Once again, communities across Washington face smoky skies as wildfires stretch across the state.
Whether you believe the cause of the increase in forest fires is climate change or unhealthy forests, there is broad agreement that to reduce the intensity of fires and habitat destruction, we must treat forests using controlled burns and harvests. Forests across the West are particularly fire-prone because they have not been thinned and harvested after fire was removed from the ecosystems decades ago.
Washington’s native tribes are already acting.
The Colville Confederated Tribes have taken steps to make reservation forests more fire-resistant. That includes thinning unhealthy forests, harvesting and replanting where necessary, setting controlled burns and working with the Forest Service to reduce the risk of fires on neighboring land.
The Yakama Nation has also reduced the risk of fire in its forests. The tribe’s forest management plan focuses heavily on improving the health of their forests as well as improving water quality, protecting wildlife habitat and generating revenue.
Tribes haven’t been alone in working to reduce the smoke we breathe every summer. Using a tool called Good Neighbor Authority, Washington’s Department of Natural Resources has treated more than 25,000 acres of forestland since 2019 in partnership with the Forest Service and other federal agencies.
There are millions of acres of unhealthy forests on federal land across the West. Congress has not provided the funding necessary to address the scope of the problem. Good Neighbor Authority was developed to allow state, county and tribal forestry programs to partner with the federal government to conduct forestland, rangeland and watershed restoration to address areas of high fire risk. Federal agencies still oversee the environmental analysis, but state agencies help by providing staff support and taking the lead on implementing forest health projects.
Although harvesting unhealthy forests doesn’t generate much revenue due to the poor quality of the timber, what money is generated goes back into the forest using a revolving fund to help fund the next project.
That revenue is an important part of the program’s success along with increased funding from the state Legislature.
The federal government is reducing staff, however, and the Legislature recently slashed funding for forest health projects by 50%. State lawmakers had promised to fund forest health projects over several years. The budget they adopted broke that promise.
That’s one reason one manager of GNA efforts in the Northwest told me it is “THE tool” to address the region’s forest health problems. There is other important forest health work being done as well, so whether it is the primary tool or a complement to others, GNA is a critical piece in helping tackle what is an enormous challenge.
Washington’s new lands commissioner seems to agree. Earlier this year, Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said that Washington has “one of the most successful Good Neighbor Authority operations in the country. We can continue to be a good example of how states can work with the federal government on shared forestry goals.” He stressed that this can be done in a way that protects the environment.
He’s right. Massive wildfires in both Eastern and Western Washington have harmed air quality and destroyed ecosystems that are critical for threatened species. Fires can also leave salmon streams with hot water that is deadly to fish.
The state and tribes have been leaders in addressing poor forest health, but we should do more.
First, the Legislature should restore the funding it promised to address forest health.
Second, it takes about four years to plan and finish a forest health project, but the operating budget only provides funding for two years. The Legislature should include GNA and other forest health projects in the capital budget, where funding can be used over many years.
Finally, the state and Forest Service should continue work with tribes so that tribal forestry programs can begin to use the GNA tools they were given recently by Congress.
There is a lot of work to be done to protect Washington’s forests. It is time to use the important tool of Good Neighbor Authority to get the work done and make our forests healthier and more resilient.
