JOYCE — Public comment is open on an application from Rayonier Inc. to harvest timber along a section of state Highway 112 near Twin Beach in west Clallam County.
Rayonier submitted the application in late September and public comments are due by Monday. A decision will be made by Oct. 21, according to the application submitted to the state Department of Natural Resources.
The application includes a geothermal technical report done by Seattle-based firm Shannon and Wilson and commissioned by Rayonier.
The report found that areas in the vicinity of the proposed harvest have been deemed unstable, but said those areas have been marked off and the planned logging areas can be cleared safely.
“The potentially unstable slopes that are identified in this report have been designated as leave areas. The proposed harvest unit is unlikely to cause additional slope movement,” the report said.
“Features that were recognized by this evaluation as unstable or potentially unstable have been flagged out of the proposed harvest.”
Portions of Highway 112 have been closed due to landslides in the past. In March, the state Department of Transportation reopened a section of highway near Clallam Bay that had been closed since November 2021.
Public comments can be submitted to the DNR Olympic Region office by email at olympic.region@dnr.wa.gov or by mail to 411 Tillicum Lane, Forks, Wash. 98331.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at psegall@soundpublishing.com.
