The Forest Stewardship and Restoration Program works to ensure the long-term health of the forests on Kitsap County parks by moving forest habitats, compositions, and structures toward complex, mature forest conditions that include varied structure, large trees, and high-quality habitats.
Many of the parks in our park system are large, forested parcels, covering over 9,500 acres, that were previously managed as industrial timberlands. Typically, these forests were logged at least once and densely replanted with the expectation of future logging. Now that these forests are parks, they are managed for the following conservation goals:
- To have compositions and structures to facilitate the growth of large, vigorous trees that are resilient to stressors
- Provide high quality habitats that have high ecological function,
- Maintain and enhance soil conditions,
- Allow opportunities for public and cultural foraging and gathering, and
- Are refugia for wildlife and humans in an increasingly developing and urbanizing environment.
Conditions in many parts of these forests are currently departed from historic or desirable conditions. This means the forests have declining or damaged forest health, resiliency, or habitat quality that they will have difficulty overcoming without help. Tour goal is to restore these forests to a more healthy, resilient state and put them on a trajectory to develop towards complex, mature forest conditions.
During the first 11 years of the Kitsap County Parks Forest Stewardship and Restoration Program –from 2014 through 2024 – restoration treatments were conducted on approximately 2,4672 acres of large, forested parks.
In 2025, Parks Natural Resource Program staff updated the Forest Stewardship & Restoration Policy and 10-Year Strategic Plan to reflect updated science, best management practices, additional park areas, and to include an analysis of past performance, and expected future actions. This process involved extensive data analysis, eternal expert review, a period of public outreach and feedback gathering.
The Kitsap County Board of Commissioners reviewed extensive community and Parks Advisory Board feedback about the county's Forest Stewardship and Restoration Practices during this period and approved the Policy and Strategic plan in December of 2025.
Forest Stewardship and Restoration Policy:
This policy document describes why Stewardship and Restoration activities are needed in Kitsap County Parks and how they would be accomplished.
It outlines the purpose and need, goals and objectives, and high-level guidance for the program based on the scientific literature and accepted best practices.
Forest Stewardship and Restoration Strategic Plan:
This is a technical document that provides a high-level, system-wide plan to enact the updated Policy for the next 10 years – 2025 through 2034.
It identifies projected Stewardship and Restoration activities that need to be evaluated for implementation in the focus parks including assessment, monitoring, outreach, planning, permitting, and management.
What's next:
Natural Resource Staff will use the policy and high-level strategic plan to help guide the development of restoration planning specific to the needs of each forest. As these plans are developed there will be additional opportunities for public feedback. If you would like to be involved in these processes, please sign up for gov delivery, watch for social media posts, and posting at trailheads.
For more information about the Forest Stewardship and Restoration Program, please contact us at parks@kitsap.gov.
Thank you for your continued interest and support as we work to restore and steward Kitsap County’s forested parks for generations to come.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This FAQ explains the purpose, process, and protections in Kitsap County Parks Forest Stewardship and Restoration Program.
What is the goal of the Forest Stewardship and Restoration Program?
The program exists to guide County Park forests toward healthier, more resilient conditions using current science and adaptive management. Goals include larger and longer-lived trees, richer understory, improved wildlife habitat, and protection of soil(s) and water. The focus is on forest health and public benefits.
Is the County logging the parks?
No. The Strategic Plan is system-wide and high-level. It identifies areas within parks that, based on high-level data, show a need for restoration action to help guide staff work planning. This plan identifies where assessments, planning, and treatments may occur across multiple parks. Park-specific treatment areas and schedules are set later, after extensive site assessments, park-level planning, public outreach, and permitting.
Is there a plan to cut most of a single park?
No. The Strategic Plan is system-wide and high-level. It identifies areas within parks that, based on high-level data, show a need for evaluation for restoration action and lays out a 10-year strategy to assist in staff work planning to better identify where assessments, planning, and treatments may occur across multiple parks. Park-specific treatment areas and schedules are set later, after site assessments, park-level planning, public outreach, and permits.
How will the public be involved before work happens?
Before any on-the-ground work in a park, the County develops a park-specific stewardship and restoration plan based on extensive site-specific data gathering. That plan compiles conditions, identifies needs, evaluates effects, and includes outreach and collaboration with the public, Tribes, volunteers, conservation partners, and other stakeholders.
What protections are in place for water, wildlife, and soils?
Sensitive resources such as wetlands, sensitive wildlife habitat, etc. will be identified during the park and project level evaluations and planning processes. Eliminating or minimizing impacts to sensitive resources is an important component of Park natural resource management. Projects must follow buffers and resource protections and must obtain required permits when applicable. Examples include Forest Practices Applications for thinning and road work, Hydraulic Project Approvals for work at water crossings, and SEPA review where required. Prescriptions identify and buffer sensitive resources and retain or create habitat features such as snags and down wood.
Will heavy equipment damage the forest?
This type of work will have some short-term impacts, no matter what methods are used. This impact is carefully weighed against the expected benefit to the ecosystem. Equipment is carefully selected to minimize as much impact as possible to the forest floor. Equipment operators also use a variety of techniques to help minimize impact such as modifying their tires, using slash to create a buffer between equipment and soil, as well as operating only during weather conditions that will not cause excess erosion. DNR-mandated road and crossing upgrades improve drainage and reduce erosion risks.
Why not let the forest take care of itself?
