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The City of Montesano is home to one of the Northwest's
outstanding examples of a small, municipally-owned watershed. In 1931
the city purchased 5,493 acres of cut-over timberland from Neil Cooney
of nearby Cosmopolis for $12,000, to provide a source of water for the
city and for future timber investment revenues. Although the
entire area had been logged-over to the railroad between 1902 and 1912,
the logged-off land was covered in thick young stands of fir and
hemlock.
In 1936, after much work and effort sponsored by the Montesano Active
Club and other organizations and individuals, Lake Sylvia State Park was
created around thirty-acre Sylvia Lake. Fifty acres of the park
were deeded from Puget sound Power and Light Company, while another
twelve acres were purchased by the Montesano Active Club from Silas
Wilder. The rest of the 172 acres for the park were dedicated from
the city watershed purchase.
The first comprehensive forest plan was developed in 1947 with this
goal:
"The starting and continuation of a plan of sustained yield
management that will assure a perpetual income for the City of Montesano
for 80 years or more after this body of Councilmen are gone and
forgotten."
In May, 1967, the City Council sold three
isolated land parcels totaling 375 acres to Weyerhaeuser for $103,700.
This sale left the city 4,946 acres of clocked-up timberland from
the original 5,493-acre purchase, exclusive of Lake Sylvia State
Park.
The city drilled wells for the city water supply in 1973, and designated
the forest land to be managed primarily for sustained timber production.
A full-time forester was hired to provide consistent, professional
management of the forest. Bud Wild was the city's first forester and
managed the forest from 1976 to 1987. Ron Schillinger managed
the forest from 1987 to 2007. Loren Hiner started managing the
city forest in 2007.
The city's ability to increase harvest during
high markets and back off during low markets has yielded an outstanding
financial return. Over the last 25 years, the forest has
netted over $24 million back to the city.
The goal of the
City of Montesano's managed forest since 1973 has been to optimize returns.
In terms of future tree growth, the city has been managing to increase
the average yields to 50 mbf per acre.
This represents more than a 33% increase from the natural unmanaged
stands that seeded in following the old-growth logging. In 1995,
forester Ron Schillinger completed a Comprehensive Forest Management
Plan which suggested a flexible rotation age from 50 to 75 years (averaging
65 years) be used.
This page last updated on
04/24/2008
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