This is the second GoFundMe for Doc Holliday- the name the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) gave to a parcel of quiet, fern-filled, moss-strewn, biodiverse, complex legacy forest which is located on the Olympic Peninsula near Joyce, WA. This temperate rainforest is a joy for hikers to explore and where, from time immemorial, Tribal members have gone to gather traditional foods and medicines.
Large spruce trees in Doc Holliday Unit 6.
All photos © Scott F McGee - https://forest2sea.com
For two years, the Elwha Legacy Forests Coalition (ELF) worked with Webster Logging to find a way to preserve Doc Holliday. Plans were turned down because “they hadn’t been done before.” In spite of strong public demand to save Doc Holliday (petitions, letters, phone calls, testimony at DNR, protests) Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove continues to take a hard line about not reconsidering sales that took place before he took office.
We Need to raise $280,000 by July 31!
It’s a lot, but there are many of us and if everyone gives, even a little, we can reach our goal.
PLEASE STEP UP… there is no amount too big or too small.
The success of the GFM for Unit 1 ($32K in four days) sent a message to the DNR that “we the people” know:
- Our well-being is directly tied to the environmental health of our mature legacy forests.
- We have a moral obligation to respect the well-being of the environment for ourselves and our future generations.
- We need to find a way to fund community projects that do not rely on destroying our mature legacy forest systems.
Let the DNR and Dave Upthegrove know that “we the people” are in earnest and know that complex legacy forest systems are worth more left standing than being turned into wood products--for ourselves and for our future generations.
We need a DNR that is accountable for its mistakes and that has the courage to put them right—no matter when they were made. (That is how progress is made!)
We need a DNR that understands the existing science of how forests work and is willing to partner with citizen scientists who bring them current data from the field.
We need a DNR that chooses to harvest the right kind of forest, not just anything to satisfy the production quotas of the timber industry.
We need Dave Upthegrove to step up and be that “out-of-the box problem solver” he promised when he was running for office. These “off-the-charts times” are demanding that!
Why is it important for Legacy Forests to be our Legacy?
Did you know…
- It takes 75-100 years for a naturally regenerated, young forest, to develop into a complex mature legacy forest system that can charge the atmosphere with oxygen, provide wildfire resistance, prevent flooding and landslides, and protect biodiversity.
- Logging and then replanting a young plantation forest actually adds carbon into the atmosphere; they are more prone to both wildfire and flooding, and are generally monocultures.
- When we choose to clear-cut these vital working complex forest systems and replace them with tree plantations in order to raise money for community programs, all the benefits of complex mature forests disappear, and both the forests and the community ultimately suffer a loss.
- Trading environmental health for board feet by clearcutting legacy forest systems is not logical—especially in this time of rising temperatures, increasing atmospheric rivers and landslides, and dying glaciers.
What is the cultural significance of Doc Holliday?
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal citizen Anthony Fernandes, founder of the non-profit Hiyitixw, has shared:
“What is now called Sadie Creek served significant purpose to the families and Peoples of the House of kwa?šánəm. Families from cíxəŋwould also gather foods, medicines, and ceremonial items up and down the waterway… Sadie Creek or Doc Holiday is such an important cultural space for us historically and contemporarily that it feels and appears as if this sale is just a purposeful continuation of colonization and genocide. There are medicines that can heal many of the ailments that we are faced with physically and mentally.”
GoFundMe for Doc Holliday Unit 1- ELF and Webster Logging stepped “out of the box.”
Last spring, ELF set up a GoFundMe for Doc Holliday Unit 1. Thanks to the passion of caring people, the GoFundMe goal of $32Kwas reached in four days!
On May 1, a check for $32K was delivered to Webster Logging, who had entered into an agreement with Elwha Legacy Forests to NOT log two acres of mature forest adjacent to the Sadie Creek Campground.
The purpose of the check was to provide the value of the uncut trees, so that DNR would have compensating ‘revenue’ to disburse onward in support of local taxing districts to fund schools, clinics, libraries, firehouses, and other beneficiary programs in Clallam County, in addition to replacing the lost profits from the logging company.
The fiduciary obligations having been met, Doc Holliday Unit 1 was taken off the chopping block! Sadly, Doc Holliday Unit 5 is currently being clear-cut, and Units 4 & 6 are due to be clear-cut this August if we don’t DO SOMETHING about it.
Where will the money from the GoFundMe money go and what will it do?
The money will go to the logging company to prevent the imminent clearcutting of Units 4 and 6. We will then continue to work to get the DNR to protect these forests into the future.
*If we do not receive all of the funds that are needed to buy out the logging company contract and reimburse the DNR for the logging permit, we will return all of the donations to the donors.*
Unit 5 of the Doc Holliday sale is currently being clear-cut, a devastating loss for the environment and community members who value the forest for its beauty and cultural significance. The hope is that by raising the money to rescue Doc Holliday Units 4 & 6 from being clear cut in August, time can be bought to come up with a more constructive solution than wiping out a classic lowland forest, much cherished by the community and the creatures that live there.
More on the Future of this Forest
The challenge has been that DNR does not yet have an official mechanism to take forests out of timber harvest rotation once the timber value has been paid with private dollars. We believe the resale of these forests for logging is unlikely, but theoretically possible until an official mechanism is in place to take them out of rotation. The good news is that we understand that DNR is actively working on creating that official mechanism. In summary, funds will definitely stop the imminent clearcut and protect the forests in the near term. The expectation is that this will buy time while other mechanisms securing long term protections with private investments become available.
There is still some risk that we won’t be able to save these forests forever, but we have to keep that possibility open while the trees are still standing. When a legacy forest is clear-cut, letting it naturally regrow takes 75-100 years for the forest to heal and return to its natural, complex, and life-sustaining state. However, DNR usually 'treats' the clear-cut with herbicide (including glyphosate) and then replants it as a tree plantation, where it will never return to a natural state. In more than one way, for the legacy forests of Washington State, including Doc Holliday- Time is of the essence!
The moment to act is now!
Let's give our best effort to save these magnificent forests!
Learn more:
- Watch the 8-minute Voices of Sadie Creek video by award-winning filmmaker John Gussman of Doubleclick Productions
- Hundreds of Tribal citizens and allies sent Washington Commissioner of Public Lands, Dave Upthegrove, a letter asking that he protect this forest: “The forest is a sacred source of life, which stores knowledge and tradition passed down through generations. We are reminded of how Sadie Creek provided our people with their first canoe, a testament to the enduring bond between the forest and the S’Klallam peoples way of life.” Read the full letter HERE.
- Read the Seattle Times story by reporter Lynda Mapes, who visited “Unit 5” of the Doc Holliday forest with elders to document their opposition.
- Unit 5 of the Doc Holliday timber sale is currently being logged- against much opposition from local groups and community members. See stunning photos from a community hike and take action HERE.
- Read the opinion piece by Bill Bryant, former Republican Governor Candidate, titled "This Puget Sound forest should be saved. There are better ways to log."