OLYMPIA — Permitting was properly done for a 2005 timber harvest on land adjoining the deadly March landslide near Oso, a state investigation has found.
But the actual logging exceeded the approved size by an acre, and state officials cannot determine if the operation complied with a requirement to avoid cutting in a sensitive area of the watershed where the deadly slide began.
The eight-month investigation by the state Department of Natural Resources resulted in a 59-page report released Tuesday. The purpose was to determine whether regulations were followed, but the review was widely seen as an opportunity to learn of a possible link between the cutting and the mudslide.
Aaron Everett, the state forester who oversaw the investigation, said the report represents “our best understanding about decisions made by DNR in implementing regulatory protections,” he said. “We will evaluate these results as part of our ongoing internal efforts and leadership at the state’s Forest Practices Board on unstable slope protection.”
The Oso landslide struck at 10:37 a.m. on March 22, a Saturday. Within a few violent minutes, it spread debris over a square mile, claiming 43 lives. The massive flow destroyed about 40 homes and part of state Highway 530.
Within days, anti-logging interests insinuated that the earlier clearcut atop what was known as Hazel Hill played a part. Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark responded by ordering a review of the permitting process.
The review entailed interviews with former employees, timber company representatives, environmentalists, scientists and tribal members who were involved in permitting for that cut and others in the area. More than 10,000 pages of documents also were reviewed.
The area north of the slide was heavily harvested by the land’s previous owner, Summit Timber, in the late 1980s. In 2004, the current owner, Grandy Lake Forest Associates, obtained a state permit to clear-cut 7.5 acres.
The DNR study released Tuesday states that the triangular-shaped harvest on the headscarp was actually 8.5 acres, possibly because of uncertainty about the permit’s boundaries.
“While the record is unclear about when, how and by whom the (harvest boundary) line was installed, it was known that three people” familiar with a watershed analysis “… completed a site visit to review groundwater recharge area issues,” the report says. “Based on the information available, the compliance status of the harvest boundary flag line’s location is inconclusive.”
Peter Goldman, director and managing attorney of the Washington Forest Law Center, was among those who publicly wondered about a relationship between timber harvests and the landslide.
He and other environmentalists have pressed DNR to ban logging on or near unstable slopes until more is known about timber harvests and instability.
The state recently agreed to require additional study when logging is planned in and near groundwater recharge areas in landslide-prone areas, such as the hill above Steelhead Haven, the neighborhood that was wiped out by the Oso mudslide. Environmentalists have contended that deforestation leads to greater saturation of soil and a higher risk of catastrophic landslides.
On Tuesday, Goldman didn’t criticize the report for avoiding the question of causation because he understood that wasn’t the purpose.
However, he did call the report “deceptive” and “misleading.” He said it understates mistakes made by DNR and the timber company.
For example, he said, in addition to over-logging by an acre, DNR and Grandy relied on a 1988 map for boundaries of the groundwater recharge area that was to be avoided, rather than a 1997 map cited in a watershed analysis.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Washington Forest Protection Association called the report “thorough” and said it reveals the extent of scientific analysis that occurred before the permit was issued.
“Our system is working and this is a display of it,” said Cindy Mitchell, senior director of public affairs for the association, whose members are timber companies and forest-product manufacturers.
The report is online at www.dnr.wa.gov.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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