2025
In March 2025, the Board approved a contract with Waxwing Tree Specialists, LLC, to help us develop a 1, 3, 5, 10-year plan for managing our forests. This plan includes:
- Level 1 risk assessment to identify hazard trees.
- Invasive species removal priorities.
- Priority planting areas with specific species and location recommendations.
- Forest health/disease issues and appropriate methods for control.
- Assessment of tree spacing and necessary removals due to decline, low live crown ratio, or poor structure caused by severe competition.
- Field tagging and mapping of declining trees.
2023-2024
In 2023 and 2024, we enlisted some foresters from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Thurston Conservation District (TCD) to help us assess the health of our greenbelt forests.
In March 2024, we invited a Stewardship Forester, Alex Chacon, from the Thurston Conservation District (TCD), to walk through some of our greenbelts and give us feedback on how we’re doing. We also hosted a couple more walk-throughs with others from the Lacey Fire District #3, the TCD, and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The good news is it doesn’t appear that we have the pest or fungal concerns that can damage and kill a healthy forest and our greenbelts seem to be healthy for their age. That’s great news!
In the course of these site visits, we learned about the Firewise USA® program. We subsequently invited Jesse Duval, the Community Wildfire Resilience Coordinate at DNR to present the program to the membership at the May 2024 meeting. As a result, WPOA is now a member of the Firewise USA® program. Stay tuned for more information as we build out our education, outreach, and volunteer opportunities to help keep our community safe from fires.
Wilderness Property Owners' Association 