Twenty-year-old Joshua Wright has been an activist since he was 14. He got his start with Fridays For Future and documentary filmmaking and has been intimately involved in forest conservation and advocacy since 2020. His work has involved advocacy, civil disobedience, mapping of rare ecosystems, organizing with tribes and documenting endangered species in both Washington State and British Columbia.

Starting in September 2023 Joshua began exploring and documenting every remaining naturally regenerated “Legacy” forest in Green Mountain State Forest, including a forest targeted by the upcoming “Breaking Bud” timber sale by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In his role as Programs Director for the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition he documented a globally imperiled plant community on Green Mountain. This rare ecosystem was then verified by DNR’s natural heritage program and covers at least 257 acres. Most of these acres had been scheduled for logging prior to the discovery of this rare plant community.

Working together (and with data provided by Joshua), the Kitsap Environmental Coalition, the Washington Legacy Forest Defense Coalition, and the Kitsap County Board of County Commissioners have been able to get the Breaking Bud timber sale indefinitely canceled. Joshua is now working with these parties to ensure protection for the remaining legacy forests of Green Mountain. Joshua lives in Mason County.

In a recent phone interview with Joshua, he calls on us all to get involved.

“There are about 1000 acres of old, naturally regenerated, legacy forest on DNR land in Kitsap County. Now is the time for us to protect these areas; they are our best opportunity today to restore old growth forests to the peninsula.”

You can view one of his videos @ https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Edens-Last-Chance/0OEB9WJ6EO9DWX97B5CUF40Q99

You can also view his photos of the at-risk Breaking Bud Timber Sale https://www.universalwildlands.com/photography-archive/2023/10/1/breaking-bud-timber-sale-wadnr