The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has awarded two local organizations about $239,000 in an effort to reduce fuel on public and private land.
Chelan County Natural Resources Director Mike Kaputa said DNR is identifying high-priority watersheds like the ones managed by the Stemilt Partnership. Stemilt Partnership was awarded two grants totaling $114,118.
Said Kaputa, “The Stemilt Partnership is a community group who helps manage activities down in the Squilchuck and Stemilt basins. The larger grant is for some forest health treatment. We’ll be doing some prescribed burning, pre-commercial and commercial thinning of the forest.”
The Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition in Leavenworth faces unique problems. Some timber is too remote for private loggers while about half the land is in the apple maggot quarantine.