Update Archive

Older updates about the Southworth Forest campaign are below. More recent updates are on the home page.

Kitsap County has issued its State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) determination for the after-the-fact permit (20-04869) to legalize the negligent 2019 deforestation in Southworth. As expected, the determination relies heavily upon the incomplete information submitted by code-violators Meghan and Clint Edwards. Community concerns are barely recognized in the Determination of Non-Significance.

Kitsap County SEPA coordinator Steve Heacock has repeatedly failed to answer questions or address concerns expressed by direct neighbors and the community in regards to the environmental impacts of the deforestation. Heacock had also declined to stop the original violation when he discovered it in process, and he has demonstrated difficulty remembering the nature of the corrective permit since. Thus, the community has been preparing to appeal his SEPA determination for nearly a year.

Starting in November 2022, the community began submitting installments of evidence detailing existing environmental impacts and errors in Edwards' submittals to Kitsap County's hearing examiner, who handles appeals. Heacock originally refused to view this evidence because of how it was submitted. SEPA determinations typically attempt to predict future impacts, but this case has had four years of ongoing deforestation impacts to study prior to the installation of agricultural operations. You can view evidence submitted to the hearing examiner.

Heacock's determination has few concrete conditions to address many obvious impacts already experienced by neighbors. Through an appeal to the hearing examiner, neighbors and the community have the opportunity to force the recognition of videos, photos, maps, and other materials that Heacock appears to have mostly disregarded. The hearing examiner has the power to require that this evidence is considered for a new determination with additional conditions to protect neighbors.

Read more about how you can help the SEPA appeal.

Much has been written about the gloomy future for Washington State's official tree, the Western hemlock. Aphid-like insects and drier conditions are moving north to threaten this tree's place in the Puget Sound region and beyond. It remains a majestic tree, however, and one that typically grows under fir trees as a replacement generation.

There are surprisingly few young Western hemlocks thriving in the Southworth area of Port Orchard, WA. In the few remaining natural forests of the area, they have yet to establish themselves under the fir and cedar trees that dominated after the mass harvesting of the area 50 to 60 years ago. They still have an important role to play, however, as one of the most shade-tolerant native trees available.

At the 2022-2023 King Conservation District plant sale, the Western hemlock was the only species of ten trees offered that did not sell out. (It was not offered at all at the Kitsap Conservation District sale the same year.) They can be really fussy to transplant in the wild as well. Unless you move them (into pots or directly to another location) in November or December, you risk losing them the following summer even with consistent watering.

Because hemlocks have a shallow root system, they tend to require wider holes or pots to maximize their chances for survival when transplanted. Creating a compost-rich dirt bowl free of noxious weed remnants like Scotch Broom and English Holly will help. Hemlocks also prefer to be consistently wet, requiring regular watering in summers during their first three years. (Volunteer trees left where they sprout in shade are a little hardier in this respect.)

Read more about Western hemlock trees at the Southworth forest.

Kitsap County records reveal that they opened a second code compliance case in January 2023 against 11090 SE Southworth Dr. near the ferry terminal in Port Orchard, WA. The County's first open compliance case against the property stems from an impactful 2019 violation for its improper deforestation. In 2023, the County investigated a separate compliance case against the same property for an unpermitted garage and accessory dwelling unit (ADU), confirming the additional violations.

Kitsap County's Department of Community Development is failing to hold the property's owners, Meghan and Clint Edwards, accountable in a timely manner on either compliance case. It took over a year for Edwards to submit an error-prone Site Development Activity Permit (SDAP) for the reckless deforestation, and that permit still remains in a fourth review after four years. Neighbors have experienced multitudes of environmental impacts during that time, including dead trees that timely restorative actions may have prevented.

Meanwhile, the County discovered the unpermitted garage and ADU in January 2023 and has not enforced the law in this compliance case. Unpermitted structures like ADUs typically require a corrective permit be submitted by the property owner within 30 days, but none has been submitted by Edwards in the eight months since the violation was cited. County records indicate that compliance officers are allowing the ADU violation to slide while the deforestation violation is handled. No violation should be left uncorrected for years.

