Last year was the worst. In 2020, over 800,000 acres burned. Communities on both sides of the Cascades were threatened by fire and choked by unhealthy smoke. Flames destroyed hundreds of homes, digested the town of Malden near Spokane, and killed a 1-year-old boy whose family was fleeing the fire.
This isn’t the future I want. I can’t imagine it is the future anyone in Washington wants, which is why it’s crucial that the 2022 Legislature guarantee ample, dedicated, 20-year forest management funding. Failing to definitively fund long-term forest management could jeopardize all that depend upon our forests, including us.
We need healthy watersheds, and we will not have them
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