Friends of the White Salmon River is deeply rooted in the White Salmon watershed and in Klickitat and Skamania Counties. Activists since 1976, we’ve worked hard to protect the river. SDS Lumber Company is also rooted here, acquiring 100,000 acres of timberland over 75 years and managing that land and the mill for long-term sustainability.
SDS announced upcoming changes for the company’s future: All company assets, including timberland and the mill, will be placed on the market in the spring of 2021. This news, especially at this time, is shocking and raises serious concerns about the effect of the sale on its employees, local businesses, and the forest. SDS owns timberland in five counties, including Hood River, Wasco, Skamania, Yakima, and Klickitat, so their decision about future ownership will have regional effects.
SDS provides significant benefits to the community. It is a major economic engine. They directly employ about 300 people, and they contract with local timber operators. SDS owns the land in White Salmon where our supermarket and library are located. Their business is crucial to ancillary and supporting businesses. Innumerable community events and charities have benefited from SDS donations and support.
Equally, SDS forest parcels are deeply woven into the life of the area. The parcels are scattered throughout the region, often adjoining public land and along waterways. People hike, hunt, launch their boats, gather food, and enjoy wildlife observation on SDS lands. Many animal species utilize the habitat, corridors, and access to water provided by these parcels.
Our region is noted for biological diversity. Much of the SDS land plays a role in maintaining that diversity. SDS land is concentrated in watersheds that are crucial for salmon, steelhead, native trout, lamprey, and other native fish species. SDS lands in the Rattlesnake Creek watershed are critical for support of many of these fish species. SDS land also includes important oak habitat. Many of the seeps, springs, and tributaries that feed the White Salmon River originate on or cross SDS land.
SDS’ long-term/long-rotation timber management provides significant benefits to humans and wildlife. The company is notable for compliance with timber harvest regulations, including those concerning cultural resources. Leaving aside the question of whether those regulations sufficiently protect the environment, which they do not, it is clearly preferable for a company to comply with existing laws, and SDS largely has.
We know that the company has a responsibility to its shareholders; we hope and expect that responsibility can be met and still ensure the best possible outcome for the land, the community, the forest, and SDS. We think it is possible to preserve the Stevenson family legacy and to meet the shareholder financial goals while supporting the community and the watersheds where the company operates.
Protection of the watershed and the river is the mission of Friends of the White Salmon River, so of course our thoughts turn first to those issues. The potential negative outcomes are easy to see: The sale of SDS lands has the potential to lead to short-term timber harvest, followed by parcel fragmentation and residential development, leading to environmental stress and a host of potential negative changes.
The continued operation of the mill has been a driving force in maintaining the long-term harvest rotation practices used by SDS. We value the knowledge and skill and well-being of the many SDS employees — our friends and neighbors. For these and many other reasons, we would prefer to see the SDS business continued as a vertically-integrated forest and mill enterprise.
As a local environmental group, we do not presume to speak for others. We have, however, engaged in many conversations with people from all walks of life in the region who will be affected by the decision SDS makes. There is a high level of local concern about outcomes.
We are also speaking to those companies and organizations interested in acquiring the assets of the SDS Lumber Company. These are some of the concerns we’ve heard.
- Preserving the current business structure with forest land, mill, and equipment under one ownership
- Maintaining healthy forest conditions with diverse tree species
- Keeping economic benefits in the community
- Providing long-term habitat and wildlife corridors
- Protecting cultural resources, including treaty rights on ceded land
- Preserving public access to the land and streams, continuing current public access policies
- Storing carbon in the forest and land and using forest management practices to improve climate conditions
- Supporting the local economy with stable employment opportunities with benefits
- Implement forest practices for salmon recovery, including maintenance of water quality
- Exercising land management practices that protect ground and surface water supplies for drinking water
- Strengthening wildfire prevention at the landscape level and for residential safety
- Completing the promised transfer of SDS parcels within the Wild and Scenic river segment
- Avoiding forest fragmentation and parcel development.
We think public discussion, including local elected officials, is essential. An opportunity to express concerns and work toward the future together is both empowering and reassuring.
