Timber companies that want to harvest near potentially dangerous landslide areas will now have to conduct geologic reviews before getting a Washington logging permit from the state, officials said Friday.
Under the new standards announced by Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark, the state will require a geotechnical report when there’s a potential risk to public safety — even if the harvest area itself doesn’t include unstable territory. “This added scrutiny provides more information to help properly identify potential hazards and avoid impacts,” Goldmark said in a statement.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which Goldmark has led since 2009, approved logging in 2004 above the hill near Oso that collapsed in March.
The Seattle Times reported in the wake of the mudslide that state officials had been relying on an outdated map to determine where loggers could harvest trees above the slide hill. A clear-cut can increase groundwater flows and destabilize landslide-prone slopes. Had state officials utilized a newer map at the landslide hill, regulators likely would have restricted most of the 7.5 acres that were clear-cut in 2004.
The Times also reported that the harvest by logging company Grandy Lake appears to have strayed into the restricted boundaries the state was using at the time. Goldmark’s office said officials are still investigating the March landslide to determine if logging had any contributing role.
From The Yakima Herald: https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/yhr/sunday/2169045-8/logging-near-landslide-areas-to-face-more-reviews