Activists, others rally in Bellingham to send a message: Protect our mature-growth forests
Not all mature forests in Washington State are protected, but there is a movement afoot to change that.
Environmental groups RE Sources and The Center for Responsible Forestry in Bellingham held a rally this week to show their support for protecting mature forests.
Mature, or legacy, forests refers to sections of forest that are technically too young to be protected. Old growth forests are protected by the state and contain trees that have not been logged, allowing some to grow 100 years or longer, while mature forest have been logged sometime before 1945, then allowed to grow back naturally.
“The science is clear that mature, structurally complex forests help build resilience [and] they help buffer nearby ecosystems and communities from the impacts of climate change. Forests are a natural solution to combating climate change,” Kaylee Galloway, Whatcom County Council member said at the rally.
More than 100 people attended the rally Tuesday evening at the Maritime Heritage Park Amphitheater. The goal was to spread the message that these mature forests need to be protected, and will eventually turn into old growth forests if given the chance.
Forests aid in the fight against climate change by taking carbon out of the air and storing it. This carbon can be released and sent back into the atmosphere when forests are logged. Healthy forests can also absorb rainwater and reduce flood intensity, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Trees also release moisture and can cool the area around them, leading to less heat waves, according to researchers at MIT.
“The science is clear that mature, structurally complex forests help build resilience, they help buffer nearby ecosystems and communities from the impacts of climate change,” Galloway said.
Other speakers included Alex Harris with RE Sources; Carly Lloyd with the Center for Responsible Forestry; Snohomish Count Council member Megan Dunn; environmental attorney Peter Goldman; Muckleshoot tribal elder Jeffery Thomas, and Jewell James, a Lummi Nation totem pole carver.
“This global warming is true, people are hurting, people are burning. Look at Hawaii, they couldn’t outrun the fire. They couldn’t run 80 miles per hour, can we? The fire is coming, in your lifetime it’s gonna be here,” James said.
The rally was held at the same time board members of the state Department of Natural Resources were on tour in Bellingham. The board manages the Department of Natural Resources, and decides when and what sections of forest to sell off for timber cutting. DNR owns over two million acres of forest in Washington State.
No Natural Resources board members attended the rally though they were invited, Harris said.
“These are actually amazing and really good people,” Harris said. “These are bad systems, and that is what we are here to change.”
The profits made from logging in the state is used to fund education, although many at the rally believed there are better ways to find this funding.
“People come to our region to hike and bike and experience Whatcom County and the forests. How lucky are we to get to live in this amazing place? It is a place we have to fight to protect,” Galloway said.
