Cle Elum Ridge Community Forest

Cle Elum Ridge is situated above the communities of Cle Elum, Roslyn and Ronald in Kittitas County, Washington. The property’s 3,700' ridgeline serves as the towns’ scenic viewshed within the Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area and is adjacent to the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Teanaway Community Forest and the U.S. Forest Service’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. 

Working with the Yakama Nation, public agencies and community partners, TNC foresters and scientists have developed on-the-ground restoration treatments at Cle Elum Ridge to improve forest health and community wildfire resilience, guided by the best available science. The property is managed under a certificate of the Forest Stewardship Council, which ensures that TNC practices meet an international standard of sustainable forest management. Under agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, all forest management activities meet or exceed the requirements of a federal habitat conservation plan designed to conserve a suite of threatened or endangered fish and wildlife species.

Cle Elum Ridge is part of a much larger effort launched by TNC in 2014: the Great Western Checkerboards Initiative. This initiative pushed the pause button on the development of 48,000 acres of fragmented private timber land in Washington state’s Central Cascades. Over the last decade, 30,000 of those acres have been added to the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, with thousands more transferred to other federal and state ownership, reconnecting more than 120,000 acres of public land. TNC has been working closely with Washington’s Department of Natural Resources on ownership for the remaining, approximately 6,000 acres on Cle Elum Ridge, northwest of the new community forest.

TNC has been working with local communities and partners to develop a shared vision for the future of the landscape—a vision that protects nature and supports sustainable recreation. TNC believes that well-managed recreational activities and responsible use can be consistent with the primary conservation objectives of Cle Elum Ridge.

Cle Elum Ridge offers the community and visitors great opportunities to explore year-round. There is no fee for recreational access.

Hazards exist, however, so recreationists must use caution and visit at their own risk. In particular, Cle Elum Ridge is a working forest with ongoing land management activities that may pose a danger to recreational users.

Recreationists must pack out all garbage and follow “Leave No Trace” practices across the landscape to protect natural resources, fish and wildlife.  

Wheeled motorized use (including e-bikes) is prohibited in the Cle Elum Ridge Community Forest. Nearby on other TNC-managed lands on the Ridge,  Forest Service Roads 4305, 4305-118 and Forest Service Trail #1340/Sasse Mountain Trail are open to motorized access. Mountain bikes must stay on designated trails and roads to reduce impacts to soil, vegetation and wildlife. Visit our open lands policy for more information. 

Recreational uses such as collecting firewood and non-timber forest products, special events and commercial uses require a permit. Contact washington@tnc.org to request a permit.

TNC and partners invite community members to help shape the forest's future through the development of a Community Forest Management Plan and the establishment of a Cle Elum Ridge Community Forest Council. The plan will guide stewardship, recreation, conservation, cultural values and long-term community benefits for the property. The forest council will provide structured community input and recommendations to the community forest’s land managers.

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust has been a trusted partner in the Cle Elum Ridge project for a decade, working with TNC and local partners on recreation management and models for public participation. Interested community members can contact Mountains to Sound Greenway with additional questions on the land management planning process.

Community members are invited to a public forum on Nov. 17, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the UKC Senior Center, 719 E Third Street, Cle Elum, where attendees can learn more about the community forest, review the draft management plan, understand the forest council and share feedback, ideas and priorities for the future of the forest.