Is there anything legally anyone can do to stop clearing of a forest?

Question

Next to our small community we are on 1-2 acre lots. It was cut years ago(10-20). Next to our area (on a hill), there is 37 acres of beautiful forest land that has deer and eagles, tons of birds, and a lot of (old Douglas fir/other)trees. Well the school district owned it, then they sold it to a realator, and now they are selling it, calling it "prime marketable timber". I know someone will buy it, and clear it.

THIS IS ON CAMANO ISLAND by the way, where forests like this one are getting really rare to find. I really appreciate your answer!!!!! I wish there could be no more cutting of forests, and if there is, very limited.

Answer 1

Because it is private property it is very tricky.  Theres not much that can be done if they follow all the rules.  Finding a species of plant, lichen, fungi, or animal that is federally listed as threatened or endangered is a good bet, but because it is not public property you would be trespassing when you look for it (and you have to know what you're looking for...hiring a consultant that knows what to look for wouldnt be feasible cause of the trespassing).  

The process of getting all the permits to cut the timber will take at least a year, so there is a lot of time to make sure they are following all of the rules.  

They are going to have to survey for endangered plants and animals, so you can make sure they follow the scientific protocols developed for the surveys and litigate if they dont.  If its old growth and you're in WA, there is a good chance there are marbled murrelets in the vacinity, so you can get people to volunteer to do surveys for them during nesting season (which is now).  Make sure you find someone who has been certified to survey for them to teach the volunteers.  

Getting the community involved from the beginning is ideal.  Do you have an active neighborhood council or Friends of Camano Island group?  Getting people familiar with the development process, the city code etc is essential.  Good luck, I'm involved with similar issues in OR.

Answer 2

The THREAT of litigation often scares developers. Camino is a beautiful place. Use zoning, code enforcement and city council meetings to your advantage. Report every violation no matter how minor to the proper authorities. ut up posters at local places like health food stores, historic sites, coffee shops, library. Call the chamber of commerce and talk about the loss of money because of the main attraction to the city  being lost.

Answer 3

This kind of elimination of Earths treasures is happening all over the world and the biggest culprits are the big governments ,

The only way is for an Environmentalist to buy it and secure it as a park ,

The only legal chance you got is if there is a species living there that is in danger of exstinction ,.And then there are laws to protect it .And you need lawyers to secure it.

Sadly enough most of the wildlife is heading in that direction

Of the earth's estimated 10 million species, 300,000 have vanished in the past 50 years. each years, 3,000 to 30,000 species become extinct.

A lot of human activity is speeding that up since we tend to overpower all the other species in one way or another.

The school district should have kept it and develloped it as an outdoor  biology classroom.

So few people have vision or even care ,as you say Nature is becoming less all the time and the bits we manage to preserve will only rise in importance and value ,to preserve animals as well as examples for future generations

Just too much bad news going around of this nature

Answer 4

Unless you can buy the property, JustLen is correct...find ANY protected species and call the local Environmental Protection Agency!!! Look up possible protected animals in your area...if npthing else suing the land owners to keep them protected will tie it up in court for a while.  Good luck.

Answer 5

I hope so we can protect our little forest. but how can we do it to protect from rich man? I think it no way.cause we are normal people.

Answer 6

buy the island, then you can do what you want. sorta, as long as you can pay taxes and as long as there is no one who is a friend of the governor who wants it and will use iminent domaine against you to just take it.. there is no such thing as private property.

Answer 7

maybe you can make the forest a protected habitat if there is an endangered / protected species in it ( you mentioned eagles..bald eagles?)