New Members Appointed To Teanaway Community Forest Advisory Committee

OLYMPIA - The Washington departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) have appointed five new members to the Teanaway Community Forest Advisory Committee to help the agencies implement the recently created forest management plan.

The committee played a key role in helping the agencies develop the management plan, which was published in June and will continue to advise the agencies on operations within the forest.

The committee, which retains 15 of its original members, represents the interests of local property owners, ranchers, tribes, environmental groups, and recreationists, including hikers, anglers, hunters, horseback riders, and off-road vehicle users.

The five new members, who will serve three-year terms, are:

Scott Gray, of Roslyn, who represents the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. He also serves as a Kittitas County Parks and Recreation commissioner and is a member of the Roslyn City Council.

Lara Gricar, of Cle Elum, who represents The Nature Conservancy, which owns property adjacent to the community forest. She has a background in ecology and communications and frequently recreates in the Teanaway. She is the Conservancy's central Washington community coordinator.

Kathy Young, of Maple Valley, who represents the Back Country Horsemen of Washington. She is director of the group's Tahoma Chapter and serves on its Public Lands Committee.

John Littel, of Ellensburg, a Kittitas County resident, whose activities in the forest include camping, hiking, fishing, photography and amateur geology. He has 26 years' experience as a journeyman carpenter and currently works as a training director.

Andrew Cromarty, of Carnation, is a Teanaway landowner whose family has owned property in the forest since 1963. The property has been farmed, logged and used for raising cattle. Cromarty and his family avidly recreate - cross country skiing, fishing, hunting, and mountain biking - in the forest.

The next committee meeting is scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m., Sept. 17, at the Swauk-Teanaway Grange, 1361 W. Ballard Hill Road in Cle Elum. All advisory committee meetings are open to the public.

The 50,241-acre community forest was established by the Washington Legislature in 2013. The forest is managed through a partnership between DNR and WDFW, with input from the local community and interested stakeholders.

More information about the community forest, including a list of all the committee members, is available online at http://dnr.wa.gov/teanaway/ .