We invite people to start this discussion on our webpage. Follow this link and leave your comments and thoughts. We will seek ways to make on-going discussion productive and useful.
We encourage SDS to share what information they can over these next months and to energize the power of the community toward positive results for all.
I found this article because I was hiking in the Gorge today and thinking about SDS Lumber and Krebs Ranch owning a majority of Burdoin Mountain and around, and also experiencing decades of dismay at SDS’s dominance of the area and the amount of cutting that they have continued to do. So I went to the Klickitat County plat online and again seeing how much of the gorge lands SDS owns and thinking that it would be so wonderful if that land could become public land to preserve and be enjoyed for its beauty and ecological services.
This seems to me to be an opportunity. Instead of wondering what Earth-raping individuals and businesses may buy the land and be worse than SDS, how about conservation and preservation groups working with SDS and state and federal leaders and agencies to have the land brought into public ownership?
There is so much goodwill towards the families of SDS. I hope they will consider the long term health of the wild creatures and the local community when choosing a buyer or buyers, and a process/conditions for sale. If even a portion of the most delicate areas was preserved in Community Land Trusts it would be a huge blessing. Knowing folks who depend on the lumber jobs and the mill- I really hope it will be bought by someone with a conscience.
SDS owns soooo much land here and they have been good neighbors, allowing access for the all-important recreation that is so special in the Gorge. Selling to any company, large or small, is going to have to (please god!) include some kind of contractual language about not being allowed to denude all the land, line the pockets of a few in the C-Suite, and bug out of town. The only thing that keeps me hopeful is that the Stevensons do live here and should want to maintain beautiful, sustainable forests (and related property values). It is really frightening to have one family, however, with so much power to utterly destroy the quality of life for both people and animals in the Gorge.
Thanks to Friends of the White Salmon for creating this space for conversation. This is a beautiful and special place where we live, and it is wonderful to hear all the voices that love it and want to protect these lands. I hope we can find a way to collaborate and make a difference. Lots of people have shared good ideas here, but P Arnold has hit the nail on the head when she points out that time is the biggest problem here. Lots of potentially interested parties and possibilities, but little time to organize, etc. Is there any way to convince SDS to delay action? If so, might there be any possibilities of working with Columbia Land Trust, with individuals, businesses, etc. contributing funds to the cause? Huge community organized fundraiser?
Thanks Andrea for your comment. It would be most helpful to hear from SDS about the projected timetable of the sale, and how could it be bad for them to share a little of this kind of information? In the absence of communications from SDS, I feel somewhat gloomy about the prospects of delay of the sale. We also need to be thinking about what to do after the sale is concluded, and of course that will depend on the outcome of the sale. So all in all, kind of hard to know what to do.
What would delaying the sale accomplish? SDS is a private company. If people want their land, they should raise the money to buy it. Which will not happen. Too expensive.
I agree with so many of these comments. I want to see a group buy this land that will keep the Gorge beautiful and wild. I would love to see some land returned to the Yakama/Tribal people, too.
If you want the land returned, I suggest that you buy that land and give it to them.
I see so many comments that I agree with. I just want to keep this simple: We need to commune with nature and nature is comprised of many different organisms working together, not just trees that are going to be sold for profit. We need to conserve our true forests for the future or they will be gone.
I see so many comments that I agree with. I will keep this simple. We need to commune with nature (the fact that so many people come to to gorge from other areas proves this to me) and nature is a combination of life that is connected, not just a tree farm. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
In many ways SDS, its leadership and family board members have been a good neighbor to local folks, allowing recreational access to many of it beautiful lands. The public has a strong interest in maintaining this use. While considering potential buyers, SDS and family members, please consider local impacts and allow public input to help guide your decision.
As an upper Snowden resident, I’m surrounded by SDS timberland. I have always been impressed with how SDS promptly replants after a harvest. I am grateful that SDS makes slash and downed logs available for woodcutting for a nominal fee–SDS has helped me keep my family warm! I also remember how during the Great Recession, Jason Spadero and SDS management worked hard to keep people on the mill payroll; many of my friends would have been in terrible shape, otherwise.
