Forest land burned by last year’s Nakia Creek Fire will be added to the Yacolt Burn State Forest, the Washington State Board of Natural Resources announced last week.
The board approved the purchase of 640 acres of land during its June 6 meeting, a news release from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources announced.
The land cost $855,000 and will be paid for through prior land sale proceeds, according to the release. About 75% of the acreage was burned during the Nakia Creek Fire in 2022, which burned more than 1,900 acres of land in total.
The land is currently an “inholding” within the Larch Block, the westernmost portion of the Yacolt Burn State Forest, the release stated.
“Acquiring the inholding makes the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ lands in the area more efficient to manage, eliminating the need to acquire road use permits before beginning timber harvests,” the release stated.
Buying the land protects it from development, “and an important step to keep working forests working in Southwest Washington,” Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz stated in the release.
The 640 acres will be put into the department’s “land bank” which serves as a “holding area” for properties that will become state trust lands, or former trust lands waiting to be sold, the release stated. The property will eventually receive a specific trust designation.
The department plans to put $115,000 into reforestation of the property, according to the release. Since 1980, more than 100,000 acres have been acquired through the department’s land transactions program.
