Our top five (plus one) posts in November

The month isn’t officially over but we have a good idea of our most-read postings for November. Here are the top five, plus one because we liked it so much…

Trick your rig and get ready for a 4×4 adventure at Reiter Foothills!
Load up your 4×4 dream machine and head out to the newly constructed 4×4 challenge course at Reiter Foothills Forest. DNR opens this course for a limited schedule of test rides over the winter.

 

 

Fire behavior expertise helped save one home from Taylor Bridge Fire
We never tire of hearing about how a home was saved from wildfire because the homeowner was proactive. Firewise landscaping techniques helped a former Plum Creek Timber Company forester keep his home near Thorpe safe from the Taylor Bridge Fire that destroyed more than 60 homes last August.

No cutting of Christmas trees in State Trust forests… there are other places you can go
Hunting for and cutting your own Christmas tree is a grand tradition—we get that. While some trees in state trust forests are lovely, DNR does not allow cutting here. Fortunately, we know of several places where you can cut your own tree for the holiday season.

DNR’s recreation staff give thanks
DNR has a small, but dedicated, staff devoted to recreation. These 36 full-time staff members help to make your recreation experiences on state trust lands both safe and enjoyable. Curious about what they are thankful for this year ?

We asked and here are their answers.

 

Cutting firewood on DNR-managed state trust lands
People often ask if they can cut their own firewood on forested state trust lands. We provide some places for the public top cut firewood from downed wood, or slash, after timber harvests but you need a permit. Opportunities are limited because we allow firewood cutting only when a trust lands timber harvest area has enough leftover down wood or slash to make it worthwhile for you to go all the way out there. 

The perfect holiday gift is now even better… choose your Discover Pass start date!
Not sure what to give your friends and loved ones this holiday season? How about an Annual Discover Pass? For only $35 (if purchased online) it’s the perfect gift that keeps on giving… all year long! Now, you can choose the date you want the new Discover Pass to begin.

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No cutting of Christmas trees in State Trust forests…there are other places you can go

This young stand of fir trees on state trust lands will provide habitat and trust revenue into the future. Photo: DNR

Hunting for and cutting your own Christmas tree is a grand tradition—we get that. And some trees in state trust forests are lovely—but DNR does not allow cutting here.

We manage  the 2.1 million acres of trust forests sustainably for habitat, clean water and continuous stream of revenue for beneficiaries such as public schools, universities, and public services in many counties.

When we hold timber auctions, we seek the highest return to fund these trust beneficiaries, which means waiting until the trees reach maturity. 

Below is a list where you can go to legally cut your own Christmas tree in Washington State. Contact your local USDA Forest Service Office, or support your local private tree farm:

National Forests
Colville National Forest 
Gifford Pinchot National Forest 
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Olympic National Forest
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Private tree farms
Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association

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Fall is a busy time for visitors to (and inhabitants of) DNR-managed state trust lands

Bighorn sheep in Loomis State Forest. Photo: Chris Marcolin/DNR.

It’s fall. Leaves are falling. And bighorn sheep, like this one spotted in Loomis State Forest in Okanogan County, have been busy bulking up for winter.

See more fall scenery photos on our blog earlier this week or, better still, get out soon and enjoy the scenery firsthand.

Know before you go! Check our recreation page for the latest open and closure notices. www.dnr.wa.gov/recreation.

Use your Discover Pass for state lands — it’s your ticket to Washington’s Great Outdoors.

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Update: How to get permission to gather firewood on DNR-managed lands (and federal lands)

A limited number of permits for personal fire wood gathering at timber harvest sites are available from DNR. Photo: DNR

Getting a permit to gather firewood on DNR managed state trust lands: Updated 2012

People often ask DNR if they can cut their own firewood on the forested state trust lands we manage. Generally, we provide places for you to cut firewood from downed wood, or slash, following timber harvests. Unfortunately, we don’t have as many of these opportunities as you might think.

DNR allows firewood cutting only when a timber harvest area has enough leftover down wood or slash to make it worthwhile for you to go all the way out there. Many sites may have this left-behind wood but not enough for people to harvest for firewood.

Why do we insist on keeping some of this down wood around?

Because DNR manages forested state trust lands for habitat as well as revenue production, a certain amount of the snags, downed wood and stumps left after a timber harvest must remain for birds, mammals and other critters. Habitat management is a key component of our State Trust Lands Habitat Conservation Plan.

Another factor limiting our supply is that the commercial timber harvesters who bid on trust lands timber are using more of the branches and stumps these days, so there’s less left behind to gather for firewood.

