Ready for some good news this week? Our Forest Fund had applied for state capital budget funds from the legislature back in November, and we just heard that we have cleared the first hurdle by getting approval from the Washington State House Capital Budget Committee for $748,000!

We are immensely grateful for Congressman Greg Nance sponsoring our request! And to the Chair of that committee, Rep. Steve Tharinger, Vice Chairs Rep. Lisa Callan and Rep. Lisa Parshley, and Ranking Member Rep. Mike Steele, who put in the time and effort to build consensus with their colleagues to approve it. It is clear that they share our understanding of the fundamental value of forest to the climate, the environment and the well-being of humans and wildlife in the Evergreen State.

Demonstrating the Power of the People’s Voice

And thanks to many of you who wrote in to our state representatives to communicate how important saving these trees in the Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park is to the community! Your voice was heard!

Now the proposed budget goes to the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Our request may get adopted as is, it may get reduced, or it could be eliminated altogether.  So we need your voice again. 

Please write to the following senators and tell them that you want them to “Please adopt the House position on the Port Gamble Forest Park Timber Purchase allocation”.  Tell them why these trees matter and why the park matters to you.

• Kitsap’s Senator: Drew.Hansen@leg.wa.gov
• Chair of Senate Ways & Means: June.Robinson@leg.wa.gov
• Vice Chair of Ways & Means, Capital: Yasmin.Trudeau@leg.wa.gov
• Ranking Member, Capital: Mark.Schoesler@leg.wa.gov
• Assistant Ranking Member, Capital: Perry.Dozier@leg.wa.gov

Remember, trees can’t speak for themselves, so WE MUST!  And fingers crossed that the Senate Ways and Means Committee shares your vision, because…

And Now for the Sad News…

We have just heard from the Kitsap County Parks forester that there are just 680 acres left to be saved. What had been 1200 acres remaining after the first tree campaign in 2022, had been reduced by clearcuts to 1000 acres available to save.  The latest map, at the bottom of this page, which accounts for yet more logging cross-referenced with current permits, leaves just 680 acres.

If we can get this capital allocation, we will have reached our $1 million target, and negotiations can begin to set the price for the timber rights to all the remaining trees. We hope to be able to negotiate a moratorium on logging in the park while rest of the funding is raised for the full cost.

Time Is of the Essence!

The longer it takes to raise the money, the fewer trees there will be left to save, as we can see from the numbers above. So it is also extremely important to ramp up donations. We have the spring local small business matching campaign on right now. If we can raise $7,550 by March 10, local businesses have pledged to match it. Any donations received from Feb 14 through March 10 will count towards the match and will be doubled. On top of that, any donations received from March 1-10 will also be eligible for boosting by the Kitsap Great Give!  And yes, we planned that fortuitous timing!

Yes, I want to save trees!

2025 vs 2026