PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Economic Development Council has been awarded the 2025 Innovation in Economic Development award by the Washington Economic Development Association.
The award, presented last month, is for the Clallam County Economic Development Council’s (EDC’s) Clallam Forest Product Innovation Program at the Natural Resources Innovation Center (NRIC).
The program aims to revitalize the local forest products industry and generate new economic opportunities in that industry throughout the North Olympic Peninsula.
The NRIC plans to undertake 12 actions centered around tribal pre-manufactured low-cost housing, biomass product manufacturing, forestry workforce and logistics.
Some projects include the redevelopment of the Forks Industrial Park, the establishment of a forestry workforce development program, the expansion of barging to and from the Peninsula and the expansion of forest products manufacturing and the biomass economy, according to a press release.
In January, the EDC was awarded a $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration for the project. It will be supported by a match of more than $1 million from eight entities: the Clallam County Opportunity Fund, Oregon State University, the Port of Port Angeles, the EDC, the Composite Recycling Technology Center, Peninsula College, the Olympic Natural Resource Center with the University of Washington and the city of Forks.
The program and its projects are still in the launching phase, EDC Communication Manager Mitch Koonz said. In the next month, the EDC will start to publish requests for proposals in line with the planned projects, he said.
The 2025 Washington Economic Development Association (WEDA) awards celebrate excellence in economic development as well as legislative economic development champions, according to a press release. The EDC was one of 12 organizations and individuals who received a 2025 economic development award statewide.
The Innovation in Economic Development award recognizes not all economic development projects are alike and seeks to honor projects and partnerships that are pioneering, novel and groundbreaking, according to the press release.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
