Audubon's Washington State Office has been a leader in forest conservation in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade. Its efforts have improved wildlife habitat protection on both public and private lands, and in boththe moist coastal forests and the dry interior forests of Washington.

In the 1980's, the Washington State Office began documenting the location of ancient forests on federal lands in the Northwest. Through partnerships with Audubon chapters and local activists it developed maps of remnant ancient forest stands larger than 200 acres on National Forests in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, and parts of Montana. The maps were used by a federal scientific assessment team to develop a conservation strategy for the Northern Spotted Owl in the Douglas fir and Western hemlock forests of the Cascades and Coastal Ranges. Later, the maps were used by congressionally appointed scientists to develop recommendations for restoring the health of the interior Columbia Basin forests.

Throughout the late 1980's and early 1990's, the Washington State Office provided technical assistance, training, and organizational development to dozens of local activist groups working on ancient forest conservation. It assisted local activists in mapping forests, appealing timber sales, reviewing and appealing forests plans, and conducting outreach to the media and to local elected officials.

During this time, the Washington State Office waged an intensive campaign of public and media outreach to convince the citizens of the Northwest that ancient forest conservation is in the region's best long-term interest. Washington State Office staff traveled throughout the region, speaking to community groups and local governments. They wrote guest editorials, became trusted sources for dozens of reporters, and testified on many occasions before both state and federal legislative committees. The media campaign culminated with a guest editorial in the Washington Post on the eve of President Clinton's Forest Summit in 1993.

The result of these efforts was a series of reforms in the management of federal forestlands in the Cascade Mountain and Coast Range forests of the Northwest. Logging levels were reduced to about one-fourth of the annual volume logged in the 1980's. On some national forests, more than 90% of the stands identified as "significant old growth" on Audubon maps were granted permanent protection. Although many of the ancient forests in the Northwest still are not safe from the chain saw, the outlook for old-growth forest wildlife has vastly improved.

The Washington State Office has engaged in successive efforts to improve management practices on private forests in Washington. In 1986, the State Office began intensive negotiations with timber corporations in Washington's Timber-Fish-Wildlife (TFW) process to reform state forestry practices and regulations. The result was a new set of statewide rules regulating timber harvesting, road building, and pesticide spraying in private forests. Although inadequate by today's standards, the new regulations provided unprecedented protection for riparian zones along salmon-bearing streams, enhanced environmental review for forest practices on sensitive sites (such as sites with threatened or endangered species), and improved opportunities for public oversight.

Since then, the Washington State Office negotiated a new state law to encourage timber owners to further address cumulative effects by submitting Landowner Landscape Management Plans to state regulatory agencies. In return for limited regulatory relief, these plans require forestland owners to exceed the level of fish and wildlife protection obtained under baseline state forest regulations. The Washington State Office is currently active in the implementation of this law; staff are participating in developing the standards and guidelines under which private lands in this program will be managed. This is the first time that a non-governmental wildlife advocacy organization has had the authority to participate in the development of forest management plans on private land.

The Washington State office has been a leader in advocating better fish and wildlife protection in Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) in Washington State. These plans provide exemptions from prohibitions of the Endangered Species Act to landowners who submit a forest management plan to federal regulatory agencies. Although early plans were inadequate to provide long-term habitat security for threatened and endangered species, increased public pressure has resulted in improvements in both the process and substance of habitat conservation planning in the northwest forests.

The Washington State Office is currently engaged in intensive negotiations with timber companies and regulatory agencies to address the listing of several stocks of Pacific salmon as threatened species. Audubon is advocating sweeping improvements in the protection of riparian forests, wetlands, and watersheds to accommodate the recovery of salmon in Washington Forests.

