A long time conservation activist is critical of the move to collaboration between the Washington timber industry, Forest Service, and environmental groups.

In recent Years, The NorthEast Washington Forestry Coalition has brought together parties that used to be on opposite sides in lawsuits involving timber sales. The alliance of timber companies, conservationists, business owners, and forestry professionals has touted itself as a way to improve forest health and preserve jobs, by coming together and finding agreement on project goals, avoiding the gridlock of court cases.

One member of the conservation community believes the coalition has been a cop out by those who should be worried about increased logging and associated environmental damage. Barry Rosenburg is the former executive director of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, and former forest watch director for the Lands Council. He is critical of the collaborative efforts, and more specifically of a proposed recent timber sale, the A to Z sale, in the Colville National Forest.

Rosenburg says this latest proposal marked a dramatic change for the way the coalition works, by allowing a local timber company to hire a consultant to do the required environmental analysis, and design the size and scope of the project, all with with the blessing of local conservation groups.

“And I was shocked to find out they supported giving these broad and sweeping powers to the timber industry to conduct timber sales. It’s more than the environmental assessment. It’s actually determining how much is going to be cut and where and so on. It’s actually privatization of our National Forests.”

From Spokane Public Radio: https://spokanepublicradio.org/post/forestry-collaboration-draws-criticism