Sustainable Forestry Program

Forest of fir trees with understory of ferns.

Clark County’s Sustainable Forestry Program started in 2011 with the development of forest stewardship plans for recently acquired properties. These plans exemplify how to transition forest land from passive management to active management.

Today, Clark County uses selective thinning and other techniques to improve the overall health of these forest ecosystems, which support a diversity of plants and animals, and to generate a small amount of revenue from wood products.

Clark County developed forest stewardship plans for three county-owned properties – Camp Bonneville, Camp Hope and Green Mountain.

In 2017, the county incorporated these three plans into a single document that also covers other county-owned forest lands: Bratton Canyon, Lake Rosannah and Spud Mountain.

Clark County Forest Stewardship Plan (PDF)

Camp Bonneville forest management slash burning 2025

As part of our management of the forest at Camp Bonneville, Clark County Public Works will be burning slash piles this spring. Our sustainable timber harvest practices generate woody debris, known as “slash”. Slash contains treetops, limbs and broken pieces. Slash is disposed of to reduce forest fire risk and clear an area for restoration planting. Slash piles are burned when the adjacent forests are moist and fire risk is low. The State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) granted our Sustainably Forestry Program a two-year permit to burn 10 slash piles at Camp Bonneville.

Click here to read the slash burning notification letter, containing additional information and permit requirements.

Current burn status:

Slash pile burning that began the week of 1/21 is complete. Click the link above to learn more about monitoring requirements we are following.

2024 slash burning: please see the information at the top right of this page to learn more about timber harvest slash burning occurring at Camp Bonneville in 2024.

Clark County is working to effectively manage Camp Bonneville's forests that support a diversity of plants and animals. Forest management is just one part of the county's overall program for the former U.S. Army north of Camas.

The Clark County Forest Stewardship Plan (PDF) calls for selective thinning and other techniques to create a healthy forest ecosystem. The modest income generated from these wood products will be used at Camp Bonneville for forest operations, property management and other activities, such as road maintenance.

Clark County’s Camp Bonneville forestry program is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC-C008225) and the American Tree Farm System.

The county is working to control the following invasive and non-native species at Camp Bonneville:

Bull thistle
Canada thistle
Herb Robert
Meadow knapweed
Mouse-ear hawkweed
Non-native blackberry
Queen Anne’s lace
Scot’s broom
Tansy ragwort

Control methods, such as using herbicides or removing vegetation by power tools or hand pulling, are used annually from May through October. All control efforts are carefully implemented to ensure that state-listed plant species, like the hairy-stemmed checker mallow, are not harmed. Herbicides are applied according to strict safety guidelines set by the manufacturer.

Control efforts are focused on Camp Bonneville’s valley floor, where Lacamas Creek flows through the property, as well as on gravel roads and trails and near buildings. Additional areas will be treated as necessary to maintain a healthy forest ecosystem. Some areas are not open for invasive species control due to ongoing cleanup of munitions of explosive concern and other hazardous materials.

Watch this CVTV video to learn more about Clark County's Sustainable Forestry Program, including the county's forestry approach at Camp Bonneville.

[video: https://youtu.be/iBieq6LRpxE ]

For more videos about the county’s forestry program, check out our YouTube page.

Camp Hope is a 105-acre forested property located in northwest Clark County. Observations of this area indicate the presence of stands of commercial species in viable quantities and quality. Some stands within the older conifer types (70–90-year age class) are diseased due to overcrowding. In areas near Lewisville Regional Park’s roads and Camp Hope campgrounds, evidence of disease and interior rot is readily detectable on many large diameter Douglas-fir. Many of these trees are considered high risk trees which will not likely survive the next 15 to 20 years. Some of them may be classified as hazards because of their proximity to facilities and areas used by visitors and staff.

Click here to view the latest master plan.

Green Mountain is a 360-acre forested property located in southwest Clark County extending from the eastern flank of Green Mountain (elevation 804’). The property is located along the edges of prairie habitat that extends into the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Although the site is included in the westside western hemlock vegetation zone, the area has burned periodically since 1900, so the current forest is predominantly even-aged stands of Douglas-fir. Typical understory species include sword fern (Polystichum munitum), red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), vine maple (Acer circinatum), Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa), hazelnut (Corylus sp.), snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) and elderberry (Sambucus canadensis).

Spud Mountain is a 156-acre forested property located in southwest Clark County. The primary overstory species are Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Typical understory species include vine maple (Acer circinatum), salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), hazelnut (Corylus sp.), salal (Gautheria shallon) and sword fern (Polystichum munitum). There is an abundance of non-native English holly (Ilex aquifolium) throughout the property. Although the site is included in the westside western hemlock vegetation zone, the area has burned periodically since 1900, so the current forest is predominantly even-aged stands of Douglas-fir.

Current New on Spud Mt. Thinning

1/11/2024 – Draft report submitted to the county forester for review – “The Spud Mountain Preliminary Geologic Hazard Assessment.”

This report helps identify the areas for potential forest health thinning

An October 2017 audit by Northwest Certified Forestry reviewed Clark County's 2016-2017 forest management and timber harvest activities.

The evaluator observed "exemplary timber harvest practices that minimized soil disturbance and impacts to residual timber." The report further praises the county's program for restoring forest habitat, including stream restoration, replanting riparian area, replanting valley bottoms and removing invasive species.

"Clark County continues to meet or exceed the high standards of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and, in doing so, provides an instructive example of both long-term economically viable and environmentally sustainable forest management practices," the evaluator wrote.

Clark County’s renewed certificate for the next five years 2020-2025 FSC Certificate (PDF).

In November 2017, the American Tree Farm System's Washington Tree Farm Program recertified Clark County's forestry program and congratulated the county for its "continuing efforts at good land stewardship."