Contact:
Tim Cullinan
421 Washington Harbor Road
Sequim, WA 98382
(360) 683-6257
(360) 683-6257 (fax)
email: tcullinan@audubon.org

Black Hills Audubon is located in Olympia, at the foot of the Olympic Peninsula. Its proximity to the Olympic and Gifford Pinchot National Forests and to Washington's state forests has let Black Hills take leadership in projects on these forests. Most recently, Black Hills has been involved with management plans on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Southwest Washington. Black Hills' support of the Conservation Option on the Cispus Adaptive Management Area in the Cowlitz Valley paved the way for the plan to really protect ecosystems. It includes reduced logging in old growth and roadless areas, the recognition and protection of connectivity corridors, and an increased voice for the conservation community on the Gifford Pinchot's Provincial Advisory Committee.

Black Hills is also involved in the Heritage Forests Campaign to permanently protect all Forest Service Roadless Areas 1,000 acres and greater. Our efforts in this regard center around the Gifford Pinchot's 9 main roadless areas. These areas are popular for hiking and hunting already, and our chapter hopes to help raise the profile of these areas to gain them permanent protection, either through a strong long term roads policy coming from the Forest Service or through some sort of wilderness protection.

Contact:
David Jennings
PO Box 2524
Olympia, WA 98507
(360) 866-7551
(360) 786-5054 (fax)
email: 71634.127@compuserve.com

Blue Mountain Audubon Society of northeastern Washington has been involved in National Forest issues since 1985. The Umatilla National Forest of the Blue Mountains is situated in this chapter's "backyard" and has been at the center of most of Blue Mountain Audubon's forest conservation efforts.

Blue Mountain members have taken part in the public scoping process for the Forest Service Walla Walla Ranger District and have mapped old-growth stands in the Umatilla National Forest. Blue Mountain played an important role in the development of the Umatilla Forest Plan as part of the 'Guiding the Course' (GTC) coalition comprising a diversity of people including the Walla Walla District Ranger, environmentalists, timber industry representatives, County Commissioners, State Fish and Wildlife officials, Tribal representatives, and concerned citizens. Blue Mountain Audubon has joined with other citizen activists in the region to form the Umatilla Forest Resource Council (UFRC). Blue Mountain has also continually lobbied for the 'eastside spotted owl.' This effort has been based on sound conservation science research and has had some influence on the development of the congressionally funded Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project based in Walla Walla. Blue Mountain Audubon has been closely involved in this undertaking and continues to monitor the lands managed under this study. Blue Mountain Audubon's success results partly from healthy working relationships with the staff of the three nearby National Forests - the Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman and Malheur.

Contact:
Shirley Muse
219 Newell Street
Walla Wala, WA 99362
(509) 527-5125

Pilchuck Audubon Society of eastern Washington has been engaged in forest conservation work for many years. Pilchuck Audubon has had two recent victories. Members appealed the Canyon Creek Salvage timber sale, which would have logged old-growth which had died from hemlock looper infestation. After losing the appeal they filed suit and forced the Forest Service to drop the sale.

Pilchuck Audubon recently opposed the widening/repaving of the last unpaved portion of the Mt. Loop Scenic Byway in the Darrington Ranger District. Faced with pressure from Pilchuck Audubon, the Federal Highway Administration withdrew funding and the Forest Service has placed the project on hold.

Pilchuck Audubon actively opposes the growing trend toward land exchanges which trade healthy public forests for cut-over private forests, and has appealed and/or litigated a number of these recent, ill-advised swaps. Pilchuck Audubon has been involved in much litigation over the years, and is currently involved in a legalchallenge to the Northwest Forest Plan based on poor implementation. Pilchuck Audubon was an instrumental member of the Forest Water Alliance, a northwestern environmental coalition focused on protection of watersheds. They helped produce 'Our Forests, Our Future,' which documented the shortcomings of the Northwest Forest Plan.