I am very worried that SDS will sell its lands to a corporate entity with no connection and no concerns about the people who work in the forests and live at the edges. I encourage SDS management to take into account the community impact of sale of its lands and operations.
I’ve lived up Snowden for 12 years and am grateful to SDS for providing trails, but mostly for preserving so much forest land from becoming developed. We have abundant wildlife, plant species, and water systems. I hope some of the land can go into local land trusts or at least be sold with environmental land use requirements in place. We, and our neighbors, care deeply about taking care of the ecological value of our acreage and would be saddened to see it stripped away.
I’ve lived in Snowden on land bordering SDS forests for going on 8 years. I’m very grateful to SDS for the countless hours I’ve spent in the woods, walking sanctioned trails, observing flora and fauna in changing seasons. It’s my fervent hope that SDS will approach divesting of its properties in the same thoughtful way it provided superior long-term timber management, while considering community and wildlife impact.
I have lived in Underwood for 30+ years and have recreated (primarily hiking and biking, and floating the White Salmon River) on SDS lands since first moving to the Gorge. With the generous permission of SDS, and with help from many community members, I have been able to build ( with lots of help) and maintain a modest trail system that is 100% on SDS land on Underwood Mtn. over the past 20 years. These trails are all within the National Scenic Area, and over the years have seen increasing use by many hundreds of people. We have been able to get out and enjoy the forest, get some fresh air and exercise, and otherwise enjoy the wonderful quality of life that living here allows. I have worked with 2 generations of foresters employed by SDS, and they have all shared their knowledge and skills in educating me regarding forest ecology and stewardship, and have been a pleasure to work with.
The sale of the SDS assets will have a huge impact on many facets of our local communities- jobs, commercial infrastructure, unknown “ripple effects” on the local economy, land use issues, and of course recreation.
My hope is that as the sale moves forward, that some of the land holdings, especially tracts within the National Scenic Area, might end up protected by transfer (through sale or donation ) to one or more Land Trust/ Conservancy organizations. Having seen how SDS has utilized many “best practices” in managing their properties while still contributing to the local economy, providing direct employment to many folks here in the Gorge, and yes, still turn a reasonable profit. My fear is that new potential owners may fall short of the high standards developed and set by SDS over the past 75+ years. Worst case scenario is new owners coming in and maximizing extraction and profits short term with little concern for long term negative impacts. Thank you to all who have provided comments on this forum, with a special shout out to Pat Arnold for all her good efforts
Finally, I would like to thank SDS, and particularly, the Stevenson family for their longtime
generosity and contributions to our local communities.
Thank you, Matt Ryan
From 2001-2005, 160 scientists worldwide assessed the planet’s ecosystems and published their results in 2005. Their report, the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, offered a stark and grim rendering: humans have destroyed 60% of the world’s ecosystems by the end of the last century.
The natural resource extraction industry has a history of raping the land for profit and moving on, abandoning the communities, workers, and damaged ecosystems. SDS has offered a different model and should consider its legacy of collaboration and community support as its most powerful attributes.
Our legacy must be redefined as stewardship of the planet. I urge SDS and its stakeholders to sell not just its corporation’s assets but to sell its legacy.
I pray that you, SDS, will only sell to a company that will continue to maintain the land ethics you have endorsed, that you will only sell to a company who has the community at heart, that you will not sell to a company who would rape the land & move on, that the land will always be used for the timber industry and not development. I have a huge fear that with this sale, you may be instrumental in destroying the environment, the land we love if you sell to a company that does not hold your same values.
I’m a Klickitat county native, and the presence of SDS– a timber company started in the Gorge, with strong ties to the area and the community– has shaped this incredible place that we live. Well-managed timberlands are vital to our ecosystems, our watersheds, our recreational activities, and to maintaining the character of our community. And many of us depend on them for our livelihood.
My sincerest hope is that SDS recognizes the weight of this decision and the lasting impact it will have on the place they’ve called home for over 75 years. Protect it, preserve it, leave it better than you found it.
