Working to Make Communities Safer in the North Cascades

Published: September 04, 2009

By Andrea Imler

In the North Cascades of Washington state, you will find a little piece of Bavaria in the form of a small tourist town called Leavenworth. A town that once thrived on timber and rail reinvented itself as a Bavarian village in the early 1960s when it faced extinction due to the Great Northern Railway Company rerouting its tracks away from Leavenworth. With the absence of the rail system, sawmills shut down and Leavenworth's economy collapsed.

Using the surrounding alpine hills to its advantage, Leavenworth changed its motif to the Bavarian style that likens itself to the Alps in Europe. Priding itself on its convenient access to numerous recreational activities, Leavenworth has become a hub for those who enjoy the great outdoors.

As a community that has the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and the Alpine Lakes and Glacier Peak Wilderness as its neighbors, the town of Leavenworth and its residents have a close relationship with all aspects with our public lands - including wildfire.

In December of 2005, a group of concerned citizens and government officials adopted the Leavenworth Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which aims to "protect the lives and property of the community, and essential infrastructure from wildfire through outreach, strategic planning, and action." The Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition is working to implement that plan in the Chumstick watershed.

The Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition's mission is "to protect lives, property, and infrastructure in the Chumstick watershed from wildfire through a collaborative partnership utilizing outreach and strategic planning leading to actions on public and private lands that benefit people, wildlife, forest health, and the community."

The coalition pulled together a diverse group of people. It includes a county commissioner, fire district commissioner, local residents, landowners, and the U.S. Forest Service. The Wilderness Society is a member of the steering committee and plays an important role on the coalition as one of the two conservation organizations involved with the group.

"The coalition is invested in the restoration of the forest and the Chumstick watershed" said John Chelminiak, the North Cascades initiative director for the Wilderness Society. "We brought a diverse group together to help form the Forest Service plan for its fuels reduction projects and we are promoting treatments on private forest lands and near residences and structures."

The Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition made education and outreach one of its top priorities for 2009. The coalition is working with the more than 600 landowners in the Leavenworth area to educate them on wildfire safety and to encourage them to make their properties "firewise", including creating fire protection zones around their homes and buildings.

Field trips for residents and concerned citizens are also a regular part of the coalition's work. The trips include visits to Forest Service proposed wildfire protection treatment areas, as well as areas that have been treated in the past.

"In the coming months, we anticipate federal matching funds for treatment and restoration on private properties," Chelminiak said. "We look forward to continuing our work with the Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition to restore the natural landscape in one of the most beautiful communities in the North Cascades."