Contact:
Kathy Johnson
Forest Practices/Conservation Chair
Pilchuck Audubon Society
13800 84th Street Northeast
Lake Stevens, WA 98258
(360) 659-7252
email: paskathyj@aol.com

Seattle Audubon was a plaintiff in the lawsuit demanding protection of the Northern Spotted Owl. Seattle Audubon's Board recently resolved to support an end to commercial logging on federal lands in response to decades of destruction of native forest ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest, the failure of the Northwest Forest Plan to adequately protect these ecosystems, and the ongoing losses to the taxpayers under the federal timber sales program. Seattle Audubon actively opposed the huge Plum Creek Land Exchange along the I-90 corridor between the Plum Creek Timber Company and the U.S. Forest Service involving the Wenatchee, Mount Baker/Snoqualmie, and Gifford Pinchot National Forests, which was unfortunately passed as a rider on a spending bill in late 1998.

Seattle Audubon actively monitors Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) in Washington state, which are a tool for private and non-federal public landowners to gain incidental take permits for endangered species in exchange for managing lands for habitat conservation. Seattle Audubon opposes all logging in the City of Seattle's Cedar River watershed in spite of a long term plan fund habitat conservation through logging. Seattle Audubon works with Protect Our Watershed Alliance and others to ensure a better plan for wildlife habitat. Seattle Audubon has worked to promote habitat conservation, trail building, and other improvements in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River forest area. Members plan to continue working with other groups to "reclaim" this undermanaged forest area very close to Seattle.

Seattle Audubon has continually participated with National Audubon, Western Ancient Forests Campaign, Sierra Club, and other organizations in working to improve federal policies. They have and will to continue write comment letters on proposed forest management activities on a case-by-case basis, especially in roadless areas or Late-Successional Reserves.

Contact:
Charles Lennox
Conservation Chair
507 27th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 720-4928

Tahoma Audubon is located on Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and lies between the Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges. Founded over 30 years ago, Tahoma Audubon has long been involved in a wide range of forest related work, much of it focused on the effects of the forest industry on salmon habitat. Working with industry, state, federal and tribal agencies, Tahoma has helped provide both baseline and tracking data needed to assess stream morphology and habitat function. Using the best available scientific monitoring methodologies, Tahoma Audubon has presented accurate, repeatable data to all parties involved. Currently, Tahoma Audubon is providing stream monitoring data (collected according to nationally recognized sampling protocols) to the USFS in a project to increase Chinook Salmon spawning and rearing habitat for Puget Sound salmon runs.

Tahoma Audubon is participating in a formal Washington State Watershed Analysis of a local watershed effecting over 80,000 acres of private, state and national Forests. This process will define under state law what logging can be permitted by determining the immediate and cumulative effects to fish in the area's rivers and streams. Tahoma Audubon is collecting stream data for the EPA, Washington State Dept of Ecology, and the Weyerhauser Corporation on the effects of logging and increased peak flows on Chinook Salmon egg nests due to scour of the stream beds in spawning habitat.

Tahoma Audubon members have been instrumental in organizing other local Audubon chapters and environmental groups to respond to a proposed land exchange between the USFS and Plum Creek Timber Company, which will affect roadless forest areas of Washington State that are sensitive habitat for Marbled Murrelet, Spotted Owl, and ESA-listed Salmonids.

Other Tahoma Audubon forest activities involve avian monitoring surveys in forested sites for mitigation under "superfund" guidance and for the City of Tacoma's restoration sites; conducting stream bed mobility studies for the USFS; and reviewing HCPs affecting local endangered species. Tahoma Audubon provided commentary and technical assistance in evaluating regional Habitat Conservation Plans and Federal to Private "land swaps." Tahoma Audubon works to end logging in all roadless areas with other Audubon chapters in Washington state. They have been extremely successful in generating comments and galvanizing decision makers on this issue. In addition the chapter testifies at land use hearings regarding forest and natural resource issues.

Contact:
David Adams
4708 Marineview Drive
Tacoma, WA 98422
(253) 627-8669
email: skookum@nwlink.com