Not only is the ADU disallowed explicitly by documentation recorded against the property, but the underlying garage structure beneath the ADU was itself disapproved on its inspection by the County in 2006. The garage never passed a final inspection, and its permit was closed in 2012. The structure therefore cannot be occupied as a garage, let alone an ADU, especially as records indicate that the space could not be heated. Instead, it was finished out with a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.

Read more about Kitsap County's failure to hold violators responsible.

Work in August 2023 has continued at John Sedgwick Middle School to convert its forested area to grass, and the community is concerned that the activity violates the limitations of a danger tree permit obtained by South Kitsap School District (SKSD) for the forest removal. Through information provided on the permit and from district administration, as well as photos on the ground, it appears the proper permit for this conversion was not obtained.

Danger tree permits allow applicants to remove trees that pose a danger to a habitable structure, but they do not allow for the total conversion of a forested area to other use. On their permit, the district proposed that the forested area "will be leveled and put back to grass" even though the County states on the permit that "This permit is ONLY for the removal of trees. This does NOT include ground disturbing activities, such as: clean-up of stumps, brush, surrounding vegetation, etc."

The deforested area near the school has been significantly re-graded to the extent that a Site Development Activity Permit (SDAP) should be necessary. The district has one such permit concurrently for the adjacent installation of a new running track, but this SDAP was not approved for work in the forested area. In fact, that permit's site plan indicates that excess excavations would be disposed off-site. Instead, SKSD appears to be using the running track's authorization to conduct total forest conversion activity on the parcel, an inappropriate extension of the track construction.

District Superintendent Tim Winter has confirmed that 1,860 cubic yards of dirt and 654 cubic yards of sod was piled into the danger tree area. Of this material, about 500 cubic yards of dirt and 500 cubic yards of sod remained in that deforested area, which was extensively re-graded in the process of moving all this sod and dirt. Slashings from the trees were mixed into this new grade. All of this work is despite a prohibition of "ground disturbing activities" in effect there because of the danger tree permit limitations.

Read more about the violation concerns with this deforestation.

Port Orchard's John Sedgwick Middle School long enjoyed one of the most beautiful and environmentally sustaining campuses in the South Kitsap School District due to its magnificent conifer trees. Mature forests are critical to diminishing the impacts of climate change, and this school set the standard for establishing a balance between development and the environment. That is, until 2023.

The district obtained a danger tree permit approved by Kitsap County's Steve Heacock in June, 2023 and promptly removed all the mature, mostly conifer trees in the forest near the school shortly thereafter, an estimated 20,000 board feet of lumber. Authorized by Director of Facilities & Operations Charles J. Riley, District Grounds Lead Patrick Burke sought the permit, citing the school's trees as a liability and detriment to the campus. With extremely poor grammar in the permit application materials, the district indicated that its forest was to be converted to grass.

According to the permit, the trees "jeopardize school security by obstructing the line of sight between school building and the playing fields and may cause injuries from falling debris and broken sidewalks. In addition, their proximity to the building is causing damage to the roof." [sic] Using this reasoning, every mature conifer tree within roughly 150 feet of the school could be removed, with no stated intention to replace them with young trees. No effort was made to selectively remove the closest trees to the structure or merely thin the school's forest.

Proper forest management can mitigate risks from large trees. Clear-cutting a forest because it is inconvenient or potentially liable teaches the students of the school (and the public) that forests are a mere nuisance not worth managing to balance potential problems with the life-sustaining, climate-protecting benefits of the trees. By this reasoning, forests are undesirable because a branch may fall on someone and staff cannot be bothered to monitor school grounds from outside the school's structure. (No windows in the building face this direction anyway.)

Read more about John Sedgwick Middle School's deforestation.

It is no secret that deforestation leads to changes in soil and air conditions, and these impacts include an increase in dust. With the canopy, stumps, and understory all removed, a former forest area can become challenging to manage for dust even after seeded with grass. Roads in the new pastures are exposed to direct sunlight and generate more dust than before. Health experts say that breathing this fine particulate matter can be harmful to people downwind.

A 2023 NASA study showed that exposure to blowing dust likely contributed to 2.89 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019. "The airborne particles -- thirty times smaller than the width of human hair -- can pass easily into the lungs and bloodstream, where they can increase a person's risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections," they said. "This study is a reminder that dust can have an important impact."

