On the right is an untreated section of upper Derby Canyon where the Fischer Fire burned extremely hot in the summer of 2004. This photo was taken on Sept. 30 that year. On the left of the small ridge is an area that had been thinned and received a prescribed burn in 1998.
Troy Abercrombie, a firefighter with the Wenatchee River Ranger District, lights brush in a prescribed burn Sept. 28, 2016, near the Chiwawa River Pines housing development overlooking the Chiwawa River. The fire crew burned about 40 acres in this area.
Ted Alway thins ponderosa pines at his Derby Canyon Natives nursery on April 6, 2013. The trees are at what he calls the bird cage stage. The nursery, which Alway sold to Melissa Asher this year, features native plants that have been found in North Central Washington for sale on the retail market and for government contracts.
Seth Murray with the Wenatchee River Initial Attack crew sets fire at a prescribed burn northeast of Lake Wenatchee on Pole Ridge at 3,600 foot elevation on Oct. 31, 2006. The burn was intended to clear dead brush out of a 27-acre logging operation for replanting the next spring. Recent snow in the area and cold temperatures hampered the burn.
Jesse Machado with the Wenatchee River Initial Attack crew sets fire at a prescribed burn northeast of Lake Wenatchee on Pole Ridge at 3,600 foot elevation on Oct. 31, 2006. The burn was intended to clear dead brush out of a 27-acre logging operation for replanting the next spring. Forest treatment efforts, including thinning, clearing and prescribed burns designed to prevent large destructive wildfires, are creating business opportunities.
On the right is an untreated section of upper Derby Canyon where the Fischer Fire burned extremely hot in the summer of 2004. This photo was taken on Sept. 30 that year. On the left of the small ridge is an area that had been thinned and received a prescribed burn in 1998.
NCW — As Eastern Washington experiences more frequent and intense wildfires, communities and businesses are finding economic opportunities amongst the ashes.
Western states, including Washington, are experiencing an increased number of fires, likely due to climate change, according to the state Department of Ecology. The number of acres that will burn annually in the Western United States is expected to more than triple over the next 80 years, according to an analysis by the U.S. Forest Service.
In response, some businesses are capitalizing on the efforts to reduce the impact of these blazes through thinning forests, while others work to restore habitats after burns. For example, The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, which owns and helps manage 26,600 acres — mostly in Douglas and Chelan counties — works with multiple companies, said Kathy Peven, land trust communication coordinator.
The land trust employs three different plant nurseries for restoration work, two local foresters and one consultant on forest management, Peven said.
Wes Johns is one of those business owners focused on forest treatment. Melissa Asher is another, growing native plants that can be used to restore fire ravished landscapes.
Wes Johns
Owner, Metau Resilient Forests
Johns is the owner of Metau Resilient Forests in Leavenworth and helps remove trees and brush from overgrown forests, he said. Johns worked as a software salesman in Seattle for 30 years before buying property in Leavenworth in 2018. His family still lives in Seattle and he commutes on the weekends, but they are planning to locate here permanently.
Johns launched his business, focused on increasing the health of forests and ecosystems in October 2020 after taking a Washington State University Extension course on forest stewardship.
“I have always sort of enjoyed pruning trees, because it sort of made me feel good. It was sort of zen,” he said. “I (also) knew that I was helping the tree become more healthy.”
After Johns learned about fuel reduction and fire mitigation, his neighbors — some of whom were former Forest Service personnel — encouraged him to turn pruning trees into a business, he said. They told him there was a lot of demand for that wildfire prevention work.
“At the time, I thought they were just being polite,” Johns said. “But what I didn’t realize is they were really right, there is a lot of demand for it in the area.”
So much demand that Johns managed to turn a profit his first year, he said. He treated about 40 acres of forest in 2021 and had about eight customers. One project was for the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust and involved clearing 17 acres.
Johns has already hired three employees and invested in additional equipment, including a tractor and wood chipper. The purchases will cut into his profits this year, but it was an investment in future jobs.
“(I thought) let’s invest in this area of need because I’m really confident that there’s a lot more need out there,” he said.
Treating forests requires careful consideration, he said. Johns consults his customers on the visual appeal of the land, as well as their personal desires, in addition to wildfire mitigation.
For example, Douglas firs are often removed to increase a forest’s health, but homeowners like a few of them to use as Christmas trees, he said.
“That’s not textbook wildfire resilience, but I’m not a robot,” Johns said.
In addition, Johns tries to mimic the asymmetry of the natural environment and leave bushes and some debris for animal habitats, he said.
“(Sometimes) thinners will come in and they will take out everything except the Ponderosa pines,” he said. “So aesthetically, it’s sort of pleasing on the eye, on the other hand, it’s kind of sterile.”
Johns finds this work rewarding, especially in comparison to selling software, he said. It feels like he’s making a difference in the fight against climate change, even if in just a small way.
“Because every acre that I thin, is one less acre that’s going to be at risk of blowing up in a fire,” Johns said. “This speaks to my heart.”
Troy Abercrombie, a firefighter with the Wenatchee River Ranger District, lights brush in a prescribed burn Sept. 28, 2016, near the Chiwawa River Pines housing development overlooking the Chiwawa River. The fire crew burned about 40 acres in this area.
