Map and Writing by Erica Simek Sloniker, Visual Content Specialist
We’ve got a new welcome sign in the Cle Elum Field office: a giant map of the Central Cascades!
Next time you’re passing through the area, take a stroll down East First Street in the heart of Cle Elum and gaze through the big windows to see for yourself. Better yet, swing on inside and say “hello” to our friendly staff.
Though the town of Cle Elum is small, our large map hopes to capture your imagination and welcome your input on how the forestland The Nature Conservancy manages around the towns of Cle Elum, Roslyn and Ronald are managed. The Nature Conservancy has a fixed timeline in which to pursue land transfers within this ownership to public agencies, sales to conservation buyers or find other creative solutions to permanently protect the properties.
At The Nature Conservancy, we believe in thriving nature and thriving communities. An open house last Friday in the office welcomed community members to engage with this work and to learn and share ideas. Our new map will not only welcome you, but help you connect to this vast landscape and help you re-imagine the ways in which the vast forests we manage will continue to thrive, be resilient as the world changes, support local jobs and recreation, and be a home for fish and wildlife.
Please join us in permanently protecting these lands by identifying the forest ownership models that reflect this community’s values. Or, simply stop by and come find yourself in the giant map through the many adventures you’ve had in the Central Cascades.
Learn More About the Central Cascades
The Nature Conservancy is working on a new and creative forest restoration project on Cle Elum Ridge, called the “How Go Unit,” within the Central Cascades Forest. This “selective thinning” project will reduce fire risk, create healthy forests and support recreational access and natural habitat.
TNC lands in Eastern Washington are now reopened for normal recreation and public access. These lands initially closed on July 23 due to extreme fire danger.
We’re working to protect the Taneum Watershed in the ancestral territory of the Yakama Indian Nation: home to rare and endangered fish and wildlife species, headwaters of the Yakima River, and epic recreational opportunities.
An exciting new program funded by the Washington State Legislature will support six community forest projects around the state. The Capital Budget includes $16.3 million for this new Community Forest Program administered by the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO). The six projects have been driven by local communities in Chelan, Jefferson, Pierce, Klickitat, Kittitas, and Kitsap Counties.
The TREX program does what no one else is doing in fire management: It provides a cooperative burning model that meets the needs of diverse entities, private landowners and the community—incorporating local values and issues to build the right kinds of capacity in the right places.
In the forests along Cle Elum ridge above the town of Roslyn, heavy machinery has chewed through small trees and underbrush, grinding the shrubbery into chips in seconds, all in the name of forest health and reduced risk of wildfire.
Grinding and chipping the trees into smaller pieces increases the surface area, and once those smaller chips are on the ground and in contact with the soil, they can break down faster and quickly reduce the fire hazards on the landscape.
Satellite information of lightning strike frequency and vegetation moisture will better inform local land managers and can help us target areas to initiate forest health projects.
What exactly do forests have to do with water? Forests are the most effective land cover for maintenance of water quality.
We are celebrating a milestone in a long-term project to protect and restore the forests along I 90 as the U.S. Forest Service prepares to acquire 4,814 acres of the Central Cascades forest with the support of the Land and Water Conservation Fund
A bill in the state Senate would fund much-needed wildfire prevention, suppression and preparedness activities, investing in the health of Washington’s iconic forests and the resilience of our communities.