Volunteer for Teanaway Community Forest's Stewardship Day
On June 23, join Washington Trails Association and many of our partners for a fun day of service at the Teanaway Community Forest.
Get to know the Teanaway Community Forest through a Stewardship Day on Saturday June 23.
Join Washington Trails Association, The Nature Conservancy, Mountains to Sound Greenway, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and your fellow community members for a rewarding day of service.
Hikers descend a slab near Cheese Rock in the Teanaway Community Forest. Photo by David Hagen.
There’s a job for every skill level at this jam-packed volunteer event—Cheese Rock Trail construction, campsite preparation for summer season, compost bin construction, invasive weed removal, graffiti cleanup and event support crew. The tasks run from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., wrapping up with a free celebratory barbecue and tour of restoration projects hosted by DNR. Find out more about the specific projects and sign up here!
What's the Teanaway Community Forest?
The state purchased the 50,241-acre Teanaway Community Forest (TCF) with funding from the Legislature in 2013, making it Washington’s first community forest. Community forests can be managed for benefits other than revenue, including watershed protection, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, grazing, and timber production.
The forest has long been a popular place for recreation with three campgrounds, river access spots and a medley of user-built trails. Together with insight and expertise provided by local communities and the recreating public, the Teanaway Community Forest Advisory Committee is working through the development of a formal recreation plan. WTA’s Advocacy Director Andrea Imler sits on the committee.
Why a planning process?
The Teanaway Community Forest offers an incredible chance to develop year-round recreation opportunities for hiking and other recreation. In order to better define recreation in the forest, the state agencies (DNR and WDFW) that co-manage the forest, are analyzing a number of factors in partnership with the Advisory Committee, things like:
- Wildlife impacts and interactions
- Roads (open and closed)
- Current recreation in the area
- Community connections (Cle Elum, Roslyn)
- Recreation interest and needs
Future recreation on the forest must meet the legislated recreation goals of the forest—“to maintain and where possible expand recreational opportunities consistent with watershed protection, for activities such as hiking, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, camping, birding, and snowmobiling.”
Latest Updates
On April 12, DNR and WDFW hosted a community meeting to present the concepts, strategies, and tactics for the development of future recreation opportunities in the Teanaway. Community members showed support for several draft concepts supported by the WTA, including prioritizing trail connections to pre-existing trails and addressing parking concerns.
The advisory board met on May 10, and a state environmental policy act (SEPA) hearing is slated for sometime in July or August. Check out upcoming meetings dates and past meeting summaries.
Comments