A grassroots organization has successfully raised enough money to spare 29 acres of trees on state forestland in the Northern Olympic Peninsula from being cut down, employing a new conservation method that also replaces timber revenue.
The Elwha Legacy Forests Coalition struck a deal with Webster Logging, which purchased a timber sale west of Port Angeles from the state Department of Natural Resources. The company agreed to sign away its right to harvest some of the forests if the coalition raised enough money to cover state logging fees and replace the timber revenue it would have made.
In about a month, more than 7,500 people donated to the coalition’s GoFundMe campaign, bringing total fundraising efforts to $563,000. A $75,000 donation from the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit arm of the outdoor gear company Patagonia, and another $72,000 donation from an anonymous donor brought Elwha Legacy Forests to the finish line.
Trees in coastal temperate rainforest spared from the chopping block
Submitted 2 weeks ago by velma@sh.itjust.works to goodnewseveryone@piefed.social