Since the code-violating 2019 removal of a mature forest at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. near the ferry terminal in Port Orchard, WA, wind and dust pose problems for the neighboring area. Because newly prevailing winds blow from the southeast due to the deforestation, the dust from these new pastures travels into properties to the west and north. These impacts are from a road and dry pasture land even prior to the installation of livestock and an additional roadway planned after further deforestation.

Read more and view videos of dust impacts.

Mature forests are important influencers of local wind patterns. They are natural barriers that help block wind movement below the canopy level. The wind that passes through the forest carries warm, moist air to surrounding areas. When a forest is removed, this wind barrier is eliminated and warmth and moisture formerly produced by the forest ceases to benefit the greater region.

When a portion of a forest is removed, the trees around its perimeter become stressed because they are not accustomed to wind effects normally experienced by trees that grow in open spaces. These neighboring trees in dense formations tend to suffer windsnap and windthrow because of new exposure. The understory of surrounding areas is also damaged by encroaching noxious weeds.

The 2019 code-violating removal of the mature forest at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. near the ferry terminal in Port Orchard, WA has caused newly prevailing winds from the southeast to affect forested land to the west and north. With this wind comes dry, hot air, as well as odors and visible clouds of dust where no such impacts existed before. Neighboring trees have been damaged or died, sometimes due to windsnap, and all of these factors affect the aesthetics of the land and surrounding climate.

Read more and view videos of wind impacts.

An excellent article about 2023's wildfires in Canada appeared in Politico on June 11th. It accurately reveals the hazards of climate change and wildfires due to the removal of mature forests in North America. As the writers state, "In all cases, nature knows what it is doing, and human intervention tends to make matters worse, not better."

While much attention goes to old growth forests and their impressive carbon-capturing capabilities, the younger but mature forests of today will become the old growth forests of tomorrow. Mature forests may not be hundreds or thousands of years old, but they are well on their way to becoming the old growth we need to help reverse the effects of climate change.

In some areas of North America, old growth forests are naturally destined to be swept up in wildfires. In the moister areas like the Pacific Northwest, however, mature forests are meant to reach old growth ages. They become increasingly better at resisting fires and capturing carbon as they age, their canopies reducing fuels underneath. The more mature forestland is destroyed for development or agriculture, the more daunting climate change will become.

Much of the Puget Sound lowlands was logged 60 to 70 years ago, including Port Orchard's Southworth area. The mostly cedar and fir forests that have grown since then have reached maturity in many places, and a few areas along wetlands not logged in the last century are the closest to reaching old growth status. The forest removed at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. near the ferry terminal in Port Orchard in 2019 was mature in some parts, with some particularly massive trees alongside its wetlands.

Read more about the importance of local mature forests.

On about one fifth of an acre of meadow within the Southworth forest in Port Orchard, young volunteer Douglas fir, Grand fir, Western hemlock, and Western red cedar are battling an outbreak of invasive Scotch broom. There are roughly 150 young trees in this area, ranging from tiny babies to one-foot-tall three-year-olds. This is the only major young crop on the parcel.

This area is close enough to the destruction of the neighboring forest at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. to be experiencing additional light impacts that have caused the Scotch broom to explode as well. Eventually, the broom would overtake all the resources needed by the trees. Since 2020, the edges of the adjacent converted area have been overrun by Scotch broom that is now invading neighboring forests where it never did before.

This group of volunteer trees will need protected from inevitable deer damage made worse by the nearby deforestation, too. Most of the trees will be transplanted into half or one-gallon pots during the winters and watered by hand throughout the summers for re-planting in the forest a year later. At that time, protective deer fencing will be installed around each tree to maximize the chance for survival.

Read more about these volunteer trees.

The Kitsap County Department of Community Development (DCD) continues to review the impacts of the deforestation of 11090 SE Southworth Dr. in Port Orchard by Meghan and Clint Edwards. The County DCD has confirmed to neighbors that the impacts of timber trespass committed by Edwards against multiple neighbors in their original 2019 violation can be considered during the review of environmental impacts on the area and possible mitigation.

