The Restoration Bargain · Episode 3 of 13 · 20 min
Enemies at the Table
In 2002 the timber executive whose mills had been starved by an appeals campaign concluded litigation was unwinnable and invited his opponents to sit down. The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition produced a Blueprint dividing the Colville into zones for management, restoration, and wilderness, with specific rules on tree size and opening size. The peace brought more than 40 restoration projects without litigation, with two caveats about how quiet it really was.
Who's who
- Duane Vaagen+4 more episodesVaagen Brothers CEO who by his account convened the coalition
- Mike Petersen+2 more episodesThe Lands Council director and founding conservationist at the table
- Timothy Coleman+1 more episodeExecutive director of Kettle Range Conservation Group and coalition co-founder
- Barry Rosenberg+1 more episodeForest Watch coordinator who never joined the collaborative
Where it happens
- Colville National Forest, Washington+8 more episodes1.1 million acres outside the spotted owl range
- Republic, Washington+1 more episodeMill town hit by the 2003 closure
- Spokane, Washington+3 more episodesHome of The Lands Council
Timeline
- February 13, 1992Seven organizations move to block an expanded Colville cut
- 2002Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition founded
- February 7, 2003Vaagen closes its Republic mill, eliminating 87 jobs
- 2013Farm Bill era replaces administrative appeals with an objection process
- October 2015National Forest Foundation publishes the coalition's guidelines
- 2016Litigation returns to the Colville National Forest
Still debated
Who convened the coalition and paid its facilitator rests on Vaagen's own 2015 account. The claim of a litigation-free decade is unaudited, and the 2013 statutory change means part of the quiet reflects law rather than consensus.
collaborationnortheast washington forestry coalitiontimber and conservationcolville national forestforest appealsblueprint
