INDEX – People in this former timber town are trying to raise $1.3 million to save a mountain ridge from logging.
“Scenic qualities are extremely important to the town,” said Louise Lindgren, who has lived in Index for 31 years. “They are extremely important to the economic vitality of the town.”
When W.B. Foresters in Stanwood announced a plan to log 95 acres of Heybrook Ridge off U.S. 2 in the Skykomish Valley in late 2006, people in the town of 150 complained. The logging would ruin the area’s scenic view and lower their property values, they said.
Earlier this year the logging company had made an offer to sell the ridge and additional acres that ensures access from Index to the ridge for $1.3 million. The money needs to be raised by June 8, 2008, or the area will be logged.
A nonprofit group called Friends of Heybrook Ridge has been formed. The group has raised about $8,000 so far. It plans to team up with recreational groups, local businesses and environmental organizations such as Cascade Land Conservancy, said Lindgren, the group’s president.
Alders in Heybrook Ridge are mature and need to be harvested before the trees die off, said Debbie Buse, the logging company’s business manager. The company has a permit from the state to log the area by November 2008, but it’s willing to sell the land to Friends of Heybrook Ridge, Buse said.
“They are working very hard,” Buse said. “I hope they will make it happen.”
The ridge on a steep slope is difficult to manage, Buse added. Selling it to people in Index could allow the company to buy another timberland easier to manage.
Index was incorporated in 1907 and thrived on logging and mining. Heybrook Ridge was logged nearly a century ago, Lindgren said.
As trees have grown on the ridge, logging has declined. Now people come to Index for hiking, rafting or just enjoying its scenic landscape, Lindgren said. The ridge should be preserved to promote tourism and educate people about an ecosystem.
“It will help revitalize our town and improve our economy,” she said.
The fundraising effort also hinges on outsiders, said Lindgren, who was born and raised in Seattle. In July, her group plans to speak about the issue at a REI store in Seattle.
“We know a lot of people who care about mountains live in that town. And they come to REI,” Lindgren said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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