Seventy residents from the town of Port Ludlow protested at the Jefferson County Courthouse in April against logging in their resort community. The protestors also take issue with the mediation process being used to settle the dispute. The residents are upset with the harvesting of the community’s trees, and they submitted a petition to the commissioner signed by nearly 900 Port Ludlow residents, asking that the country take a hard stance against logging.

Logging is taking place at the hands of PLA, which purchased the resort from Pope Resources. They made it clear they had plans to log in the area and obtained the necessary permits from the state DNA office. Their goal was to log more than 140 acres in the South Bay area. The county said logging in the area is illegal, but PLA insists it was clear in its intention and received approval. This past September, the county and PLA agreed to mediation, which came to a standstill agreement in January, when the two parties agreed the county would not enforce action and PLA would not harvest during negotiations. The next mediation session is scheduled for the end of May.

The intention of the project was to “… promote preservation of open spaces to enhance the character of the area and bugger neighborhoods from logging activity…” Many point out that it never sounded as if the county ever dreamed PLA would clear cut, but that is exactly what residents claim it is now doing. Residents point out that they have seen no evidence of PLA replanting any trees in the area.