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2020 FOREST ACTION PLAN
CONTENTS
4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 6 LETTER FROM COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC LANDS AND STATE FORESTER 8 OVERVIEW 9 Introduction 10 Scope of the 2020 Forest Action Plan 11 Cooperative Forestry Program Planning 11 Stakeholder Engagement 12 Plans and Initiatives that Informed this Action Plan 12 U.S. Department of Agriculture State and Private Forestry Priorities 12 Washington State Shared Stewardship Investment Strategy 13 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan: Eastern Washington 14 10-Year Wildland Fire Protection Strategic Plan 16 State Wildlife Action Plan 16 Plan for Climate Resilience 17 Anticipated Use of this Action Plan 18 FOREST RESOURCE ASSESSMENT 19 Introduction 20 Forest Conditions and Trends: Issues, Threats, and Opportunities 22 Climate Change 24 Drought 25 Insect and Disease Outbreaks 26 Wildfire 28 Western Washington Wildfire 28 Wildfire Preparedness in Western Washington 29 Western Washington Wildfire Key Research Needs 30 Invasive Species 32 Conversion and Loss of Forests
34 COOPERATIVE FORESTRY PROGRAMS 35 Introduction 36 Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program 38 Forest Legacy Program 40 Urban and Community Forestry Program 44 Forest Health Protection 48 Forest Stewardship Program 50 State Fire Assistance 50 Volunteer Fire Assistance 51 Landscape Scale Restoration 52 53 54 56 68 74 78 80 82 84 88
STRATEGIES Introduction Landscape Resilience Resilient Forests in Washington State Illustration Community Wildfire Preparedness and Wildfire Suppression Keeping Forests as Forest: Risk of Conversion to Non-Forest Uses Urban and Community Forest Resilience Rural Economic Development Stewardship of Family and Working Forests Wildlife and Salmon Recovery Water Quality and Quantity
92 93 94 96
PLAN IMPLEMENTATION Introduction Leveraging Resources to Support Priority Actions Multi-party Monitoring of Forest Action Plan Progress
99 APPENDIX A Public Survey Results 103 APPENDIX B Washington DNR Forest Legacy Program Scoring Guidance (2017) 113 APPENDIX C Western Washington Landscape Resilience Prioritization Process 121 APPENDIX D Restoration in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest 124 REFERENCES 127 CONTACT DEPT. OF NATURAL RESOURCES