Dear Sky Valley Residents,

• SVENA stands for Skykomish Valley Environmental & Economic Alliance. Our mission is to protect an environmentally and economically sustainable future of the Skykomish River Valley. We are working towards a safer, cleaner, healthier and more beautiful  place to live, work and visit. You can find more information at our website svena.org.

• Please spread the word and share this info with your family, friends and neighbors:

February 22, 2017 is a date for the auction of Singletary Timber Sale that is adjacent to Wallace Falls State Park which brings 170,000 visitors year after year. Those visitors bring business to the Valley. Singletary Timber Sale has old growth forest and new hiking trails. It is the County’s land and currently managed by DNR (WA State Department of Natural Resources). If logged, it will be a gateway to about 1500-2000 acres of proposed future clearcut logging next to Wallace Falls State Park. If reconveyed, it can be a part of the Park. More info

Every business in the Skykomish River Valley benefits directly or indirectly from tourism and rescreation.

Please send an email to Dave Somers (Snohomish County Executive dave.somers@snoco.org), Sam Low (County Council Rep District 5 sam.low@snoco.org), and copy your message to the rest of County Council (brian.sullivan@snoco.org, stephanie.wright@snoco.org, terry.ryan@snoco.org, nate.neghring@snoco.org).

Thank them for their advocacy. Ask that BEFORE FEBRUARY 22, 2017 Snohomish County Council immediately send a letter to DNR (WA Department of Natural Resources) requesting DNR to postpone the auction of Singletary Timber Sale. Ultimately, the County will need to pass a Resolution requesting DNR to reconvey all or part of Singletary Timber Sale to the County.

Just in case, DNR February Timber Auction will take place February 22, 2017 10 am at the following location:

• As you might know, on February 7, 2017 WA State Board Of Natural Resources (BNR, bnr@dnr.wa.gov) voted 4 to 2 to REJECT Snohomish County’s request to put aside from Singletary Timber Sale about 25 acres of County’s land which include high-quality hiking trails that were recently built by Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and connected to the state park’s trail system. Singletary Timber Sale is adjacent to famous and popular Wallace Falls State Park (WFSP) which attracts annually 175 thousand tourists and contributors to the local economy.

Chris Reykdal (WA State Superintendent Of Public Instruction), Bill Peach (Counties’ rep), Ron Mittelhammer (WSU rep), and Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh, Ph.D. (UW rep) voted against Snohomish County’s request.

Hilary Franz (WA State Commissioner of Public Lands) and JT Austin (Designee for Governor Jay Inslee) supported County’s request.

Singletary Timber Sale is Snohomish County’s lands and Snohomish County was asking DNR to reduce the County’s proceeds. This timber sale is scheduled for auctioning on February 22, 2017 and will open up about 1,500 to 2,000 other acres to timber harvest next to WFSP through the construction of roads and bridges for logging.

Please share your thoughts with BNR bnr@dnr.wa.gov, Snohomish County Council contact.council@snoco.org, spread the word so that more people know and understand industrial tree farming practices and activities in Sky Valley.

More info https://svena.org/current-projects/logging/.

“Popular hiking spots face clear-cutting”, KING 5 News 2-13-2017

Everett Herald article 2-7-2017  “State Board of Natural Resources rejects Wallace Falls timber deal” and PDF 2-7-2017

MAP OF TIMBER SALES NEXT TO WALLACE FALLS STATE PARK

PLANNED LOGGING NEXT TO WALLACE FALLS STATE PARK 2017-2020, part 1

PLANNED LOGGING NEXT TO WALLACE FALLS STATE PARK 2017-2020, part 2

• Wallace Falls State Park (WFSP) is a gem of the Skykomish River Valley and a popular hiking destination for over 170,000 national and international visitors annually. Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program can be a big help for WFSP. Everett Herald published an article on 1-29-2017 by the Herald Editorial Board “State grant program for parks deserves full funding”.

• Trail Planning Committee for Morning Star NRCA has been formed. Big thank you to the members of the committee for giving their time and energy to this project! First meeting of the committee is on February 16, 2017. Everybody is welcome to the meetings. For more info please see Morning Star Trails or contact David Way, Natural Areas Recreation Manager, DNR Northwest Region 360-333-5741 david.way@dnr.wa.gov .

• Senate Bill 5003, if passed, will allow economic concerns to override fish and wildlife needs on rivers and streams throughout the state.   Currently, most rivers and streams have a minimum instream flow that is set by law. Without human interference, rivers are not even reaching those minimum flows; their flows are lower.  Many kinds of developers and water users would like more water which would lower the instream flows. Even less water in rivers and streams will be very harmful to fish and other wildlife. If you care about Skykomish River and think this is a bad idea, an easy way to register your opposition to the bill is to go here:  https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill//5003 and fill out the form with your address, name, email.   Enter an optional comment. Click on the button that says “Oppose”. Scroll down and click on the “Sent Comment” button. Pass this info along to others and ask them to do the same.  

