1,400 Years Old and Still Going Strong -- Majestic Forest is a Hidden Treasure

ARLINGTON, Wash. (NNS) -- Naval Radio Station (NRS), Transmitter, Jim Creek, a tenant command of Naval Communications and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific Detachment, Puget Sound, is located 50 miles north of Seattle in the Cascade Mountain foothills. NRS Jim Creek is a 5,000 acre forest that contains a massive communication cable system stretching across mountain ranges and over valleys providing communication capabilities for Pacific Fleet submarines.It also contains something else, an old growth forest.

A narrow band of land, extending nearly three miles around Cub Creek to the north and Twin Lakes to the south, is home to a forest of both regional and national significance. The Walter R. Briggs Old Growth Forest is named for the Navy forester who has managed the timber land since 1983 and is a collection of relict Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, western red cedar and western hemlock trees that reach heights up to 200 feet, are approximately 11 feet in diameter, and dates back to between 800 to 1,400 years ago.

When asked, "Why does the Navy have foresters?" His answer is simple, "Because the Navy owns a lot of land with trees on it."

When the Navy purchased private forestlands from the Soundview Pulp Company in 1950 to build NRS Jim Creek, only the land was purchased. The logging rights for "merchantable timber standing or lying upon said lands" were retained by the company. By 1954 Soundview logged everything except 275 acres of old growth forest bordering Twin Lakes and Cub Creek. Soundview then sold the timberlands to Scott Paper Company.

Briggs began an active dialogue with Scott Paper Company in March 1984, just 10 months after starting his job as a Navy forester, in an effort to broker an exchange to preserve the old growth forest. In fact, one could say Briggs "pestered" them for several years. If not for the tenacious efforts of Briggs, this beautiful and unique forest would have been completely logged by the late '90's.

"I would like to claim I was knowledgeable enough to know this unique old growth forest should be preserved for Navy operational and forest stewardship reasons," Briggs said. "The real truth is I was struck by the beauty of it when I first saw it in February 1978. Why wouldn't you save such a glorious forest?"

Briggs worked with Bill Rawlins, forester for Scott Paper, to hammer out an equitable exchange - all cutting rights to old growth timber on the Navy lands for second growth of equal value. As the deal edged closer, the Department of Defense (DOD) created the Legacy Resource Management Program. In a bold move, Briggs approached Peter Boice, the natural resources program manager, for $3 million to buy cutting rights to preserve the old growth forest.

Briggs recalls, "He laughed because I was asking for 30 percent of the entire DOD Legacy Program budget."

Briggs was a man on a mission and not even the beginnings of a political kabuki dance would deter him. Miss Jaqueline Schaeffer, the first Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment, invited Briggs to DC to brief her on the significance of the old growth forest.

Putting her full support behind the cause, Schaeffer routed the request for approval through the Assistant Secretary of the Navy to the Assistant Secretary of Defense.

In September 1992 the transfer of $3 million to save the old growth forest was executed and Scott Paper was granted three years to salvage downed cedar. By September 1995 the Navy had sole title, free and clear, to the old growth timber.

Again with Briggs as the driving force, the old growth forest is protected and conserved by the Forest Management Section of the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan. This is significant as this stretch of forest will not be logged, ever. Should second growth trees surrounding the old growth area require thinning to allot for fewer, larger trees to grow, the old growth forest will not fall prey.

In an unprecedented move, Briggs was honored to have this woodland named after him - Walter R. Briggs Old Growth Forest. Federal policy pertaining to naming places in honor of a person requires the person to be deceased for at least five years. After an 18 month slog, the Chief of Naval Operations secured the designation, March 11, 2005. The dedication ceremony was held 18 June the same year.

"It was a very moving ceremony and the absolute honor of a lifetime," said Briggs of the dedication ceremony. "It's personally and professionally rewarding to receive recognition for saving this magnificent forest."

Since the acquisition, the Walter R. Briggs Old Growth Forest has become de rigeur for visiting nature enthusiasts, conservationists and military dignitaries as a showcase for the integration of military mission and natural resource program requirements.

Briggs reflects on the legwork he undertook to preserve this forest. "Centuries after I'm long gone, generations to come can walk through this great forest, enjoy it, learn from it and be inspired."

For information about visiting the Jim Creek Recreation Area, go to www.navylifepnw.com/site/67/Jim-Creek.aspx or call 1-877-Navy-Bed (628-9233) for reservations.

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