The Education Campaign:
The newest additions to our education campaign on Facebook and Instagram are six shorts taken from the film
Lessons from Logging by the Center for Responsible Forestry about our local logger, Fred Hodge. Watch the whole eleven-minute film
here.
We’re gearing up for a legislative session where we hope to pass an ecosystem services bill that would give DNR the authority to launch a forest carbon pilot program, potentially protecting significant acreage from clearcut logging.
Fred Hodge has a remarkable history in Washington's timber industry and legislature. Our hope is that his story will resonate with our community and with key legislators we're working with and help demonstrate that there's a better path forward.
Fred Hodge has spent his entire career in Washington’s timber industry. Beginning as a forester with Scott Paper Company, he went on to manage one of Washington’s last old-growth lumber mills in Everett. Beyond his work in forestry and mill operations, Fred was an influential timber-industry advocate who helped reshape Washington’s timber taxation system in the 1970s. He championed reforms that shifted taxation from standing timber to timber harvested, reducing the financial pressure on landowners to prematurely harvest—or “liquidate”—their forests simply to meet tax obligations. These reforms helped create economic incentives for longer-term forest ownership and management.
We will use the remaining grant money to run the videos throughout Snohomish County until the end of October. Since the end of April, viewers have watched the entire videos more than 42,000 times, and more than 15,000 people have gone to our website where folks can add their name to our mailing list.
Advocacy:
In November, we will switch to advocacy with new 501(C)(4) funding and ask the community to take action on forest protection. We will help rally the public to contact our county and state governments to continue funding to preserve these forests. You will have an opportunity to contribute to this effort, but remember it will not be tax-deductible.
We’ll also support funding for Trust Land Transfers, Natural Climate Solutions, the Community Forest Program, and fire resilience.
We welcome folks interested in working on strategy to protect legacy forests in Snohomish County. Join us for an hour at the
link on the calendar on the second Tuesday of the month at 10:00 A.M.