Despite neglecting to survey their property lines after pledging to neighbors that they would do so, Edwards cleared the north end of their forest up to and over their boundaries in 2019, exposing neighbors to further environmental impacts. Edwards claims no responsibility or accountability for these actions, and they showed no empathy or remorse upon learning that the damage to multiple neighboring parcels made the owners of those properties weep.

Although the liability for this cruel timber trespass is a civil matter, the Kitsap DCD is responsible for considering the additional environmental impacts caused by Edwards' clearing of neighbors' land as part of the original action. Because their removal of the trees and understory outside of the proposed conversion worsens impacts on soils, climate, scenic resources, and aesthetics beyond Edwards' legal right to convert their property to agriculture, additional protections for neighbors must be considered.

Buffers of solid conifer screening should be installed by Edwards along the northeast, north, northwest, and west perimeters of the converted area to protect neighbors from their environmental impacts. These buffers are particularly important in the timber trespass areas, especially since Edwards has filed legal claims against neighbors to stop the restoration of the timber trespass area on one other violated parcel. The Southworth Community is depending on the Kitsap DCD to keep its word about considering the timber trespass impacts when evaluating mitigation options.

Read more about these timber trespass impacts.

In 2019, clear-cutters Meghan and Clint Edwards of 11090 SE Southworth Dr. in Port Orchard submitted an amateurish and erroneous site plan for the Kitsap County danger tree permit they then used to convert roughly four acres of forest to pasture in violation of the law. For their corrective permit, they have once again submitted an inaccurate site plan, this time prepared by Vader Engineering of Tacoma.

The Edwards site plan submitted for this Site Development Activity Permit (SDAP) is vague, incomplete, and erroneous in regards to actual clearing limits and the protection of remaining natural vegetation. The areas of clearing shown on the site plan do not match what Edwards actually cleared within their own parcel in 2019. Aerial photos of the Edwards parcel reveal these discrepancies when compared to the site plan.

While Edwards claims only 2,300 cubic yards of graded dirt for this conversion, the County originally suspected in 2019 that over 5,000 cubic yards were disturbed, hence a recommendation for an SDAP 3 permit. If the top 8+ inches of dirt (on average, including stump removal) was indeed disturbed over 3.8+ acres, then at least 4,100 cubic yards of grading is involved. The County never enforced their original demand of Edwards for a level 3 permit.

Additionally, a farm plan submitted by Edwards in support of their lower-level SDAP permit does not match their main SDAP site plan. The farm plan fails to show proposed new roads on the property while revealing a sizable future barn that is not disclosed on the site plan. Also not addressed on the farm plan are important natural vegetation buffers that remain on the edge of their clearing.

Read more about these site plan errors.

Seven years into the forest restoration project at Southworth, WA, the native understory is increasingly returning. While planting native conifers and deciduous trees has been the priority goal after noxious weed removal, care for the understory continues at the same time. Garbage removal on the northern and western sides of the forest is key to this work as well.

The primary invasive species choking out the native understory include Himalayan blackberries, English ivy, Scotch broom, and English holly. They are being removed up to the buffers for the Category IV wetlands in the forest that are anchored by a non-fish bearing stream that has historically housed river otters. The Scotch broom and blackberries require ample sunlight, but the ivy and holly prevail in the shade of the forest.

Western sword ferns thrive throughout much of the forest even amongst the invasive species. They are struggling on the eastern side of the forest, though, where the deforestation of 11090 SE Southworth Dr. has left them exposed to burning from heat and infiltration by Scotch broom and bracken ferns. (View evidence of these impacts by careless landowners.) In these areas, only the long-term restoration of the forest canopy will ensure the sword ferns' habitat.

To celebrate Earth Day 2023, we cataloged a variety of native understory plant species making a comeback throughout the Southworth Forest. With the extremely wet and cool April weather has come a delayed but hopefully robust crop of huckleberries, salmonberries, Oregon grape, trillium, and a slew of other species no longer fighting the invasive species as before. Salal and several types of native roses take more time to return but are showing progress.

Read more about this understory restoration.

Many landowners in the Puget Sound Region are well aware of the problems posed by noxious and invasive weeds like Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberries. These species thrive in disturbed areas were the tree canopy has been removed. They spread aggressively and have severely negative impacts to native plants, wildlife and, livestock.

