Alert from Okanogan: New Legislation Affects Your Land and Your Future!

State regulations for road maintenance and abandonment have been expanded to include private roads that have been used for forest practices, forest management and fire suppression since 1974.

Learn more about the new federally-driven state regulations and what they mean to you at the Property Rights Legislation Information Forum sponsored by the Okanogan County Farm Bureau:

When: Following Home and Garden Show on Saturday

March 16, 2002 at 6:00

Where: Okanogan County Fairgrounds – Agriplex/Annex

January letters received by Okanogan County landowners from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources read: “All forest landowners in Washington State are required by law (Chapter 222-24 WAC) to submit a Road Maintenance and Abandonment Plan (RMAP) to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for all forest roads on their land.”

Forest land and forest roads are defined to include nearly all roads on all private land. RMAP Plans completed by private landowners will be reviewed by the Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Ecology, Tribes and interested parties to determine if new road requirements are met. You may be forced to abandon and block roads to avoid the potentially high costs of road upgrades and maintenance.

All forest landowners will receive letters by 2005. Join in and learn how these new regulations affect you. It’s your land and your future!

For further information contact Okanogan County Farm Bureau: Joel Kretz, President, 509 779-4105 or Darlene Hajny, Public Relations and Information, 509 422-4703.