A temporary restraining order on logging activity on Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) forestland in the far northeastern reaches of Clark County was approved by a Clark County judge last week.
Clark County Superior Court Judge Derek Vanderwood issued the temporary restraining order on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The request was filed by the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and the Friends of Clark County. The legal battle first began in December, just before Christmas, when the lawsuit was filed.
At the time of the hearing on Feb. 26, logging was taking place by Stimson Lumber Co. At the end of January, Stimson won the timber auction for the Dabbler property with a bid nearly 80% above its appraised value at $5.2 million. From that, the Battle Ground Public Schools district would gain $1,013,411.17, the Clark County Roads Department would gain $634,830.94 and North Country EMS would gain $225,644.77, among other beneficiaries, according to the American Forest Resource Council.
The notice of legal appeal was first served to DNR on Dec. 30. Under the statute, DNR is required to provide administrative record — documents about the sale from DNR and its board — within 30 days of the lawsuit being filed. Yet, the documents have not been provided as of the Feb. 26 court hearing.
“It does appear that logging has been initiated and is ongoing in the time period,” Vanderwood said. “I think equitable factors are something within the preliminary injunction analysis also are applicable within the temporary restraining order analysis. I think, based on the circumstances in total, to me at this time, I’m finding that the apps have established an adequate basis for the restraining order.”
As the administrative record was not yet provided, Vanderwood said the case is challenging with a variety of legal issues.
Why would the administrative record be so important and also cause an issue, though? Alicia Leduc Montgomery, managing attorney for the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and Friends of Clark County, previously told The Reflector that her office is unable to file its opening brief for the court to begin deciding the case, adding that the administrative record is evidence for the case. She said DNR has done this in previous instances, which has led to moot cases in some circumstances where DNR either revokes an auction of timberland or the timber goes to harvest before a decision is made.
The battle against the harvesting of timber on the Dabbler land first began last August when the state announced the sale of trees on five parcels of land within the Yacolt Burn area. The legal injunction isn’t just about the prevention of harvesting trees, Leduc Montgomery previously said.
“So the planning unit where Dabbler is located is called the Columbia Planning Unit … and DNR’s own public records data shows the public that protected structurally complex forests constitute just 2% of the entire planning unit,” Leduc Montgomery said previously. “But DNR is required to designate at least 10%. So the core of the lawsuit is that the DNR has an obligation. It has policies and procedures on the books that say you have to set aside and protect at least 10% of each planning unit to basically become the old growth of tomorrow so that we’re ensuring there’s a place for these endangered species to live.”
She added that the lawsuit also maintains that DNR is nearing its deadline to designate the minimum 10% of structurally complex forest protected in each planning area, and landing at just 2% is extremely far from the goal.
The Dabbler timber sale contains trees upwards and beyond 120 years old. Old growth trees can’t be harvested. Previously, Matt Comisky, the Washington state manager for the American Forest Resource Council, compared the Dabbler land to lawn care.
“It’s really no different than your lawn,” he said in a previous Reflector article. “If you work really hard at taking all the weeds out but you miss one or two dandelions, are those old growth dandelions when you go to cut your lawn next time, or are they just the ones that you missed, and so they finally grew big enough that you could see them?”
Should the Dabbler timber sale move past legal challenges, the land includes 140 harvestable acres out of 156 in total.
While the legal process is unfolding, despite the sale being on state land, the Clark County Council has interjected with letters to current state Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove.
“The Clark County Council is writing to you today to urge you to utilize any and all of your capabilities as the Commissioner of Public Lands or that otherwise exist within the Department of Natural Resources to pause any harvest of the Dabbler timber sale area until DNR is able to engage with the Council next week to review the Council’s priorities and discuss options to create a framework for conserving older growth forests throughout Clark County,” a letter from Feb. 20 by the Clark County Council stated. “Clark County contains very few remaining legacy forest resources and older tree areas. The Dabbler sale area contains structurally complex naturally regenerated forests that are approaching old growth and therefore highly valued by our community. Not only do these remnants of our original forests provide wildlife habitat, promote watershed health, and mitigate climate impacts, but they provide public recreation and economic opportunities beyond the dollars generated through harvest alone. We would like to work with you to create a policy framework for harvest in our County that promotes these older forests for conservation.”
A hearing on the motion for an injunction is scheduled for March 21 in Clark County Superior Court.