The Southworth area in Port Orchard struggles to eliminate these noxious plants, and the situation has been worsened by the deforestation of 11090 SE Southworth Dr., formerly one of the community's largest remaining forests. Since this 2019 conversion in violation of Kitsap code, that property's acreage and surrounding parcels have experienced increased proliferation of noxious and invasive weeds.

Despite a requirement of Kitsap County upon owners Meghan and Clint Edwards to control these species in a corrective permit, these noxious weeds have spread from their property in the four years since their conversion violation. They failed to adequately declare that their property is a host for extensive noxious blackberries and broom. Their northeast quadrant contains a massive blackberry bramble, and Scotch broom has proliferated substantially in their converted area despite their efforts to mow it.

Edwards omits any plan to deal with the widespread Scotch broom and Bracken fern seeds that have flourished in their cleared parcel since the conversion. These seeds can lie dormant for years before growing. Re-grading, tilling, and adding pasture grass seed to this area will not prevent noxious and invasive weed growth that awaits from seeds already in their soil. Some of these plant species are poisonous to livestock as well, so animals cannot be counted upon to control them.

Read more about these noxious weed impacts.

Landowners in the Pacific Northwest sometimes deal with "windthrow" and "windsnap" on their forested properties. Windthrow occurs when a tree's entire root ball is unearthed so that the tree topples from underground. Windsnap happens when a tree is snapped off above ground. While some species can partially survive windthrow, windsnap is fatal unless the tree can regrow from the stump.

As both terms suggest, wind is the primary culprit for these impacts. In the Southworth forest, you see windthrow near the wetlands, as the combination of water erosion at the base and wind at the top can be an overpowering combination. Windsnap is less common but has happened through the years. These trees, especially the Western hemlocks and Big leaf maples susceptible to such breakage, can sometimes grow a new top.

Since the removal of the neighboring forest at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. in Port Orchard, Southworth forest trees around the edge of this conversion to agriculture have become stressed by climate impacts. Stressed trees are more frequently prone to windsnap. With strong winds now prevailing across the new pasture created by clear-cutters Meghan and Clint Edwards, the winter of 2022-2023 has seen a striking increase in windsnap incidents in the immediate area.

In this post are photos of windsnap to the west of the Edwards property. These trees are in an area feeling considerable impacts of the neighboring forest removal, and the downed trees are all laying in the same direction: away from Edwards' conversion. Without protection and exposed to newly abrasive winds, these trees are likely victims of the altered climate conditions. Sadly, Edwards proposes no solution to this worsening issue in the permit to legalize their deforestation violations.

Read more about these windsnap incidents.

Local conservation districts are a fantastic source for native trees and shrubs whether you buy in bulk or not. This year, an additional 90 trees for the Southworth forest were purchased from the King Conservation District, which often features the best variety of species in its sales. These trees were potted in March, 2023 with the intent of planting them in the forest the following fall and winter.

With the forest's stock of potted Douglas fir, Grand fir, and Western hemlock volunteers already prepared from the previous year, this bulk buy concentrated on Western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and Garry oak. Although the cedars are projected to struggle with climate change in the Puget Sound region, this lot will be planted primarily in low-lying areas with greater access to ground water and protection from neighboring deforestation.

When purchasing such trees from a conservation district, the first two days after you receive them is key to their survival. The cedars and oaks come bare-root while the spruces come as plugs (in a tube of dirt). Proper ratios of top soil and compost will help any species adapt to its new location, whether you're potting them or placing them immediately in the ground. Top soil from the Southworth forest itself was used in the blend for these 2023 trees.

Hydration is also pivotal. Trees that come as plugs can be potted and watered routinely. The bare-root cedars love a good soaking of their roots before planting. A minimum of an hour is recommended. In this case, they received six hours of soaking on the day of the sale pick-up and another two hours on the following morning of potting. For the very cold night in between, they were stored in a dark bag to protect them from freezing or suffering other adverse effects. Keeping them wet but not drowned in the subsequent weeks is also wise.

Read more about these Conservation District trees.

A farm plan from the Kitsap Conservation District obtained by Clint Edwards for 11090 SE Southworth Dr. in Port Orchard as required by Kitsap County is woefully vague. It lacks information needed to address soil, pasture, or waste management at Edwards' proposed agricultural operations. The plan does, however, reveal some impactful new details about Edwards' intentions, including a sizable barn complex.

