By Todd Chaudhry

This year Sinlahekin Wildlife Area became the first Department of Fish and Wildlife lands in Washington, and the first State lands in eastern Washington, to successfully obtain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.  The certification was completed in June 2010 and was the result of a partnership between Dale Swedberg from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Todd Chaudhry from the Nature Conservancy, and Ian Hanna formerly from the Northwest Natural Resource Group. After discussing the pros and cons of FSC certification and developing a cost-share arrangement between DFW and TNC to help cover the costs of certification, senior managers from DFW gave their approval for the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area to undergo the certification process as a pilot project.  Through NNRG’s Northwest Certified Forestry program, the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area’s forest management plans and practices were assessed by a third-party auditor and determined to meet the FSC’s strict certification standards.

The dry forests of Sinlahekin Wildlife Area are currently at an increased risk of uncharacteristically severe disturbance from fire, insects and disease due to over a century of fire suppression, as well as historical grazing and logging.  In order to restore the natural structure, composition, and function of these forests it is first necessary to mechanically thin trees from overstocked stands, after which fire can be safely reintroduced into these fire-dependent ecosystems.  This work is being initiated as part of the Sinlahekin Ecosystem Restoration Project, which is a collaborative, multi-year project aimed at improving overall forest health and resilience within an adaptive management framework and is currently being supported by federal, state, and private funds.

The first phase of mechanical treatments in the northern portion of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area are planned to be conducted this winter.  However, due to the downturn in the regional timber industry, coupled with limited local capacity to process wood products and the cost of long haul distances, the current challenge is to identify a willing buyer for the timber or to use grant funds to subsidize the cost of treatments.  Looking ahead, we are holding discussions with mills in eastern Washington, as well as a national window and door manufacturer, to help facilitate the development of a local FSC supply chain which would help provide an essential means to implement forest restoration at scale, as well as support the local economy.