• Every year tree farming companies aerially spray herbicides similar to Roundup on tree farms in Skykomish Valley and beyond to control unwanted vegetation. This toxic sprays take place after clearcutting, in spring and fall time. They can cause toxic air and water drift and potentially contaminate drinking-water sources. You can find more information at our website Chemical Spraying page. There are Washington State laws against pollution of drinking-water sources:

Chapter 35.88 RCW “Water Pollution—Protection From”

RCW 70.54.010 “Polluting Water Supply – Penalty”

Fact Sheet, Some of Most Probable Active Ingredients vs. Human Health Effects (September-October 2016, Skykomish River Valley, herbicide sprays)

What to do before, during and after toxic aerial spraying

If you have concerns about toxic aerial sprays, and/or suspect toxic water/air drift please contact:

Contact List for Press and Elected

> Snohomish County Council contact.council@snoco.org;  
> Sam Low, Snohomish County Council, 5th District sam.low@snoco.org;
> John Koster, Rep., 39 Legislative District  john.koster@leg.wa.gov;
> Dan Kristiansen, Rep., 39 Legislative District dan.kristiansen@leg.wa.gov;
> EPA Region 10  epa-seattle@epa.gov (Environmental Protection Agency – EPA approves chemicals for use after manufacturing companies such as Dow AgroSciences or Monsanto prove that they are safe and good for your health and environment. Fun facts: Dow and DuPond are having a merger with a total for both of about $83 billion! As did Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek last year with a total for both about $23 billion! 83+23=$106 billion);
> Neil Lanning, WA Dep. of Ag. nlanning@agr.wa.gov 360-688-0103, (WA Dep. of Ag. approves chemicals for use in WA State);
> Jennifer Sievert, WA Dep. of Health jennifer.sievert@doh.wa.gov 360-236-3338 (counts casualties and makes recommendations);
> Senator Kirk Pearson, 39 Leg. District, Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Parks Committee kirk.pearson@leg.wa.gov (this committee oversees WA State Department of Natural Resources – DNR);
> Senate Natural Resources and Parks Committee: kirk.pearson@leg.wa.gov, brad.howkins@leg.wa.gov, kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov, phil.fortunato@leg.wa.gov, john.mccoy@leg.wa.gov (this committee oversees WA State Department of Natural Resources – DNR);
> WA State Board of Natural Resources (BNR) bnr@dnr.wa.gov (decides big topics and issues for WA State Department of Natural Resources – DNR);
> Hilary Franz, WA State Commissioner of Public Lands cpl@dnr.wa.gov (head of WA State Department of Natural Resources – DNR);
> DNR Northwest Region northwest.region@dnr.wa.gov (gives permits to tree farmers for toxic spraying);
> Forest Practices Board (FPB) forest.practicesboard@dnr.wa.gov (oversees tree farming practicies including spraying);
> Snohomish County Health District & Board of Health admin@snohd.org 425.339.5200;
> WA State Board of Health wsboh@sboh.wa.gov;
> Kelly Dougherty, forester for Weyerhaeuser kelly.dougherty@weyerhaeuser.com,
Tim La Fountaine, lead forester for Columbia Timberlands, Weyerhaeuser tim.lafountaine@weyerhaeuser.com,
Wes Worden,  Harvest Manager for Columbia Timberlands, Weyerhaeuser wes.worden@weyerhaeuser.com ;
> Mark Baugh, forester for Global Cambell mbaugh@campbellglobal.com .

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• For those of you who might like a less toxic approach for dealing with weeds around your homes, we offer this recipe for an alternative to toxic products such as Roundup. Here is a recipe for a vinegar-based homemade herbicide. It works well on foliage, but does not kill all the roots, so things will re-sprout, but they often do, even when sprayed with toxic herbicides.

Homemade weed killer:

1 gallon of Vinegar

1 cup Epsom salts

1/4 cup Dawn liquid dish soap (the glycerin in the Dawn brand makes it work well. Other brands could work, too).

Mix above ingredients in a spray bottle. Spray weeds thoroughly.The Dawn dish soap strips the weed of its protective oils and helps the product stick to the plant, so the vinegar can work with deadly force. Safe for use in yards used by children and pets!! Be careful where you apply it, as it will kill non-targeted plants, as well. It works best, if applied on a warm, dry day.

Flame-weeding is another way to kill weeds. It is often done with a propane-powered torch that is made for that purpose. It works best in areas removed from flammable materials (such as sidewalk or driveway cracks, gravel walkways, etc). Use torching or flame-weeding with caution in dry season and around any flammable materials.

• Please take a couple of minutes and check the latest FPAs for Sky Valley (Forest Practice Applications) and more  info for FPAs. Please become a watchdog of your neighborhood for logging and toxic chemical spraying that can affect your and your family’s health, safety, and value of your property and business. More info is in three simple steps for becoming an FPA reviewer.

• We believe that SVENA is working on bringing a substantial value and benefits to the Valley. Please support our efforts and visit SVENA website, become a sponsor or a member, join our Facebook Group, or simply click on a “Like” button on our Facebook page. Please spread the word, let us know if you have questions / economic, public health or environmental concerns / interesting facts or photos, if you would like to add someone to the mailing list or to opt out of receiving SVENA updates.

Warm regards,

Inessa Pearce
President
SVENA (Skykomish Valley Environmental & Economic Alliance)
svena.org