By Teresa Herriman, The Courier-Herald
Rumors that Washington State University is planning to divest itself of the Demonstration Forest that fronts state Route 410 in Bonney Lake are untrue, according to Mel Taylor, director of special projects and external relations with the office of business of affairs at WSU.
"We haven't made any deals that I am aware of," said Taylor, who runs the real estate office at the university.
He said the university has been conducting evaluations of all properties and programs and a recent visit to the Demonstration Forest by Taylor - combined with plans to sell a 40-acre parcel at the Puyallup Research and Extension Center owned by WSU - may be at the heart of rumors regarding the Bonney Lake stand. The Demonstration Forest is bordered by state Route 410 on the north, 214th Street on the east and South Prairie Road; much of the property sits behind commercial developments along the highway.
Since the first of the year, the rumor of a pending sale by WSU has raised concerns that the community will lose a valued green space. A resolution was passed by members of the Bonney Lake City Council to contact the university and Mayor Bob Young wrote a letter of support for the Demonstration Forest last July. University President V. Lane Rawlins responded, acknowledging the city's concern and reiterating the university’s position that the recent evaluation of the forest is part of process to maintain good stewardship of the school's property.
The Demonstration Forest was donated to Washington State University in 1942 by the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company with the stipulation that the150-acre forest would be used as a living classroom for youth-oriented education programs. If the university no longer wishes to use the land for youth-educational purposes, the property will revert back to Weyerhaeuser ownership.
Managed by the WSU Cooperative Extension program as part of the university’s land-grant and research mission, the site has four areas of use: a Challenge Program, environmental education programs, state 4-H activities and local community recreation. Additionally, the forest exists to improve local aesthetics and promote and improve wildlife habitat. Youths and landowners use the forest as a resource to learn about forest management techniques using second-growth Douglas fir and western red cedar stands, bio-swells, wetlands and other ecosystems.
According to Brian Brandt, program director for the Demonstration Forest, the last remaining stand of forest in the area is also the most valuable piece of undeveloped property that WSU owns. Its location, in the middle of a booming commercial area, makes the forest a desirable piece of property for developers. It is currently zoned for public facilities.
The forest is home to 11 different stands of trees and is a haven for a wildlife population that includes deer, raccoon, fox, coyote, mountain beaver and numerous songbirds. Maintaining a healthy urban ecosystem requires a different kind of management. Most forest management programs don't have to worry about the effects of such close neighbors on the ecosystem. An increase in garbage and vandalism has become a byproduct of the forest's popularity.
The Demonstration Forest is also "the mother ship" of the state's 4-H Challenge Program, according to Vicky McCarley, program coordinator for the Challenge Program and Demonstration Forest. The first-ever Challenge course was established at the site in 1984 with the goal of training experiential education facilitators and providing local youths interactive, life-skills building activities. An average of 40 new volunteers a year participate in the six-day facilitator training at the Demonstration Forest. The current volunteer base is around 200. The program serves 6,000 participants a year on site and another 2,000 off-site, making the Bonney Lake program the largest in the Northwest.
The 20-acre Challenge course offers a combination of indoor and outdoor activities used to teach team concepts such as effective conflict resolution and cooperation, and personal life skills including self-esteem, empathy, goal setting and problem solving. Ropes courses and orienteering sessions challenge participants to practice leadership and team building. More than 18 area school districts use the Challenge program. In addition, a number of other groups participate, including government agencies, non-profits and businesses.
Although WSU manages the program, fees paid by organizations that participate in the Challenge Program keep the forest self-sustaining. Additional funds received through grants or the sale of timber following thinning operations are managed by a foundation that provides money for improvements such as a new classroom facility and picnic shelter.
Teresa Herriman can be reached at therriman@courierherald.com
