Democrat Takes on German Aristocrats in Battle Over US Forests

Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is escalating pressure on a German noble family that controls land in Wahkiakum County, in a plea to help local residents regain access to a forest area for hunting that she said has become increasingly restricted.

The Washington Democrat sent her letter to Bolko Graf von der Schulenburg and Constantin Freiherr von Wendt, managing partners of the timber company Salm Schulenburg, and said local communities need access to the land as hunting in the areas is not only a “cultural tradition” but also a way to “put food on the table.”

“Many in my community have shared that they are concerned this could reach a violent boiling point if people continue to be boxed out of the woods they have had access to for generations,” she wrote.

The two noblemen have already responded to Gluesenkamp Perez in a letter, shared with Newsweek, to inform her that “neither Mr. Schulenburg nor Mr. Wendt personally owns the land in question.” A spokesperson for Salm Schulenburg also told Newsweek that “neither Salm Schulenburg nor any of its partners, including Mr. Salm, own the land in question.”

“Additionally, none of the land in question is being used for any personal recreation by any partners or employees of Salm Schulenburg nor was there ever any intention to do so,” the spokesperson added, clarifying that Salm Schulenburg is a “timberland investment management organization not a landowner.”

The path forward remains unclear. As discussions continue, the dispute highlights a broader clash between private property rights and long‑standing rural customs in some of Washington's most remote communities.

Newsweek has contacted the office of Gluesenkamp Perez; Weyerhaeuser, a timber giant that the Washington State Standard reported owns part of the land; American Forest Management, which oversees forest land in America for its owners; and the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners via email for comment.

Across the U.S., large patches of timberland once owned by family growers or integrated forest‑products companies have increasingly been acquired by institutional investors such as private-equity-backed timberland investment management organizations (TIMOs) and real‑estate investment trusts (REITs), many with foreign capital backing.

Researchers and industry groups have found that this shift tends to bring more centralized management focused on financial returns, liability control and asset preservation, which can lead to tighter restrictions on informal public access for hunting, fishing or recreation.

U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows that foreign investors now hold tens of millions of acres of U.S. agricultural land, including timberland, a trend that has fueled tensions in rural communities.

Wahkiakum County is one of Washington's smallest counties by population and is densely forested. The tens of thousands of acres of forestry are locally treasured and have long been central to the residents’ economy and way of life.

At the start of the 20th century, large national forestry corporations like Crown Zellerbach and Weyerhaeuse, which owned much of the forest, played major roles in Wahkiakum County’s timber production while providing valuable employment, though residents have more recently been reporting that access is becoming increasingly restricted.

Gluesenkamp Perez said in her letter that the German noble family, which she said is controlling the land, has restricted it so much that access is being blocked to adjacent state and private land that would otherwise remain open to hunting, which many families use as a source of subsistence. She requested to have discussions about opening hunting access to these lands.

In their response, Schulenburg and Wendt said that while they “respect the concerns being raised,” the lands in question are “private working forests, not public lands.”

“Landowners and managers must bear the costs and risks associated with access, including fire danger, littering and illegal dumping, trespass, road damage, safety concerns, and liability,” they wrote. “These realities are essential to any balanced discussion.”

They also emphasized the importance of “professional forest management and long-term investment,” which help to ensure the lands “remain working forests-supporting active management, reforestation, timber production, and rural jobs-rather than being fragmented or converted to other uses,” which has a “meaningful public benefit to the region.”

Schulenburg and Wendt also proposed solutions to the issue of access, such as “a voluntary, regulated access

framework-potentially supported by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife,” and say they remain “open to working with local officials, stakeholders, and neighboring landowners to identify solutions that balance community interests with property rights and operational realities.”

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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 10:27 AM.