At the February 2023 board meeting for the Kitsap Conservation District, neighbor Christian Clemmensen provided a statement for the record that refutes assertions made by Edwards for the farm plan. "I am saddened to see that the Edwardses again obfuscate their intentions and continue their attempts to whitewash their prior violations," Clemmensen said.

Farm plans from the District are based upon cooperative input from the landowner, even in cases where a landowner such as Edwards is involuntarily participating in the process. While communities can hope that the District's procedures would acknowledge and consider a farm plan's health impacts on people and the environment outside of the subject property, that did not happen here.

Attempts by multiple interested parties to provide the District with background information about Edwards' violations and ongoing impacts prior to the completion of the plan went unanswered. Direct neighbors informed the District of their severe allergies to livestock but were ignored, the final farm plan placing animal areas against the property line upwind of the neighbors' home site.

Read more about the farm plan response.

One of the leading reasons why there is no younger generation of conifers in the Southworth forest of Port Orchard, WA is because of increasing deer populations. Young bucks rub their antlers against the trunks of small to moderately-sized trees, girdling and killing the tree. Almost every conifer of 5 to 15 years of age volunteering in the forest without protection has been killed by deer since 2020.

These worsening deer impacts are especially pronounced on the Douglas and Grand fir species, though the deer have been targeting Sitka spruce (despite their prickly needles), Western red cedar, and White alder as well. The cedars tend to suffer from nibbling by the deer, too, though they can usually overcome such damage in otherwise favorable conditions. (The same applies to native willows.)

The deer situation in the Southworth forest has been noticeably worsened by the deforestation of the neighboring acreage at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. by Clint and Meghan Edwards. The new pasture space on the Edwards parcel has attracted far more deer to the area, and the deep rub impacts on trees in the remaining, surrounding forests have required additional measures be taken to protect small and even moderately-sized trees.

While smaller gardens use techniques like Irish Spring soap in mesh bags, predator urine, or aluminum baking trays blowing in the wind to keep deer away, such measures are ineffective for forests spread over acres. Realistically, each tree has to be protected with some kind of mesh or wire to thwart the deer. Some landowners have found success driving rebar into the ground on either side of the tree's trunk, extending three or four feet up along the trunk.

Read more about deer rub damage.

SouthworthForest.org has a new content arrangement to provide more regular updates to the local community and beyond. The site's purpose is still focused on highlighting local forest restoration efforts, showing the impacts of deforestation in action, and protesting the removal of a forest in Southworth for new agricultural operations.

Regular updates about restoration efforts in the Southworth forest will feature progress reports about waste removal and replanting of native vegetation. Continued watchdog efforts to minimize the impacts of the forest destruction at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. will also be posted, along with legal analysis about the related court case.

Stay tuned!

Kitsap County's Department of Community Development (DCD) required clear-cutters Meghan and Clint Edwards to obtain a farm management plan from the Kitsap Conservation District to help permit their forest violations. Sadly, the Edwardses avoid any solid commitment to a specific agricultural use in their submitted, ambiguous, and unsigned plan. They declined to reveal the quantity and exact types of animals, and there are no firm plans provided to address soil, pasture, or waste management.

The Southworth community has to assume that the Edwardses' actions will have a maximum impact on the surrounding area, as they have shown little concern for neighbors' rural enjoyment. The hollow farm plan reaffirms the need for solid conifer buffers around the clear-cutters' perimeter and setbacks for animal areas that currently abut property lines. They propose less effective, mostly-deciduous hedging in one small topographical low point as a barrier.

The clear-cutters did finally reveal future plans for a sizable barn to be located next to a proposed new three-car parking area on the property. This imposing 108' by 36' barn complex suggests that accessory agricultural use may follow, which means the property could become a point of sale or distribution. A new road directly to this barn is proposed to travel through a legally challenged easement on a neighboring property, requiring the removal of up to 70 additional trees.

Neighbors continue to assemble environmental (SEPA) evidence of ongoing impacts caused by the Edwardses' original deforestation, including recent tree windsnap on two neighboring properties due to new prevailing winds across the clear-cut. (The farm plan addresses none of these impacts.) The Kitsap DCD has acknowledged receipt of the first batch of this evidence in November. Once the County has had time to examine the evidence, we will share it on this website.

