A log protrudes out of the frozen Meta Lake last December in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Randle.
The state Department of Natural Resources announced last week it had awarded $1.6 million in funding to nine “forest collaboratives” across Washington to help reduce the risk of wildfires — including two groups working in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
The Pinchot Partners were awarded $40,000 from the Building Forest Partnerships Grant Program funding and the South Gifford Pinchot Collaborative Group was awarded $353,376 from the All Lands Forest Restoration Grant Program and $40,000 in Building Forest Partnerships Grant Program.
DNR awarded a total of $1.25 million under its All Lands Forest Restoration Grant Program for forest health treatments including tree thinning. The Building Forest Partnerships Grant Program is intended to fund outreach activities including public meetings, field trips and website development.
“I am proud to support the forest collaboratives in Washington state that are working alongside us to make forests healthier and naturally resilient to devastating wildfires,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, who leads DNR. “These local organizations, as well as our federal, tribal and industry partners, are instrumental in our all-lands forest health strategy, which allows us to work together across property lines and restore forests on a landscape scale.”
Both programs were established by the state Legislature in 2018. Forest collaboratives — made up of conservation groups, state and federal agencies, tribes, timber workers and community members working to improve forest health — are eligible for the funding.
