Commissioner of Public Lands must manage DNR forests for all of WA, not just timber profits | Opinion

We need to stop prioritizing logging revenue at the expense of ecological and social values, pitting rural livelihoods against conservation. Washington’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) must start managing public lands to benefit all people, not just timber interests. The status quo leads to needless damage like this cautionary tale:

Last year, DNR put up a timber sale next to the Merrill Lake Natural Resources Conservation Area (NRCA) in Cowlitz County. The Merrill Lake NRCA included old growth forest and biodiversity, and was used by the local community and fly fishers. The adjacent “Double Haul” timber sale of 248 acres included 29 acres of steep, unstable slopes. Cascade Forest Conservancy, Washington Conservation Action (WCA) and several other organizations flagged significant landslide risk prior to the sale’s approval.

To reduce risk, DNR could have allowed the 219 acres that weren’t unstable to be logged. But instead all 248 acres in the Double Haul tract were logged. DNR emails obtained by WCA through the state Public Records Act show that DNR staff did so to prioritize revenue generation.

Shortly after logging, in fall 2023, two landslides on these unstable inclines damaged a forest road, a fish-bearing stream, culverts, and a lakeside campground. Repairs will cost more than the value of timber sold from the unstable areas.

Cascade Forest Conservancy (CFC) expressed concerns about landslides threatening the area once the Double Haul sale came up. CFC keeps tabs on the conditions of the forests in southwest Washington and then advocates for sustainable management of them.

In a letter about the Double Haul incident, DNR absolved itself, asserting that a strong storm was largely to blame for the slides. This overlooks the fact that the first landslide happened before that atmospheric river. It also ignores that stronger storms have, and will, become more common as climate change intensifies.

Incidents like the Double Haul slide make it clear: It is time for change at DNR.

DNR must begin to incorporate climate change and carbon sequestration into all its operations. It must begin to consider the many other values our state’s forests provide: slope stabilization, of course, but also water filtration, carbon storage, wildlife habitat, cultural and recreational areas, and more.

DNR also must engage more with communities. It’s possible. CFC works on projects that involve both federal and state lands. Federal processes center collaboration with communities and response to feedback and formal comments. There’s no reason a state agency like DNR couldn’t do the same, rather than offer public comment processes that last just a few weeks, with no meaningful response to input.

DNR has the power to embrace a new way of doing things right now. Its new leadership simply has to make the decision to do so.

A 2022 state Supreme Court ruling affirmed that DNR has the authority to manage state lands not just for timber revenue, but also for other public values. It has yet to integrate this authority into its policy or its practice.

Cascade Forest Conservancy’s Conservation Guidebook for the Southern Washington Cascades devotes a whole chapter to forward-thinking, science-based steps that DNR and other land managers could take or encourage: designating new forest preserves and carbon storage areas on state lands, reducing logging of old forests, and lengthening harvest rotations.

Washington Conservation Action has just released its ninth annual accountability report on DNR, which outlines how DNR could start to manage forests for all Washingtonians rather than only for timber profits. The report illustrates that Washington state is at a crossroads in how we manage our natural resources.

Starting in 2025, we both hope to work with the new Commissioner of Public Lands to embrace the challenges and tough decisions inherent to the forest sector. We hope the commissioner will look at incidents like Double Haul and recognize that we urgently need a new direction on state trust lands and forest practices on unstable slopes.

Ashley Short, Policy Manager for Cascade Forest Conservancy, has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy and Planning and a Certificate in Environmental Law. Rachel Baker, Forest Program Director for Washington Conservation Action, holds master’s degrees in Forestry and in Environmental Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

This story was originally published November 12, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Commissioner of Public Lands must manage DNR forests for all of WA, not just timber profits | Opinion."