House Appropriations Subcommittee Visits Olympic Forest Collaborative

Rep. Derek Kilmer hosted a delegation of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies to an Olympic Forest Collaborative Stewardship Project during the August recess. Committee Chair Betty McCollum and Ranking Member Rep. David Joyce joined Rep. Kilmer and the Collaborative at the H to Z sale and learned about Collaborative efforts to restore forests and generate economic gains for local communities. The Collaborative also held public meetings on its progress in Forks, Aberdeen and Port Angeles.

OFCO is working with Collaborative members and partners on a monitoring and evaluation project that will document the restoration results of the Collaborative, funded in part by Washington legislative appropriations to the Department of Natural Resources. The grant helps to fund permanent monitoring plots and drone photography of how the forest is responding to treatment. OFCO Board Member Jill Silver (Exec. Director, 10,000 Years Institute) leads the monitoring and evaluation team.

(L to R) Rep. Derek Kilmer, Matt Comisky (American Forest Resources Council and Collaborative Co-chair), Chair Betty McCollum, Ranking Member David Joyce, OFCO Board Chair Connie Gallant.