Most forests in County parks are second-growth stands that developed after historic clear-cutting and replanting and have departed significantly from native reference conditions, or what can be considered an ecologically resilient forest. Trees often compete at very high levels, which suppresses understory, reduces biodiversity, and increases vulnerability to insects, disease, and drought. Selective restoration reduces stress and puts these forests back on a track toward the development of mature forest conditions such as larger trees and layered habitat, which improves long-term resilience. Resilience is the forest's ability to withstand stressors such as pests, drought, fire, and climate change. For more information on the studies and references used to guide this process, please see the References section of the Policy.
What specific restoration actions might I see?
The toolbox includes selective thinning, small group selection or gap creation, young-stand thinning where dense plantations need early care, planting of site-appropriate native species, invasive plant control, habitat wood creation and retention, and limited road work tied to treatments. For more information on the studies and references used to guide this process, please see the References section of the Policy.
Will invasive plants take over after thinning?
Prescriptions include invasive plant prevention and control, along with actions to re-establish native understory where needed. Follow-up monitoring and adaptive management is part of treatment design to ensure forests trend toward healthier, more diverse conditions dominated by native plants. Studies show that initial flushes of invasive species are common after thinning, but long-term, these forests see an overall increase in native vegetation and very little long-term invasive species issues (Berkis et al. 2021). During monitoring of restoration areas, if invasive species flushes are negatively impacting the forest, action will be taken to remove the invasive species.
What about carbon storage and climate resilience?
The program links restoration to long-term carbon and resilience by promoting vigorous growth of larger trees and layered forests. Planning uses standard forestry tools and local data to evaluate effects and to prioritize treatments that improve forest health over time. For more information on the studies and references used to guide this process, please see the References section of the Policy.
Is this about making money from timber?
No. The draft documents include costs and potential revenues to plan realistic work and be transparent about program costs. Staff salaries are not supported by project revenue. Any potential revenue generated by the sale of merchantable material that is removed for ecological need is not retained by the Parks Department and is absorbed into the General Fund. These funds are dispersed at the discretion of the Board of County Commissioners.
Will recreation be harmed?
Work can cause temporary impacts such as intermittent closures for safety. The objective is a healthier, more diverse forest that supports better wildlife viewing, more light to the forest floor, and more resilient long-term forest and habitat conditions. Park-specific plans and permits require impact minimization and public notification.
What does tree stand mean in this context?
In forestry, a stand is a patch of forest with similar features, for example tree age, species mix, and structure, that is practical to manage as one unit. Treatments are planned at the stand level to address specific conditions and desired outcomes.
What is the timeline and how do I stay informed?
The County maintains a 10-year strategic plan with a timeline of projected activities. Before any on-the-ground work, expect park-specific planning, public engagement, and necessary permits.
For updates and meeting notices, sign up for updates via GovDelivery or contact parks@kitsap.gov.
Glossary of Forest Stewardship Terms
Adaptive management: A plan, do, check, adjust approach that uses monitoring to refine future actions.
Basal area (BA): The cross-sectional area of tree stems at breast height per acre. It is used to describe stand density and thinning targets.
Best management practices (BMPs): Practical on-the-ground methods that reduce impacts to soil, water, fish, wildlife, and recreation during projects.
Canopy layers: The vertical structure of a forest, such as overstory, midstory, and understory. Greater layering often supports more wildlife and makes forests more resilient to stressors.
Coarse woody debris: Down logs and large woody material on the forest floor. Provides habitat, stores moisture, and recycles nutrients.
Ecological thinning: Selective removal of trees to improve forest health and habitat. Sometimes called restoration thinning, precommercial thinning, or just thinning. Used to create an older forest structure and resilience.
Forest Practices Application (FPA): The state permit and review process for forest practices on non-federal lands in Washington, including thinning and forest road work. Administered by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
Gap: A small opening in the canopy created to increase light and promote diverse plant growth and tree regeneration. Studies show gaps and edges in forests are critical wildlife habitat.
Group selection: Creating small groups of openings within a stand to encourage varied ages and species.
Habitat features: Snags, down logs, brush piles, and layered vegetation that provide food, cover, and nesting sites for wildlife.
Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA): A required state authorization for work in or near waters of the state that may affect fish or fish habitat, issued by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Invasive plant control: Management actions that prevent or reduce the spread of non-native plants that outcompete native species.
Residual density: How many trees or how much basal area remains after a thinning treatment.
Riparian buffer: A protected strip of vegetation along streams, lakes, and wetlands that helps shade water, filter sediment, and support habitat.
Snag: A standing dead tree that remains rooted. Snags provide nesting cavities, perches, food sources, and shelter for birds, mammals, and insects. They are intentionally retained or created during restoration to improve habitat and nutrient cycling.
Stand (tree stand): A patch of forest with relatively uniform species mix, age, and structure that is practical to manage as a unit. Land managers plan treatments and monitor conditions at the stand level.
Stand density: How crowded a stand is, often expressed as trees per acre or basal area. Guides thinning decisions.
Understory: Shrubs, herbs, seedlings, and small trees growing under the main canopy.
Uneven-aged management: Maintaining a mix of tree ages within a stand through small gaps or individual tree selection to build structural diversity.
Variable density thinning: A pattern of thinning that leaves some areas denser and others more open to accelerate natural diversity and habitat features. Research in the Pacific Northwest shows it can speed the development of older forest conditions.
Young-stand thinning: Early, selective removal in dense, even-aged plantations to reduce competition and improve growth and stability.
