Taylor Mountain Forest: An important part of King County Park’s Forest Stewardship Program

By Svet Semov

On May 11, 2024, IATC organized an educational hike on forest stewardship in Taylor Mountain led by Paul Fischer from King County Park’s Forest Stewardship Program.

 

West Carey landing & harvest area at Taylor Mountain, photo courtesy of Paul Fischer

 

King County Park’s Forest Stewardship Program objectives - climate change resilience and sustainable timber production

The main objectives of King County Park’s Forest Stewardship Program are to improve ecological conditions and to make King County’s forests more resilient to climate change. An additional objective is sustainable timber production. 

  • Climate change resilience: About 30% of King County’s managed area is identified as a “high priority” for forest stewardship actions. 

  • Sustainable timber production: About 15% of King County’s managed area is designated as “working” forest land.    

 

Taylor Mountain Forest—the center of climate change resilience efforts and sustainable timber production, photo courtesy of Paul Fischer

 

King County’s forest stewardship actions aim to respond to an altered forest landscape. Historical clearcutting reduced the conifer population and increased the percentage of hardwoods. Conifers are more resilient to the anticipated effects of climate change—drier and warmer weather. 

 

Taylor Mountain hike route, photo courtesy of Paul Fischer

 

Taylor Mountain Forest - the center of climate change resilience efforts and sustainable timber production 

Taylor Mountain Forest is south of the more popular Tiger Mountain State Forest. 

  1. Taylor Mountain—the center of timber production and forest stewardship: Taylor Mountain Forest is at the center of King County Forest Stewardship Program. It is about half of the “working” forest land of King County and about 20% of the area selected by King County for “high priority” forest stewardship actions.  

  2. Previous clearcutting at Taylor Mountain Forest reduced the conifer population, making it a good candidate for forest stewardship actions: Pre-European settlement, Taylor Mountain Forest used to be 80% conifer and is now 80% hardwood. Logging started in the 1880s and continued through the 1940s. The most recent logging occurred in the 1970s when 60% of the Taylor Mountain Forest was clearcut. 

  3. Planting more mixed conifers for climate change resilience: King County aims to create a more diverse and resilient forest, one that is adapted to warmer, drier weather caused by climate change. In 2024, King County plans to plant mixed native conifers on approximately 100 acres. 

 

West Carey log deck at Taylor Mountain, photo courtesy of Paul Fischer

 

Scale and Impact 

King County manages 28,000 acres of forested land, or about 3.5% of all forest land in King County (for context, about ⅔ of the county is forested). Taylor Mountain Forest is about 2,000 acres or 7% of King County’s forested land. The 2024 Work Areas by the King County Forest Stewardship program cover 5% of Taylor Mountain Forest. 

 

Great group came out to learn more about Taylor Mountain, photo courtesy of Svet Semov

To attend other educational IATC events, visit the IATC Hikes and Events page.

 
IATC Staff