tiger Mountain was suburban sprawl. IATC co-founder Harvey Manning was a key part of the working group that put together the original Tiger Mountain State Forest Management Plan in 1985. This plan aimed to balance the uses of the forest between recreationists (e.g. hikers, bikers, hang gliders, equestrians), habitat conservation, and working forest (i.e. logging).

Tiger Mountain has historically been a patchwork of state-owned and non-state-owned land, as shown in the following image, taken from the original 1985 Tiger Mountain State Forest Management Plan. Most of the privately owned land is now state-owned, save for the squiggly white parcel which contains the summits of West Tigers 1, 2, and 3. Among the state-owned land, there are a patchwork of different “state trust beneficiaries” that receive the proceeds of the revenue generated from logging on that land. 

Source: Tiger Mountain State Forest Management Plan 1986

Even in the 1980s, there was a strong focus on conservation, particularly of older forests that remained on Tiger Mountain. The following image shows the stands identified as 100+ year old timber. The majority of these older forests are now part of the West Tiger NRCA (Natural Resource Conservation Area), one of the early wins for DNR’s Trust Land Transfer Program. These larger, older trees are now in conservation status and will never be logged.

Source: Tiger Mountain State Forest Management Plan 1986

IATC recognizes the essential role that logging plays in supporting state trust beneficiaries, and that wood and wood products are a key component of our modern society. Additionally, IATC supports WA DNR’s Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and practices like riparian buffers, avoiding harvesting on steep slopes prone to landslides, leave trees, etc. that minimize the negative environmental impacts of logging. Given that there is still demand for wood and wood products in our society for building homes, creating cardboard boxes, etc., some amount of logging will be needed to provide those products. Timber is a global commodity, and reducing the volume of sustainable timber harvested in Washington could have significant leakage effects, leading to more logging in other states, like Idaho, or countries, such as Indonesia, with less stringent environmental regulations.

IATC is also excited about the positive impacts this logging sale will have on recreation infrastructure and trails on Tiger Mountain. However, as conservationists, we are also strong advocates for increasing protection for older trees through programs such as Trust Land Transfer and DNR’s Carbon Reserve.

IATC will continue to provide updates on the South Paw logging sale as more information becomes available.