Heybrook Ridge saved from clear-cutting

They did it — almost.

Advocates for a swath of forest called Heybrook Ridge, above the tiny town of Index in Snohomish County, have just about saved it from the saw.

The Snohomish County Council is expected to vote Monday to spend $700,000 in county conservation funds to help purchase 130 acres of mature forest on Heybrook Ridge to save it from clear-cut logging.

"I am quite excited," said council Chairman Dave Somers. He said the votes are there to make the purchase.

The county will take possession of the property as a park, protecting its 100-year-old trees in perpetuity. The purchase was also made possible by Friends of Heybrook Ridge, which raised $550,000 toward the $1.2 million property, including $500,000 from one anonymous donor.

"I am just blown away, I can't believe we got this kind of support," said David Cameron of Friends of Heybrook Ridge and a resident of Index.

Preserving the forest fits the former logging and mining town's new vision for its economy as an outdoor-recreation mecca, Cameron said. Index draws white-water rafters, rock climbers and outdoor enthusiasts headed to the new Wild Sky Wilderness just up the road.

The ridge is in full view from downtown Index and Highway 2, so protecting the landscape was an important priority, Somers said. Saving the forest also will provide environmental benefits, Somers said.

"This is a perfect example of what we should be doing," Somers said. "The owners had a permit to log it last year. They deserve a lot of credit for holding off."

The option to purchase the property from W.B. Foresters of Stanwood was secured by the Cascade Land Conservancy.

Friends of Heybrook Ridge was so successful in its fundraising that there is some money left over for trail building and interpretive signs in the forest, Cameron said.

Money poured in from all over, in amounts small and large. The most dogged were the indexers — professional book-index compilers, who took the town's name to heart, and sent in checks from around the globe to save the trees. The farthest postmark was from Egypt.

"I guess sometimes it's nice having a screwball name like Index," Cameron said.

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com