Contact: Darcy Cheesman
Legislative Aide
425-388-3494
Darcy.Cheesman@snoco.org
Snohomish County Brokers Possible Compromise on Singletary Timber Sale
EVERETT, Snohomish County, February 1, 2017—Today, the Snohomish County Council and Snohomish County Executive unanimously adopted a Joint Resolution urging the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to defer a portion of an upcoming Singletary timber sale in the Skykomish Valley.
“This accomplishment is due to the work of concerned citizens, the council and the executive’s office, working together with DNR to find a solution for all the parties involved. This timber sale has been in the works since 2008 and with this proposal the people who use these trails and the junior taxing districts would all win,” said County Councilman Sam Low.
“When we can build strong partnerships across the region and state, the public benefits,” said Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. “This proposed compromise gives us a balanced solution to an important issue. We value our natural heritage and also the responsibilities of DNR to manage public lands.”
Councilmember Low and Parks Director Tom Teigen attended a meeting on Thursday, January 26, 2017 with concerned citizens regarding the proposed timber sale. Through these discussions, a possible solution was identified, namely to defer a portion of the timber sale to ease impacts on the community. When Councilmember Low confirmed that a compromise was possible, he drove to Olympia to meet with Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz to see if this was a viable option. Talks continued into this week, and the joint resolution was adopted to show support for the compromise.
“It is great to work in a county and state where as elected officials we can come together across the aisle to do what is right for Snohomish County. I am very impressed with Executive Somers and Commissioner Franz’s teams and how they worked with my office to find this solution,” said Councilmember Low.
The compromise option is scheduled to be presented to the Forestry Board on February 7, 2017 for a final decision.