I hope SDS will share some information with the community on how the process is going to work, are they selling individual land pieces or all or none. It’s scary not to know anything and ultimately know how devastating it could be if someone buys all of the property and only has financial profits in mind. It would also be extremely helpful if the Stevenson’s would consider allowing more time for the intended sale so that different conservation groups and others would have a fighting chance to participate.
In these times of growing environmental stress, I pray that the buyer of this enormous property will consider the importance of these lands to the ecosystem of not only the gorge but to the fragile world we occupy.
For those that suggested a conservation easement, please visit this Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office’s Forestland Preservation Program website:
https://rco.wa.gov/grant/washington-wildlife-and-recreation-program-forestland-preservation/
The RCO is among several possible sources of partial funding for conservation and/or recreation funding, purchase or easement. All these funding processes take time, a couple of years at least, and most provide partial funding, requiring local match. What we do not have here is time. The sale could be completed by this summer, almost certainly will be completed before the end of the year.
We live in Columbia Rim Estates off Tunnel and Courtney Rd with 60 families hooked up to a community well. SDS ownes acres of timberland surrounding us. Any development of this land will threatened our water supply. In fact, water scarcity would impair development. We are hoping that this land (most of it recently logged) will remain in timber.
I grew up here in the Columbia River Gorge and have seen a lot of changes in my 65 years. Thanks to organizations like Friends of the Columbia River Gorge, The Friends of White Salmon River, The Columbia Gorge Commission, and other organizations that strive to protect our ecosystem, watersheds, and the lifestyles of those who reside here, we have managed to preserve these beautiful lands we call home. Having well-managed, private timberlands that provide jobs and give access to recreation has played a big part in contributing to our communities and to the quality of life here for both humans and wildlife. I hope that the Stevensons will continue to give by ensuring that these lands and the future of the Columbia Gorge are protected. We can only hope that they will be extremely selective in choosing a buyer/buyers that will protect this rare gem of a place where we are lucky enough to live.
Hi everyone… I’m new to the area, connected with a community in WS and looking for my own home in the area, and feel devastated to hear this news. The wild is under siege in this world.
I wonder if interested people could gain more traction and public support by flyering about the issue and hosting town hall style meetings for people to gather, share feelings, list resources, share ideas, and organize the collective people power to be more engaged in the process?
The more the merrier, and the more the more powerful.
Big thanks to this org for making a home for this exploration.
You’ve got it exactly. Our goal is to bring the collective power of people to this situation. Thanks for putting this so well.
It’s a privately-owned company. You can “gather, share feelings, list resources, share ideas and organize the collective people power” to your heart’s content, but as you do so, I might suggest raising the money to buy the company.
SDS should leave a legacy and:
1. Take care of their workers by turning the mill over to them in reward for YEARS of hard work.
2. Preserve as much land as possible in the wild & scenic corridor and leave the valley beautiful.
This community oriented family could really leave something special behind like the Carnegies, Rockefellers, & Ford did.
Love what you said here: Preserve as much land as possible in the wild & scenic corridor and leave the valley beautiful.This is so important. The beauty here is amazing and my highest wish is to preserve all that is here. It is all precious and deserves to be protected. I’ll be honest I don’t know how to do it but I do know the importance of it and the call in my heart to do it. The forest and the trees have taken care of us by giving us homes to live and keeping us warm in our homes. Isn’t it time we return the favor:)
If water is the new “gold” then lets try to visualize redrawing the lines of local government. Bioregions come to mind and each Bioregion is most easily divided by Watersheds. Most of us locally would belong to the WhiteSalmon River Watershed.
It is unfortunately almost impossible to imagine protecting every drop of water that falls into “our” watershed! The way in which we have “hacked up” the land and separated our minds and hearts from the land is frightening (to me).
Some think of only money and some think of only protecting the environment. However it seems that we are beyond ,being, only to think of our local environment! and have to think globally. FOR EXAMPLE ; the coal we sell to China pollutes the ocean of air that we all breath. The logging in the tropics and in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere on the planet are contributing to air quality and the over heating of the planet and this problem is a global issue.