As we await a SEPA determination from the County, we urge you to contact the DCD and ask them to consider the impacts of this deforestation. You can also contact us at trees@southworthforest.org if you have evidence you'd like us to include in our consolidated submissions. Meanwhile, restoration work continues in the neighboring forest, with over 100 tree plantings scheduled for this season. Learn more at the GoFundMe page.

Neighbors in the Southworth community have documented extensive evidence of negative environmental impacts caused or worsened by the clear-cutters' 2019 deforestation violation. This submission to Kitsap County is a preemptive response to the environmental (SEPA) checklist submitted by clear-cutters Clint and Meghan Edwards for their after-the-fact deforestation permit. That checklist contains at least 39 inaccurate answers by the clear-cutters.

Our submission contains photos, videos, diagrams, maps, and textual evidence along with associated research, code citations, and proposals. In October, the County's Department of Community Development (DCD) refused to receive this information in a form that included online evidence such as YouTube videos. Neighbors then submitted all the data directly to the County in November, but neither the environmental reviewers nor the office of the Hearing Examiner is acknowledging receipt of this 1.5 gigabytes of material.

We must increase pressure on the Kitsap DCD to consider the existing environmental impacts already witnessed around this 2019 deforestation. The DCD has yet to show meaningful concern for the details of these impacts. We urge you to contact the County and ask them to consider the impacts of this deforestation. Additional Southworth community members are being added as "interested parties" on this permit, which will amplify their feedback when the Hearing Examiner compels the County to consider our evidence and opinions.

Once the County has examined the evidence, we will share it on this website. We thank the community for its support in assembling the response, and please contact us at trees@southworthforest.org if you would like to be involved. We continue to collect additional evidence of impacts. Meanwhile, restoration work continues in the neighboring forest, with over 100 tree plantings scheduled for this season. Learn more at the GoFundMe page.

Neighbors in the Southworth community have assembled a lengthy, preemptive response to the environmental (SEPA) checklist submitted by the clear-cutters for their after-the-fact deforestation permit. That checklist contains at least 39 inaccurate answers by the clear-cutters.

Detailed corrections and evidence of significant impacts already witnessed by neighbors have been sent to Kitsap County for their review. After the County has the first opportunity to view the photos, videos, diagrams, maps, and textual evidence, we will share them and associated research, code citations, and proposals with the general public.

We thank the community for its support in assembling this preemptive response to the SEPA review on this permit. As always, if you live in the Southworth area and have witnessed or experienced any impacts from this deforestation already, please contact us at trees@southworthforest.org. We continue to collect additional evidence of impacts.

We must do our part to support the County in pushing back against the clear-cutters. On top of contacting us, you can also tell the County directly about the local impacts of deforestation. Meanwhile, restoration continues in the neighboring forest, with new plantings commencing now with the autumn rains. More updates are at the GoFundMe page.

With guidance from Kitsap County, the Southworth community is organizing a formal response to the clear-cutters' refusal to acknowledge their impacts on the area. We are collecting photos, videos, articles, and past permit decisions to support this response. It will then be shared with permit reviewers and, more importantly, the County's hearing examiner, who is the ultimate arbiter for changes demanded of the clear-cutters' plans.

If you live in the Southworth community, particularly the area uphill from the ferry terminal on Southworth Drive, please send photos or videos of any bald eagles you see flying above or nesting in trees to trees@southworthforest.org. The County has become aware that bald eagles used the clear-cutters' destroyed trees for either nesting or as a perch for hunting, and they want to know if the raptors are still using the area, which they are.

No matter where you live, we are collecting articles about deforestation effects on local climates in the Seattle area and past instances in which Kitsap County hearing examiners have required buffers of trees to remain around the exterior edges of new developments or forest conversions for any purpose. Also please send these to trees@southworthforest.org. Since the County has required such buffers in the past, the same should be true here.

The clear-cutters have expressed concern that feedback from the community might make County permitters "biased" against them. In defiance, they responded, "We will use our discretion moving forward with development of that area to maximize our property rights." County leadership is aware that the clear-cutters care little for their impacts on the community and that permitters are paying attention to how County code supports the protection of Southworth.