Business World file photo/Don Seabrook
While Johns works hard to prevent wildfires from growing into highly destructive burns, these types of blazes are natural parts of the landscape and will occur. In their aftermath, business owners like Melissa Asher work with government agencies to restore the ecosystem.
Asher is the owner of Derby Canyon Natives in Peshastin. She took over the business from Ted Alway on Jan. 1. Asher also worked for 12 years with BFI Native Seeds of Moses Lake, an agency that will reseed hundreds to thousands of acres after fires.
Ted Alway thins ponderosa pines at his Derby Canyon Natives nursery on April 6, 2013. The trees are at what he calls the bird cage stage. The nursery, which Alway sold to Melissa Asher this year, features native plants that have been found in North Central Washington for sale on the retail market and for government contracts.
Business World file photo/Don Seabrook
Derby Canyon is focused on growing plants to about two to four months old and then selling them to various agencies, she said. The majority of Derby Canyon's work is focused on restoring riparian areas. It does not do seed collection and redistribution, like BFI.
Post-wildfire recovery is not a huge portion of Asher’s company, but the number of requests for live plants has increased in recent years, such as sagebrush due to the endangered shrub steppe habitat, she said.
The demand was pushed, in part, by the a new state law approved in 2021. House Bill 1168 required the state Department of Natural Resources to increase the pace of forest treatment, while working with private landowners and the tribes, according to the bill’s text.
“I know that just in general there's more and more interest in planting live plants on the whole landscape,” Asher said. “And there’s more and more habitat projects coming out through government agencies and NGOs (non-government organizations), so it seems to be an increasing trend and demand.”
Jesse Machado with the Wenatchee River Initial Attack crew sets fire at a prescribed burn northeast of Lake Wenatchee on Pole Ridge at 3,600 foot elevation on Oct. 31, 2006. The burn was intended to clear dead brush out of a 27-acre logging operation for replanting the next spring. Forest treatment efforts, including thinning, clearing and prescribed burns designed to prevent large destructive wildfires, are creating business opportunities.
Business World file photo/Don Seabrook
Governments struggle to inspire wildfire business growth
Despite the need and project planning, local and state agencies have not seen a marked increase in the number of businesses doing forest treatment work.
There just isn't enough work to really support new businesses yet, said Mike Kaputa, Chelan County Natural Resources Department director. A lot of projects are still in the planning stages and work has not started on the ground.
"I would love to see 50 to 60 full-time people and salaries supported by the forest health industry," Kaputa said. "I'm just not sure if I can see when that's going to happen."
For example, the Upper Wenatchee Pilot Project, which is scheduled to treat 75,000 acres, is still in the permitting process and about two years behind schedule, he said. It is still moving through that process, but it takes time to do environmental impact reviews of large projects.
"There's so many things between bureaucracy, shifting priorities, resources, regulatory framework," Kaputa said. "There's all kinds of reasons why it takes a really long time to make it happen."
The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has also not seen an increase in the number of businesses, said Natalie Johnson, DNR spokesperson. In fact, the agency has more work available than it has business to hire.
In addition, private landowners are having trouble finding companies to work on their land as it isn't cost effective to clear only one or two acres, Johnson said.
Seth Murray with the Wenatchee River Initial Attack crew sets fire at a prescribed burn northeast of Lake Wenatchee on Pole Ridge at 3,600 foot elevation on Oct. 31, 2006. The burn was intended to clear dead brush out of a 27-acre logging operation for replanting the next spring. Recent snow in the area and cold temperatures hampered the burn.
Business World file photo/Don Seabrook
Agencies increase number of acres treated
Putting a number on how many acres of forest are being thinned or otherwise treated for wildfire prevention in Chelan County each year is difficult, said Natalie Johnson, spokesperson for the state Department of Natural Resources.
Forested land is owned by numerous agencies and private landowners, with each tackling their own projects, some of which include assitance from other organizations.
Here's the short list of agencies involved in forest treatment projects:
U.S. Forest Service
National Park Service
Washington state Department of Natural Resources
Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife
Chelan-Douglas Land Trust
Cascadia Conservation District
Chelan County
Local cities
The U.S. Forest Service treats about 6,000 acres of forest each year and plans to double that amount, said Robin Demario, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest spokesperson.
In addition, the U.S. Forest Service and DNR announced an agreement June 13 to treat 35,000 acres a year over the next 10 years from Naches to Winthrop, according to a news release from both agencies.
One of the projects DNR is conducting in partnership with the Forest Service is the Tilicum Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project in the Entiat Ranger District, according to the news release. It covers 4,000 acres and will cost at least $3.3 million.
Almost all of the bulleted agencies and more have also been working together on the Upper Wenatchee Pilot Project near Plain, according to a Forest Health Collaborative news release. It is a $1.6 million project to treat 75,000 acres near Plain.
Tony Buhr has been a professional reporter for almost seven years. He worked for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin as a cops and courts reporter. The Ellensburg Daily Records as a cops and courts, breaking news, agriculture and water reporter.
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