The Grays Harbor Board of County Commissioners decided to block vehicle traffic from accessing county forest property eight months out of the year.

Commissioners mentioned that this year, the county spent about $20,000 cleaning up illegal dumping in county timberland, including furniture and appliances.

“We don’t know how much it’s cost us in the theft of cedar ‘spalts’ (unharvested leftover tree segments from fallen cedar trees) and other wood cutting and timber issues,” Ross said.

The Commission amended Resolution 2107-102 to limit access to county timberland by vehicles to Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. The commissioners said these dates coincide with popular hunting season.

The Commission expects to further define “vehicle access” as motorized vehicles only in the near future.