We must do our part to support the County in pushing back against the clear-cutters. On top of contacting trees@southworthforest.org, you can also tell the County directly about the local impacts of deforestation. These comments will be shared with the hearing examiner. Meanwhile, restoration continues in the neighboring forest, though some trees adjacent to the clear-cut have died, and these losses are being documented for the County, too. More updates are at the GoFundMe page.

Despite concerns from the Southworth community and Kitsap County permit reviewers, the clear-cutters have re-submitted their after-the-fact forest conversion permit without any meaningful changes. They do not plan to replant buffers of trees to protect most neighbors, and they still intend to remove more trees from within a disputed easement on one neighboring property.

Kitsap County has questioned the environmental impacts and legality of the plans. The clear-cutters responded, "We will use our discretion moving forward with development of that area to maximize our property rights." Sadly, a minor child of the clear-cutters has been recorded mocking a sign about climate change on a neighboring property as well. Are these the values we want to teach our children about the climate in Southworth?

Legal efforts to stop the clear-cutters are awaiting appeal in WA Division II appellate court once frivolous counterclaims by the clear-cutters against protesting neighbors are ruled upon in Kitsap superior court. Kitsap County can force the clear-cutters to revise their plans without a ruling from the courts, though, and they are hearing your voices. That's where you can help!

You can tell the County that deforestation (illegal or otherwise) causes climate change and that we must protect neighboring Southworth forest lands by requiring the clear-cutters to replant a buffer of trees around the edge of their improperly deforested parcel. Restoration continues in the neighboring forest, though some trees adjacent to the clear-cut have died. More updates are at the GoFundMe page.

The clear-cutters will soon submit revisions to Kitsap County for their after-the-fact permit, and it appears they still intend to remove more trees from within a disputed easement on a neighboring property. After the County expressed concerns, the clear-cutters responded, "We will use our discretion moving forward with development of that area to maximize our property rights." Legal efforts to stop the clear-cutters from removing these trees are awaiting appeal in WA Division II appellate court once frivolous counterclaims by the clear-cutters against protesting neighbors are ruled upon in Kitsap superior court.

A minor child of the clear-cutters has been recorded mocking a sign about climate change on a neighboring property. These are not the values we want to teach our children about the climate in Southworth. It's not too late to tell the County that deforestation (illegal or otherwise) causes climate change. We must protect neighboring Southworth forest lands by demanding that the County require the clear-cutters to re-plant a buffer of trees around the edge of their improperly deforested parcel. Restoration continues in the neighboring forest, though some trees adjacent to the clear-cut have died. More updates are at the GoFundMe page.

We are still pressuring Kitsap County to require the Southworth clear-cutters to re-plant a buffer of trees around the edge of their improperly deforested parcel. The after-the-fact permit is currently returned to the clear-cutters for revisions. It's not too late to tell the County that deforestation (illegal or otherwise) causes climate change, and we must protect neighboring Southworth forest lands! Efforts to stop the clear-cutters from removing trees in a disputed easement on a neighboring parcel are still pending in WA Division II appellate court. Frivolous counterclaims by the clear-cutters against protesting neighbors are waiting in Kitsap superior court during the appeal. Restoration continues in the neighboring forest, with over 75 trees planted this season so far. More updates are at the GoFundMe page.

Kitsap County has returned the clear-cutters' forest conversion permit to them for revisions. Unfortunately, the County is not showing any intent to require the clear-cutters to replant buffers of trees around the borders of their already destroyed forest. Buffers of trees are important. We must lobby the County to require these buffers to help protect against the effects of climate change on remaining Southworth forest lands. The legal case attempting to stop the clear-cutters will return to the WA Division II appellate court after frivolous counterclaims by the clear-cutters against protesting neighbors are defeated. Restoration continues in the neighboring forest, with over 70 trees planted this season so far. More updates are at the GoFundMe page.

Kitsap County is still considering the clear-cutters' permit that seeks to clear more forested land. It is not too late to make your voice heard! The legal case trying to stop the clear-cutters is headed to an appellate court (Division II, Case #566818). Restoration continues in the neighboring forest, with over 60 trees planted this season so far. More updates are at the GoFundMe page.