Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition

The Lands Council has been involved with The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition (NEWFC) since it's formation in 2002. The Coalition has brought mill owners, loggers, private landowners, the environmental community, local government, educators, and citizens at large to the same table with the Forest Service and Washington Department of Natural Resources in order to work with one another in collaboration on issues within the Colville National Forest.

NEWFC's Mission: To demonstrate the full potential of restoration forestry to enhance forest health, public safety, and community economic vitality.

Wildfire Planning

• Working to identify and establish defensible space through thinning around homes built near forested areas.
  

• Completed the Chewelah Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CCWPP), which was developed collaboratively by local citizens, state agencies, and federal agencies and focuses on areas within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). The CCWPP addresses the main components of wildfire and separates the approximate 150,000-acre project area into twelve separate strategic planning areas (SPAs) with individual prescriptions and recommendations.
  
  
• Created a Community Wildfire Protection Plan for the Lower Kettle River area, and is currently creating a countywide community wildfire protection plan for Stevens County.
  

Forest Plan Revision Process

• NEWFC were co-conveners for the Colville National Forest Plan Revision Process, and will continue to engage in this process via the recreation planning stage of this process.

Please visit the NEWFC website at http://www.newcommunityforestry.org/.