If the algorithm of math we used also included the overall health of our home planet , every tree standing would be worth more money than every tree down, dead and stacked in some saw mill”s Cold Deck!
If everyone in our bioregion would contribute 100 dollars maybe we could buy all of SDS lands and manage it sustainable.
The DNR logging guidelines have been so influenced by powerful logging lobbyist that they are NOT sustainable practices, are they better than nothing? Yes, yet barely.
Recently a land trust has purchased many acres of land in the
Klickitat River Watershed and even given some of this land back to the Yakima Nation! It would be a miracle if the SDS lands in question could be purchased and held in some kind of sustainable land trust!!!
I have spent many hour and have walked many miles across this beautiful county called Klickitat and I love every square inch of it! And I have notice that the Yakima Nation takes much better care of their land and its life forms that “we” do!
The indigenous land use practices that we considered, too primitive, when we arrived in this country are now coming back to haunt us. The dead wood fuel build up under our standing forests are time bombs!
The one mile square clear cut allowed under DNR rulings are also time bombs that have now caught up to us!
If our economic model, of profits being more important, than the long range protection of our environment, don’ t change and soon, well ” the hand writing is already on the wall”. We are living it every day; almost no salmon coming up the river , hungry sea lions, hungry Orca whales, global warming, rising sea levels to name a few.
So thinking globally and acting locally, the question is; What can we do? How can we have an acting influence over the outcome, that is so imminently at stake here?
I agree with Jack. If SDS is not parceling out their holdings then it will take some large entities to become involved. i would think that the tribe would be very interested in acquiring these timberlands. The state DFW and forest service are two other agencies that come to mind.
In Klickitat County, I have records for 85 caves and 14 miles of passages, approximately half of those caves are on SDS lands. SDS maybe the largest cave owner in the state. Many of the caves are prime bat habitat because of their lower elevation with respect to the caves on Forest Service lands. Bats are under extreme pressure due to White Nose Syndrome (WNS), which is 95% fatal to bats. The fugus that causes WNS has been identified as close as Lewis County. The Forest Service sets aside 300 foot buffers around their caves in consideration of timber harvests. SDS has set aside smaller buffers, as evidenced in the SDS clearcut immediately west of Trout Lake. The sale of SDS lands is a great opportunity for any company to get out of the conservation business, concentrate on their core activities, by divesting themselves of critical wildlife habitat. I hope a new deal can be constructed.
It’d be interesting to know if SDS or future owners would be interested in selling parcels to individuals and/or putting them into some sort of land trust where the uses are limited (ie. no rapid development). I suspect potential buyers would not want this to happen before a sale, but SDS may be able/willing to get away with it.
If individuals/groups/regions are interested in purchasing, or pushing SDS to sell in smaller chunks, what’s our best course of action?
Is SDS willing to sell individual parcels or smaller chunks of parcels? This question has been voiced pretty frequently. It’s my understanding that they are not. You can always send them an email and ask, but I’m wondering if SDS might be willing to provide a statement about this? Might even be helpful to them to clarify this publicly – cut down on the number of phone calls and emails asking individually. I’ll try to get in touch with them and ask if this is something they would be willing to do.
I would be hugely surprised if that happens. For starters, there’s more value in contiguous land, at least if tree farming is going to continue. Thus, selling individual parcels would reduce the value of adjacent land. Secondly, the administrative overhead — all the headaches in dealing with multiple individuals and their idiosyncracies — would be a powerful disincentive.
Thank you for providing a forum for the community to weigh in on something so impactful to all of our futures. The awesome access to the outdoors is a leading reason people live and recreate in this area. Any loss of access to these natural spaces will be felt economically by multiple local communities and individuals. In addition to financial and economic impacts, we are in a precarious position environmentally. With such vast swaths of land hanging in the balance, the overall health of our local ecosystems is at stake. Many of these areas would be absolutely devastating to lose and would have potentially irrevocable consequences. I sincerely hope SDS will ensure their legacy is one of conservation in order to safeguard a healthy environment for future generations.
