Skorheim: Elwha tree protest is just a desperate ‘attention grab’
May 15, 2025, 10:30 AM | Updated: 1:10 pm
A view of the trees that populate Elwha Forest in the central northern area of Olympic National Park. (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)
(Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)
An activist is conducting a tree-sit protest 80 feet up a grand fir in the Elwha watershed to oppose Washington’s Parched timber sale, which targets older forests that environmental groups say are critical for salmon habitat and water quality, according to The Seattle Times.
Jake Skorheim, co-host of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, told co-host Spike O’Neill that the activist simply doesn’t understand why the tree was planted in the first place.
“People don’t think of trees as a crop, but it really is treated as a crop, much like somebody who grows a massive crop of corn,” Jake said. “We also do that in our state with trees. And it takes generations for these trees to grow, but they do, and then at some point, it is time to harvest that crop.”
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However, the protest has drawn public support and coincides with legal action that has temporarily halted the logging. While the state has paused future old forest sales, current Commissioner Dave Upthegrove has not canceled previously approved sales like Parched, despite campaign promises and growing opposition.
Jake is still not convinced and feels like the elaborate protest is just a desperate attention grab.
“It’s money being lost as this job that’s been legally approved,” Jake said. “And the activist is just trying to delay this. Obviously, this is an attention grab.”
Listen to the full conversation below:
Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
