The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has awarded nine organizations across Washington with a combined $1.8 million in new grant funding to help make forests in their communities healthier and more resilient to wildfires.

Through the All Lands Forest Restoration Grant Program, DNR awarded about $1.6 million to help these groups plan and conduct forest health treatments, such as the thinning of overly dense forests. Additionally, under the Building Forest Partnerships Grant Program, DNR awarded $207,000 to help the organizations reach potential partners and the public through outreach activities, such as public meetings, forest field trips, and website development.

In all, the funding will lead to the estimated treatment of more than 1,800 acres of unhealthy forest and support the planning to treat up to 120,400 more acres.

“Solving our state’s forest health crisis, which is a big contributor to our large wildfire seasons, will take an all-hands, all-lands approach to forest management,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, who leads DNR. “That’s why DNR has joined forces with federal, tribal, local and industry partners on forest health, and why I am thrilled to support similar collaborations across our state at the regional level.”

Both grant programs were established by the Washington Legislature in 2018, and Franz has requested $2 million in the 2019-21 biennium to make sure these programs continue.

The grant recipients are all forest collaboratives – a mix of conservation groups, state and federal agencies, tribes, timber workers, and other community members – who are joining forces across property boundaries to improve forest health while also supporting the rural timber economy. In Central and Eastern Washington, the collaboratives that received grant funding are working in high-priority watersheds identified in DNR’s 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan.

DNR awarded the grant funding as follows:

Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition, in Leavenworth: Awarded $100,000 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $25,000 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

Darrington Collaborative, in Northwest Washington: Awarded $99,328 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $25,000 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

North Central Washington Forest Health Collaborative: Awarded $124,270 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $25,000 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition: Awarded $400,000 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $25,000 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

Olympic Forest Collaborative, on the Olympic Peninsula: Awarded $70,580 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $25,000 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

Pinchot Partners, in Southwest Washington: Awarded $181,400 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $25,000 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

South Gifford Pinchot Collaborative Group, in Southwest Washington: Awarded $375,100 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $25,000 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

Stemilt Partnership, in Chelan County: Awarded $107,198 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $6,920 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

Tapash Sustainable Forest Collaborative, in South Central Washington: Awarded $150,765 in All Lands Forest Restoration funding and $25,000 in Building Forest Partnerships funding.

Read more about what some of the collaboratives plan to do with their new funding on DNR’s Ear to the Ground blog.

– DNR