The lands around a White Salmon are a crucial part of community life and the health of the surrounding ecosystem. This sale clearly underlines how fragile public access and sustainable use of this land really is. Even if SDS is bought by a responsible, vertically integrated company, continued access is not guaranteed. Is there any potential for key areas to be bought or donated to a conservation group?
Hi Leslie, thanks for your comment. There are large conservation groups working on this, for sure. It is not known whether SDS will consider selling individual parcels or what offers they will consider. Consequently, it is important for us to identify what matters and to get that message out to SDS and maybe more importantly to prospective buyers.
Hi Pat, thanks for your response and the work you are doing. I am a White Salmon native (graduated CHS 2014), if I can provide any further comment or testimony for you guys please let me know.
When you look at that map and realize how much land is involved, it makes one realize what a huge effect any transfer of these lands will have on not just the White Salmon area, but outlying communities including Trout Lake, BZ Corner, Husum, Glenwood, Klickitat, and even into Oregon where they own broad swaths of land, too. This all is prime habitat for wildlife, provides outdoor recreation, and is our buffer during wildfire season. It is essential that any transfer of these lands take these values into account. The economic value of the outdoor recreation is significant and helps create an engine that helps our small towns pull through tough times. Please do what you can to stand up for our environment and our small towns.
So the area around Buck Creek and above Northwestern Park is so valuable for hiking and mountain biking. Also the area above Skyline hospital running toward Snowden is heavily used by hikers, joggers. Family man area in Hood River extending south and west is a major biking and hiking area. To lose these is to lose what has become valuable about the great outdoor access. If the loss is substantial, I am guessing people will move out of the area We must preserve these places as public access open space to preserve the culture of this place!
I was born and raised here. A member of Friends of the White Salmon River since the beginning. Please help to conserve our area for the amazing recreational and natural beauty area it is famous for.
REIT ownership would be absolutely devastating to the local economy and ecology. They have no interest in the long term condition of the land or community, just quarterly profits. They will extract the resources and sell the depleted land as quickly as possible. Or perhaps worse, leave the depleted land unmanaged and a major fire hazard. Aggressive legal depts, state and federal lobbying, fines, settlements and massive liability insurance coverage are built into the business plan. No payout will recover what our community stands to lose if these lands fall into the wrong hands.
I affirm the above comments and hope that we can find a path forward that includes all stakeholders in long-range planning that protects the river and respects the interests of all- especially First Nations, residents, and recreational users. Thanks to FWSR for stepping up and taking on the role of convening everyone!
My husband grew up in White Salmon and we have lived here over 20 years. My heart’s desire for is to see this region maintain the beauty and regional pride for decades to come. Land management is critical to support the diverse wildlife and allow respectful enjoyment of the land for recreational and commercial activities.
I hope that the forest service will acquire some of the parcels that are adjacent to the White Salmon, and Klickitat rivers. Especially in the areas that have been designated Wild and Scenic. This is a great opportunity to put parcels that should be public land, under the right stewardship.
Thank you to everyone at FOWS for this important and informative link. Especially appreciative of the maps of SDS properties. Probably like many others in the community, I was startled and apprehensive when seeing the extent of the holdings of this one company and realizing they are soon expected to change ownership.
My sincere hope is that both the sellers and potential buyers allow some open communication with the public and with the many interested and concerned locally based nonprofits. This transfer could be a wonderful opportunity for some of the more environmentally critical holdings to be transferred into public ownership, or at least be afforded some measure of future protection and/or continued access. For the family members who have been part of this community for many generations, that would be a genuine and long lasting legacy.
I think this is a wonderful outreach to the community. I’ve heard so many rumors over the past few months, and it’s good to know that FWSR is on top of it and representing the concerns we have, and bringing to light some concerns we didn’t even know we should have!
The topics you raise are very thought-provoking, and it would be wonderful to see some conversations among our neighbors here on this forum that you have provided.
Please continue to let the public know how we can raise our collective voice around our interest in working with stakeholders, the sellers, and the buyers to ensure we retain recreational access and ideally improve environmental practices on SDS lands.