Collaboration at the Heart of Restoration for Upper Wenatchee

Written by: Heather Druffel, Senior Communications Manager

“I live here. I spent a ton of time in these woods growing up, and I love Chelan County. I worked on the Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest for almost ten years during and after college. So you know, this means a lot to me. It means a lot to my guys to be working on the home field, and nobody wants this to be more successful than we do,” shares Connor Craig, owner-operator of Wildfire Home Protection LLC, the contractor executing forest restoration treatments on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (Oka-Wen NF) at the recent launch event for the Upper Wenatchee I FRB project. 

It doesn’t take long for someone to understand the importance of the landscapes surrounding the communities north of Leavenworth. Residents and guests alike are naturally drawn to the beauty, recreational opportunities, and tranquility it provides. However, this landscape and the nearby communities are at high risk of catastrophic wildfire, meaning we may lose the places and homes that hold so much meaning to so many.  

“I look around and there are several spots that I grew up going to that are just unfortunately, burnt to a crisp. And I have taken my kids out there to camp and, and fish and it’s, it’s just sad. I want to get after it (forest restoration work). Our guys want to get after it, because my kids won’t have those same memories that I had, you know… Our hearts are in this,”  shares Connor. 

The Upper Wenatchee I Forest Resilience Bond (UW I FRB) aims to mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfire, protecting communities, infrastructure, and water supply. While we at Blue Forest and our partners have evaluated the environmental and subsequent economic benefits derived from the protection and restoration of the Oka-Wen, it is the inherent connection to nature and the landscape that retains the greatest impact. It is this connection that has brought all of us together with a shared vision to safeguard this landscape and neighboring communities.

This has been a project of the people since its inception. Over a decade ago, the North Central Washington Forest Health Collaborative, a diverse group of local stakeholders represented by the timber industry, conservation groups, Tribal governments, elected officials, and local, state, and federal land managers, came together to address the forest health concerns they saw growing in the Oka-Wen National Forest. This group worked with the USDA Forest Service to plan the Upper Wenatchee Pilot Project, a project area encompassing 75,000 acres north of Leavenworth, and restoring it has been a priority of theirs ever since.

In that time, we have also seen state and federal governments take active measures to address the high risk of catastrophic wildfire present on this landscape. Washington State’s Department of Natural Resources incorporated the planning area into its 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan, while the Forest Service also ranked the region as a priority area in its national Wildfire Crisis Strategy, creating the Central Washington Initiative. Chelan County, comprised of approximately 68 percent Forest Service lands, has come to the table prioritizing forest health. The County holds the first Good Neighbor Authority agreement in the Pacific Northwest, giving them the authority to implement work on Forest Service lands, and at the same time have added their own resources, funding, and time to enable the work getting done on the ground. County Commissioner Shon Smith states, “We have the ability to help by lining up the people to get the work done, and start doing some real work for real results.”

Stakeholders from across agencies, organizations, and communities shared the same goal but continued to face significant barriers to getting the work done at the pace and scale necessary. However, Blue Forest was able to offer a Forest Resilience Bond as a solution to complicated funding structures that come with government grants. By blending private and public funding sources and offering a zero-percent loan to the implementation partner, the FRB smooths cash flows, enabling consistent and ongoing work for faster implementation. The UW I FRB specifically is implementing forest restoration treatments focused on reducing catastrophic wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface, covering a 15,000-acre footprint within the larger Upper Wenatchee Pilot Project area.

With the launch of the UW I FRB, we have seen additional engagement from local stakeholders such as the Chelan Public Utility District which has committed funding to protect their infrastructure as well as their fellow community members. Randy Smith, Chelan PUD Commissioner, says “We have transmission and distribution lines all over the forest, and we understand that there is a real risk there. We all want the same positive end for our fellow residents here in Chelan County, and us working together makes eminent sense.” 

For many years, the Forest Service has leveraged an “All Hands, All Lands” approach to create more resilient landscapes in the face of climate change. By bringing everyone together, work can get started at the scale needed to make a real difference. Connor observes, “We’re actually on the same team, you know, we’re just playing different positions. So, we’re out here trying to move the ball down the field as fast as we can, and we need all these partners to make it work.” 

This landscape holds a lot of meaning for a lot of people, but ultimately partners share a singular vision: “the goal of protecting what it is that we have here, so that we don’t lose it when that fire comes through,” as Shon Smith says. No single organization can address the extreme climate risks we’re facing alone. However, by working together we can take measures to restore and protect this landscape and all landscapes across the West, one step at a time.