Check this web page to find out where DNR firewood gathering permits are still available. You’ll also find instructions for where and what to gather.

Some of the federal lands in Washington issue permits to gather firewood for personal use:

• Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
• Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
• Colville National Forest
• Gifford Pinchot National Forest
• Olympic National Forest
• Bureau of Land Management-Spokane

PS: It is a violation of state law to cut down trees or take firewood from state trust lands without permission from DNR.

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Safety, defensive driving matter on forest roads all year round

Be alert for logging trucks and other vehicles (large or small) on forest roads, including those maintained by DNR. Photo: USFS

As winter weather rolls into Washington state’s uplands and lowlands, it becomes even more important to drive defensively–forest roads are no exception. Don’t let the appearance of a quiet, unpaved forest road lull you into driving complacency. Most DNR recreation sites are on state trust lands where timber harvests and other leasing activities generate revenue for trust beneficiaries, including local schools. A loaded logging truck coming around a bend on a one-lane forest road can be a real scare. If you hear or see one, pull off to the side of the road in a designated pull out.

Because many DNR-maintained roads into the backcountry are mountain roads, expect to find many of them too narrow for two vehicles to pass easily and with sharp curves that may prevent you from seeing approaching traffic. Here are additional tips to be safe on forest roads:

• Drive defensively: There may not be a lot of traffic but there will likely be other vehicles, such as other cars and trucks and, possibly,  logging trucks, road maintenance machinery, and other vehicles.
• Obey the rules of the road. You may be in the middle of nowhere, but the rules of the road (and basic common sense) still apply.
• Keep to the right.
• Don’t drive in the dust, mud splatter or snow mist that is kicked up by other vehicles.
• Be prepared. Expect to encounter rocks and boulders, road washouts, downed trees and other hazards.

Our Forest Road Survival Guide has more tips.

Now’s your chance—Auctions for 6 Irrigated Leases on the Sunny Side of the State

Check out the possibilities: grains,  mint, alfalfa, orchard, vineyard, and more

Public lease auctions in November 15, 16 and 28 for state trust lands on the sunny side

DNR leases trust lands for irrigated and dryland agriculture, mostly in Eastern Washington. Photos: DNR

Washington DNR is offering at public auction several large parcels of state trust lands to lease for irrigated farming in the sunny rich farmland of Eastern Washington. Not only will you create the life you love, you’ll also earn money for the state’s public schools.

Below you can glimpse the general description of each lease. You’ll see all the auction details on our agricultural leasing webpage. If you have questions, contact DNR’s specific lease managers mentioned on the webpage.

November 15, 2012 Lease Auctions

12-088784 Sand Hollow
Grant County
Minimum of 150 acres up to 233.7 acres Orchard or Vineyard, as proposed by bidder, 24-year one month term.

12-A74381 George
Grant County
280 acres Irrigated Agriculture, 10-year term.
Authorized Crops: Alfalfa, timothy, cereal grains, corn, mint, beans, peas & seed crops

12-A74300 Mattawa
Grant County
Bidder to propose one of two options:
Option 1 – 125 acres of irrigated agricultural crops, 10-year term.
Option 2 – a minimum of 135 acres up to 154.1 acres of orchard or vineyard
and option for bidders to propose irrigated agriculture as an interim use, with a 25-year lease term.

November 16, 2012 Lease Auctions

12-A73504 Clark Road
Franklin County
463.4 acres Irrigated Agriculture, 9-year term.

12-088961 Horrigan Road
Benton County
125.5 acres Irrigated Agriculture, 9-year term.

November 28, 2012 Lease Auction

12-B69125 Perry Road
Spokane County
200 acres Irrigated Agriculture, 10-year term.

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DNR law enforcement officers help keep counties safe, too

DNR Law Enforcement Officer Jim McCarthy (second from left) received his special commission status from Pacific County. He is joined by DNR Law Enforcement Chief Larry Raedel, Pacific County Sheriff Scott Johnson, and other officials.

At a brief ceremony this morning, DNR Law Enforcement Officer Jim McCarthy formally received his special commission from Pacific County. DNR Law Enforcement Officers receive these special commissions to allow them to enforce the law within a county when they are not on DNR-managed land. McCarthy was appointed in August by Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark. A 25-year veteran of the Washington Highway Patrol, McCarthy enforces state laws and safety regulations on State trust lands in several Western Washington counties including Pacific County. His patrol area includes thousands of acres of state trust lands and conservation areas.

