Note: This story was submitted by Pinchot Partners for publication on The Chronicle’s Voices page. To submit a photo or story for publication, send it to voices@chronline.com.

The Pinchot Partners celebrated its 15th anniversary Aug. 10 during a field trip to huckleberry restoration areas on the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. 

Over 30 folks participated, including local community members, Forest Service employees and members of the Cowlitz, Yakama and Nisqually tribes.

The Pinchot Partners is a non-profit forest collaborative group that formed in the Cowlitz Valley in 2002. Its mission is to promote policies and projects that create quality local jobs, recreational opportunities and benefit watershed health on the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District and surrounding areas

Restoration of huckleberry habitat has been a primary goal of the Pinchot Partners. It has worked together with the Forest Service for the past eight years on several huckleberry restoration projects.  

The Pinchot Partners was recently awarded two grants from the Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation to develop a forestwide strategy for restoring huckleberry habitat on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It is working with the GPNF and Cowlitz Indian Tribe to develop the strategy. 

For information about the Pinchot Partners, contact Jamie Tolfree at jtolfree11@gmail.com or 360-334-2555, or visit the website: www.pinchotpartners.org.