Drafter
Clerk 07/25/2002
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A MOTION acknowledging that the Evergreen Forest Trust's acquisition, management and use of certain forestland located within King County will help lessen the burdens of King County government.
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WHEREAS, the Evergreen Forest Trust, a Washington nonprofit corporation organized under chapter 24.03 RCW ("Evergreen"), has entered into an agreement to purchase approximately ninety-nine thousand four hundred fifteen acres of a large tract of forestland, known as the Snoqualmie forest, and the timber on another approximately five thousand acres of adjacent forestland (collectively, the "Snoqualmie forest"), and
WHEREAS, the Snoqualmie forest is located within King County ("county"), and
WHEREAS, the Snoqualmie forest has been managed as a working forest for nearly one hundred years, and
WHEREAS, the Snoqualmie forest is a substantial portion of a larger, contiguous piece of undeveloped forestland, which principally includes the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie forest and its Alpine Lakes wilderness area on the east, the state-owned Mt. Si natural resource conservation area on the south and the Markworth state forest on the west, and
WHEREAS, the Snoqualmie forest surrounds the city of Seattle Tolt watershed, which provides drinking water for the residents of the city of Seattle; and
WHEREAS, the Snoqualmie forest is located within the ranges of the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet, and contains habitat for numerous salmon species and other wildlife species afforded protection under state law and the Endangered Species Act, and
WHEREAS, the Snoqualmie forest contains extensive shoreline environments, including over eight thousand acres of riparian habitat and over one thousand one hundred acres of wetlands and lakes, and including major rivers such as the north fork of the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers, and
WHEREAS, portions of the Snoqualmie forest are visible from Interstate 90, Highways 202 and 203 and downtown Seatt...

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