Western Washington is world famous for towering trees and vast forests. The Whatcom Conservation District’s (Whatcom CD’s) new Forest Stewardship Program provides small forest landowners with the tools and knowledge needed to maintain healthy forests in Whatcom County. Whether you’re interested in preserving wildlife habitat, storing carbon, generating income from timber, or anything in between, we want to help landowners develop a long-term vision to care for their land and be active stewards.
This vital work is increasingly important in Whatcom County because climate change is already impacting the Pacific Northwest. We are experiencing hotter summers, more frequent droughts, and less predictable moisture. Western redcedars across the region are already showing signs of stress due to these impacts. Pressure from urban growth and the need for more housing puts remaining canopy cover at risk, while also drastically raising land values. This makes it a challenge for landowners to afford keeping forested land intact. Meanwhile, previous actions have left areas of homogenous, simplified forests with overstocked trees in place of the complex and diverse habitats they used to be. These simplified forests are even less resilient to the challenges of climate change.
The Climate Commitment Act is helping the Whatcom CD’s Forest Stewardship Program combat these problems. With funding made available from the act, we offer free and confidential services such as personalized site visits, technical assistance, Forest Management Plans, and access to cost-share programs. Forest Management Plans can be requested for free. These plans are long-term documents which combine landowner objectives with current conditions to identify resource concerns and establish a schedule of actions to maintain or improve forest health over time. Whether it's expertise or financial assistance, WCD’s Forest Stewardship Specialist can help any property owner in Whatcom County with at least a half an acre of forest.
Our help is confidential and non-regulatory. The Climate Commitment Act allows us to provide these services without charge and support small forest landowners with achieving their goals and stewarding the land for the betterment of all. Reach out to schedule a meeting with our Forest Stewardship Specialist today.
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