DNR #1 Parson Creek Traditional Cache
BrewerMD: There is no need for this one any longer, plenty up here as it is. I will go try to find my can soon. So long and thanks for all the fish.
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This is the first of a series of caches I plan to place on Washington State Department of Natural Resource public lands. Parson Creek is on the southern side of Anderson Mountain. The cache is near the logging road and about three quarters of a mile past the DNR sign and entry gate. When I placed the cache, the gate was open to vehicular traffic.
On November 11, 1889, Congress admitted Washington as the 42nd state of the United States. To encourage settlement in the west, the state was given land from the "land rich-cash poor" federal government. More than 3 million acres were transferred or promised to the state in the original grants. These included forests, prairies and grasslands all across the territory. Unlike many states, Washington kept most of the granted trust lands to continue generating income over time.
Beginning in the 1930s, the state acquired about 620,000 acres of forest lands. These had been privately owned, but most had been logged and abandoned, and reverted to county ownership for non-payment of taxes during the depression. The counties had no one to manage the land, fight fires, and plant new trees, so the lands were deeded to the state to remain forever as forest, and in return, the counties receive part of the revenue from the lands.
In 1957, the state Legislature created the Department of Natural Resources for protecting public natural resources and managing the state trust lands. DNR manages about 5.6 million acres of state lands that raise income from the sale of timber and other resources or from land leases, and also provide wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities. The state lands earn an average of about $250 million per year for the beneficiaries and the public.
The state of Washington has long been a leader in providing accessible outdoor recreation. In Washington, you don't need a personal fortune and acreage of your own to be able to ride or hike through wide open lands, appreciate their scenic beauty, or benefit from their high productivity.
Parson Creek: This stand is part of the Skagit Forest Board trust. It is managed by DNR to perpetuate the timber resource and provide funding to support Skagit County public services, including schools, roads, hospital and emergency services. This hardwood stand was harvested in the early 1970's and planted with douglas fir. It was precommercially thinned in 1987 and will be harvested again in about 2035.
Watch for additional caches as I research and explore Washington DNR lands.
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Treasures
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