Washington state law classifies DNR Law Enforcement Officers as ‘limited authority’ Washington peace officers, which means they primarly detect or apprehend violators in areas of the law under their agencies’ jurisdiction. Others in this category include peace officers working for the Department of Corrections, Parks and Recreation Commission, and State Liquor Control Board among others. City police and county sheriff’s deputies are among those classified as ‘general authority’ officers, commissioned to enforce the criminal laws of the state generally.

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Root disease made trees vulnerable to wind damage

Foresters from DNR’s Pacific Cascade Region in southwest Washington investigate a patch of trees blown down by past storms. The windthrow on state trust land in the Toutle Mountain Range appears to have been caused by Armillaria root disease in the trees. Photo: Florian Deisenhofer/DNR.

Root disease damaged these trees in the mountains. What would have happened if they were next to your house? Take care of your damaged and diseased trees before the winter storms hit. Look into getting expert help from a certified arborist.

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Busted marijuana growing operation damaged environment

A stream feeds irrigation pipe that leads to a marijuana growing operation discovered this week in Kittitas County. Photo: DNR

You are taking a break from a hike or a day of fishing on a warm sunny day to relax by a cool mountain stream and you spot yards and yards of flexible black plastic pipe leading out of the stream and into the woods. A remote cabin with running water is just over the hill, perhaps? Probably not. These improvised — and illegal — irrigation systems are among the signs of a nearby marijuana grow, like the one authorities raided earlier this week in Kittitas County.

The seizure of some 13,500 marijuana plants valued at more than $10 million had many of the classic signs of a well-organized growing operation: irrigation system, terracing of hillsides, land clearing, fertilizers, and other supplies. The operation was discovered a few days earlier on a remote section of DNR-managed lands in Manastash Canyon west of Ellensburg. A team of federal and state personnel removed the plants, supplies and trash early Tuesday (August 28). No suspects were found.

In addition to the potential risk of violence to those happen upon one, a growing operation — large or small — can be destructive to the environment. Growers remove native plants, cut down or trim trees that block sunlight, terrace hillsides, remove native grasses, and apply fertilizers and other chemicals in quantities and concentrations that the land may not tolerate. Those chemicals frequently drain into the watershed and local creeks that landowners might use for their water supply.

Irrigation equipment was among the supplies seized when state and federal law enforcement teams busted a marijuana growing operation on state trust land in Kittitas County. Photo: DNR.

More photos and information:

Ellensburg Daily Record: Authorities seize 13,500 marijuana plants in Manastash Canyon

Yakima Herald-Republic: Kittitas County seizes pot grow worth $10M

KOMO News: Deputies find huge pot grow in Kittitas County

Riders leave first tracks at Reiter Foothills

DNR invited single track motorcycle riders to visit Reiter Foothills and give feedback on the first loop of trail completed on August 1, 2012. Photo by: DNR/Jessica Payne

DNR opens Reiter Foothills Reservation Line

Members from local motorcycle organizations came out Wednesday night, August 1, to test drive the first loop of constructed trail at Reiter Foothills.

DNR, riders, and volunteers were excited to begin breaking in the trail.

Also on Wednesday, DNR passed out a survey to find what riders would like to see developed on the remaining sections of trail.

The 1.4 miles of dynamic, challenging single-track motorcycle trail was started in mid-June and completed by the August 1 goal date. The hard work of Washington Conservation Corp crew members, volunteers, and DNR staff culminated in a celebration of the new trail.

After testing the new trail, riders had an opportunity to share their experience with DNR and give their feedback. Riders concluded that the new trail was fun, and each rider had great suggestions for improvement. This information will help guide the trail planners and construction crew as the rest of the trail system is developed.

For all you excited stump jumpin’, dirt lovin’, berm ridin’ motorcyclists out there, your chance to ride the trail has come!

Reserve your space now before it fills up! Reservation line closed.

• Week nights: 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.   August 8, 16, 17, 21, 28
• Weekend times, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.   August 18 & 19

When calling the reservation line, please leave your name, phone number, and day you would like to reserve. You will receive a callback from DNR confirming your time slot.

All vehicles will need a Discover Pass to park at the trailhead. Those towing street-legal motorcycles will need an additional Discover Pass to ride their street-legal bike on the trails.

Come and be a part of the new Reiter Foothills experience! Be one of the first to ride the new trail at Reiter Foothills, and give DNR your feedback that will help shape trails throughout the new trail system.