By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – The City of Port Angeles has just received a $26,000 grant from the state Dept. of Natural Resources to begin some upgrades on a couple of forested areas within city limits.
The grant will cover half the cost of a pilot program designed to enhance the health of the five-acre Webster’s Woods Art Park, which is home to the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center and its Open-Air Sculpture Park. The plan there is to hire a contractor to develop a 10-year forest management plan where City staff, contractors, and volunteers will manage invasive species, improve trail stability and make other improvements.
The other area targeted for the new Port Angeles Forest Renewal Pilot Project is the urban forest stand on the east end of town that currently blocks the view of the downtown waterfront district and the harbor for drivers arriving from the east on Front Street.
This project, called the Welcoming Vista, will provide an expansive view of the Central Business District and harbor by unblocking the view of the north side of Front Street from Peabody Street to Lincoln Street. The project calls for hiring a contractor to complete a stand assessment and develop a planting and 10-year maintenance plan for the viewshed. Volunteers and contractors will remove invasive species, plant conifers, thin the alders, and install native shrubs.
The goal is to complete these actions by May 2024.
The project has a total budget of $53,000, consisting of $26,500 in grant funding from the DNR and the other half in match funding. The match funding would consist of $13,000 in direct project costs available in the Lodging Tax fund and $13,000 accounted for through in-kind match.
(Photo of sculpture at Webster’s Woods Art Park by Andy Cripe)