Forestry Facts

About 877,000 acres, or more than two-thirds of the county, is forested.
About half of the county, 824,000 acres, is zoned as forestland of long-term commercial significance in the Forest Production District. This includes the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Cedar River Watershed.
Forests provide important ecosystem services, including benefits for water quality, soil stabilization, recreation, habitat, and cultural values. Forests are key sources of water, with 38 percent of runoff in the Pacific Northwest coming from national forests.
Forest ecosystems remove significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, and coastal temperate forests of the Pacific Northwest are among the most productive forests in the world, allowing them to sequester and store exceptionally large amounts of carbon.
In the Snoqualmie Watershed, where more than 75 percent of the land is in the Forest Production District, it is estimated that forests and other natural systems provide benefits including flood protection, drinking water filtration, local weather and climate stability, aesthetic value, and areas to recreate. These values are worth more than $265 million.

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