Public meeting Feb. 26 to review proposed forest thinning at Heritage Park

Published 12:39 pm Tuesday, February 24, 2015

KINGSTON — Learn more about restoration thinning planned for North Kitsap Heritage Park at a public meeting Feb. 26, 7-9 p.m., in the North Kitsap Fire & Rescue Paul T. Nichol Headquarters Station, 26642 Miller Bay Road NE, Kingston.

Kitsap County Forester Arno Bergstrom, Parks & Recreation Department staff and members of the North Kitsap Heritage Park Stewardship Group will be on hand to review the variable density forest-thinning plan for the park, answer questions and take feedback.

“The North Kitsap Heritage Park stewards have worked for over eight months on the development of a draft forest stewardship plan for the park,” Bergstrom said in a meeting announcement. “They have done an outstanding job of engaging stakeholders and leveraging community expertise in riparian and wetland ecology, fish and wildlife, and natural and cultural resources.”

The Kitsap County Integrated Forest Stewardship Policy, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in October 2012, requires that a North Kitsap Heritage Park Forest Stewardship Plan be prepared and given public review prior to any action being taken. A draft of the NKHP Forest Stewardship Plan is available at www.kitsapgov.com/parks/Parks/Pages/ForestStewardship.htm.

The North Kitsap Heritage Park, made up of 809 acres of second-growth forest and a network of former logging roads and new trails maintained by the stewardship group, is located on Miller Bay Road near Kingston. More information on the park, including a trail map, go to www.kitsapgov.com/parks/Parks/Pages/heritageparks/north_kitsap.htm.

For more information on the forestry program, contact Bergstrom at 360-620-8907, or abergstr@co.kitsap.wa.us.