More than 7,500 donors helped the Elwha Legacy Forests Coalition raise $563,000 to keep 29 of 74 acres in Washington’s Doc Holliday timber sale from being logged. Buyer Webster Logging gave up harvest rights to the protected land.
The coalition agreed to cover the timber’s value, logging costs and state fees under its deal with Webster, which had bought the sale from the state Department of Natural Resources. It raised $32,000 in May to protect 2 acres near Sadie Creek Campground, then $260,000 in August for 13 more. After Webster extended the deadline, the coalition raised enough by mid-September for the final 14 acres. Two gifts helped close the funding gap: $75,000 from the Patagonia-linked Holdfast Collective and $72,000 from an anonymous donor.
The deal does not involve the Department of Natural Resources, and forest elsewhere in the sale area could still be sold. The department and Legislature can designate land as natural areas, while lawmakers could replace county revenue that would otherwise come from timber sales. Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said conservation leases could offer another route to keep forests standing; a department spokesperson said in September that idea remained under review.
