Ahtanum State Forest is a working
forest and recreation area located in
Yakima County, Washington. It covers approximately and lies west of the city of
Yakima. The forest borders the
Yakama Indian Reservation to the south, and the name Ahtanum means “stream by long mountain” in the
Yakama language.
History
The land comprising Ahtanum State Forest had previously been a
checkerboard
A checkerboard (American English) or chequerboard (British English; see spelling differences) is a board of checkered pattern on which checkers (also known as English draughts) is played. Most commonly, it consists of 64 squares (8×8) of altern ...
of public and private land. In 2005, the
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) traded of scattered land elsewhere for of this private forest owned by two companies,
Plum Creek Timber 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 movement, 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 miss ...
(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
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