Ahtanum State Forest is a working

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

and recreation area located in

Yakima County, Washington Yakima County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and most populous city is Yakima, Washington, Ya ...

. It covers approximately and lies west of the city of

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

. The forest borders the

Yakama Indian Reservation The Yakama Indian Reservation (spelled Yakima until 1994) is a Native American reservation in Washington state of the federally recognized tribe known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The tribe is made up of Klikitat ...

to the south, and the name Ahtanum means “stream by long mountain” in the

Yakama The Yakama are a Native Americans in the United State, Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in Eastern Washington, eastern Washington (state), Washington state. Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally rec ...

language.

History

The land comprising Ahtanum State Forest had previously been a

checkerboard A checkerboard (American English) or chequerboard (British English) is a game board of check (pattern), checkered pattern on which checkers (also known as English draughts) is played. Most commonly, it consists of 64 squares (8×8) of alternating ...

of public and private land. In 2005, the

Washington State Department of Natural Resources The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over of forest, rangeland, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The DNR also manages of aquatic areas which include sh ...

(DNR) traded of scattered land elsewhere for of this private forest owned by two companies,

Plum Creek Timber Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. was a timberland owner and manager, as well as a forest products, mineral extraction, and property development company, until it merged with Weyerhaeuser Company. It was headquartered in Suite 3100 at 601 Union S ...

and Elk Haven Tree Farms. This "blocking up" allowed DNR to consolidate ownership of of land in order to create Ahtanum State Forest. The

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) is a conservation and pro-hunting organization, founded in the United States in 1984 by four hunters from Troy, Montana (Bob Munson, Bill Munson, Dan Bull and Charlie Decker). Its mission is to ensure the ...

(RMEF) paid for $50,000 worth of appraisals to help complete the land exchange after DNR ran out of money until the next funding cycle.

Notes

Sources

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External links

* (Washington DNR) 2005 establishments in Washington (state) Washington (state) state forests Protected areas of Yakima County, Washington {{YakimaCountyWA-geo-stub