CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the management of the South Fork Tolt River Municipal Watershed; authorizing ecological forest thinning projects in accordance with the South Fork Tolt River Watershed Management Plan in Sections 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, and 35, Township 26 North, Range 9 East, W.M.; declaring the logs resulting from said projects to be surplus to the City's needs; authorizing the sale of such logs pursuant to applicable City contracting and surplus property sale procedures; and directing use of the proceeds therefrom to fund Plan implementation.
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WHEREAS, the South Fork Tolt River Watershed has been an essential source of water supply for the City of Seattle supply system for over 40 years since completion of the Tolt Dam and Reservoir; and
WHEREAS, in 2011 Seattle Public Utilities approved the South Fork Tolt Watershed Management Plan (Plan) which reaffirms the importance of stewardship of the Tolt Watershed water supply and provides policy direction in seven resource areas, including watershed protection, forest resources, aquatic resources, fish and wildlife, invasive plant species, cultural resources, and transportation; and
WHEREAS, the City-owned portion of the South Fork Tolt Watershed supports dense second-growth forest, the condition of which would be greatly improved with active restoration management, with the exception of 400 acres that are old-growth forest and will be protected from further management activity; and
WHEREAS, the City's forest management objectives, as described in the Plan, are to promote the development of old-growth forest conditions, improve habitat for wildlife and fish, increase resilience to disturbance, improve future timber value, and maintain water quality; and
WHEREAS, ecological thinning results in marketable timber that can be sold as surplus property under applicable City contracting procedures, to ...
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