Socioeconomic monitoring of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and five local communities.

This and the following chapters focus on five case-study communities associated with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (OWNF) to examine three topics: (1) how communities around the OWNF have changed since the 1980s, and how changes in forest management and the flow of socioeconomic benefits from the national forest under the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) have contributed to that change; (2) how communities have adapted to change, and the role the national forest has played in helping them do so; and (3) changing relations between the OWNF and the case-study communities since 1990. The information comes mainly from the U.S. census and interviews with community residents. The Naches Valley study area (referred to as the Naches Valley in this chapter) lies east of the Cascade Range in south-central Washington in Yakima County (fig. 31). The valley has a northwest to southeast orientation. The national forest portion is in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (administered by the Wenatchee National Forest) and makes up most of the Naches Ranger District. A large part of the national forest here is in three wilderness areas. About 61 percent of the Naches Valley study area is under federal management, and about 18 percent is managed by the state. The western boundary of the study area follows the crest of the Cascade Range from Naches Pass, the headwaters of the Naches River in the north, through Chinook Pass at the headwaters of the Tieton River. The Yakama Indian Reservation forms the southern boundary. Much of the Ahtanum Creek drainage is included in the southeast portion of the study area, and much of the Wenas Creek drainage falls within the northeast portion of the study area. Most of the discussion here focuses on the portion of Naches Valley within the Naches and Tieton River drainages. There are two incorporated cities in the study area. Tieton (population 1,154 in 2000) is located on a high plateau near the junction of the Naches and Tieton Rivers. It consists of large fruit warehouses and surrounding residences. It is geographically and economically distinct from the river corridors and public-land-associated communities. The other incorporated city is Naches (population 643 in 2000). Year-round access to the valley is available via U.S. Highways 12 and 97. State Highway 410, the most direct route from the Seattle-Tacoma area is closed during the winter. In the summer, highways 12 and 410 are two legs of a …