MEMBERSHIP:
At years end there were 49 paid memberships. In addition, complimentary copies of the newsletter were sent to 11 agency offices.

FINANCIAL:
At year's end the chapter had a balance of $551.24. Comparing figures at the beginning of the year for both membership and ending balances is not possible, since the Eastern Washington Chapter per se was created during 2004. However, Washington State as a whole did show an increase in paid memberships, as well as an increase in funds, during the year.

CHAPTER SPLIT:
The most significant chapter news is that the old Washington State Chapter was split into two new chapters during 2004. This was done for a number of reasons, but it was primarily due to the membership size and the large geographical area covered by the old chapter.

The boundary line between the areas covered by the Eastern and Western Washington chapters approximately follows the Pacific Crest. Eastern Washington includes the areas administered by the Okanogan, Wenatchee, and Colville National Forests, as well as the Washington state portions of the Kaniksu and Umatilla National Forests. Western Washington includes areas administered by the Mt. Baker, Snoqualmie, Gifford Pinchot, and Olympic National Forests. Other agency areas follow accordingly.

LOOKOUTS:
After a number of delays, the new lookout atop Quartz Mountain in Mt. Spokane State Park was finally built during 2004. The cab had formerly been atop the last of the Mt. Spokane towers. The new lookout facility will be primarily used as a state park recreation rental, but will also be available for fire detection as needed. This new lookout has an excellent seen area into the Spokane Valley urban interface.

The Colville National Forest has applied for grant funds with which to restore 3 long-abandoned lookouts - Timber Mt, Sullivan Mt, and Salmo Mt.

PLANS:
The chapter and several of its members expect to be significantly involved in the Colville NF restoration projects.
A statewide summer gathering in conjunction with the Western Washington Chapter is also in the planning stages. Even though members of all FFLA chapters will be invited and encouraged to attend, we expect that some of the promotional expenses will likely have to be borne by the two Washington chapters from existing chapter funds.

Dave Bula
FFLA Eastern Washington Chapter Director