Brokedown Palace, a 69-acre Department of Natural Resources  tree stand along the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River, has been temporarily saved from the auction block for a second time while Whatcom County and DNR discuss forest management in the region. 

The department again paused the controversial sale to logging companies — initially slated for this summer — at the request of the Whatcom County Council, which directed a two-page letter to DNR in May. 

The pause comes after months of efforts from local advocacy groups and environmentalists, many of whom called on the county council to protect the stand due to its location along the Nooksack, its ecological complexity and its value in combatting climate change. 

Brokedown Palace is a second-growth stand, meaning the trees were last cut sometime in the early 1900s. Naturally regenerated, the trees, bushes and plants are of varying ages, sizes and species.

“Brokedown is special because it has complexity, and it has some of the early stages of ‘old growth’ that are naturally showing up without any form of human intervention,” said Alexander Harris, the land and water policy manager at RE Sources, a local environmental nonprofit. “That complexity is precious. If it were to be logged, it would be a major loss for the ecosystem and for our community.”

The county council's letter calls for DNR to identify forest parcels in the county, such as Brokedown Palace, that could be protected through state legislation like the Climate Commitment Act and the Natural Climate Solutions Account. The council also asked to pause the Brokedown Palace sale until Dec. 31. 

The first pause on the sale, in March, was due to environmental challenges during regulatory review of the site. Brokedown Palace is on steep lands with the potential for landslides, and when regulatory investigators went to evaluate the sale area, it was covered in snow and staff couldn’t safely review the site.

DNR is not sure how long the sale will be on hold, said Chris Hankey, DNR’s Baker District manager for the Northwest region. 

“But DNR wants to make sure we’re communicating fully with the council,” he added. 

Unlike Brokedown Palace, many  county tree stands available for auction through DNR are “plantation” stands: monoculture forests planned for future logging purposes with little ecological diversity, environmental advocates said.

Funds from tree sales on DNR-managed public lands go toward state trust beneficiaries, including local school districts, rural libraries, emergency responders and state universities. The state currently is moving forward with other Whatcom County tree sales to support those trust beneficiaries — just not Brokedown. 

“We have a fiduciary responsibility to our trust beneficiaries to provide timber sale revenues,” Hankey said. “[Brokedown] was the only one requested to be delayed, and we have other sales moving forward.” 

The county recognizes the need to protect local environments while balancing financial support for trustland beneficiaries. Though the council’s letter to DNR specifically addressed the Brokedown sale, it called for local leaders to be more involved in co-management of public lands. 

“Whatcom County is committed to ensuring that the protection of critical forests and the expansion of climate resilient forest management practices does not burden the local timber economy but rather enhance it,” council members wrote. “We believe more proactive engagement with county council and county staff would help ensure DNR’s forest management planning efforts are more consistent with our natural resources objectives.”