The plan to conserve 77,000 acres of legacy forests on state trust lands is the right direction for Washington state, at the right time. Contrary to what the forest industry association argued in its Aug. 28 opinion piece in The Seattle Times (“Why the plan to set aside 77,000 acres of forest won’t help WA“), this move by state Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove aims to protect our state’s remaining most ecologically valuable forests, without significantly impacting our state’s timber industry or funding for school construction.
These legacy forests are one of a kind. Unlike many forests across our state that have been clear-cut and replanted with monocultures, these forests have naturally regenerated over time, making them more genetically and biologically diverse. These older forests store more carbon than younger stands, create richer habitats for a wider variety of species, including salmon, purify our air and filter our drinking water, and are more resilient to drought, disease and wildfires. They are the old-growth forests of tomorrow, providing the foundations for a healthy ecosystem essential for supporting all life.
The plan to preserve these forests comes at a pivotal time. Our federal government is set to dramatically escalate logging in our national forests. In contrast, our state Department of Natural Resources is preparing to protect legacy forests on its trust lands, which will provide significant ecological benefits, but represent only a small portion of DNR lands available for harvest and an even smaller share of our state’s timber supply.
In fact, less than 20% of the state’s total timber supply comes from DNR harvests, according to cut data assembled by the University of Montana’s business school. Further, the 77,000 acres in question represent only about 9% of available DNR timberland in Western Washington. This is a small share of acreage to set aside for preservation, given our state’s total timber resources and other DNR lands allocated for harvest.
While it’s true, as critics have argued, that about half of DNR trust lands in Western Washington are set aside for conservation to meet requirements under the Endangered Species Act, two-thirds of those forests are comprised of stands younger than 70 years old. These younger trees do not have the same ecological value of the older, legacy forests.
Another major concern raised by critics is the impact of setting aside 77,000 acres of DNR trust lands on funding for school construction. But revenue from state trust lands contributes only a fraction of the total cost of school construction, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The amount of timber and other trust land revenue that supports the total cost of school construction has declined over the past decade, dipping to just 1.38% by 2021. Of that, timber revenue alone made up less than one percent of the total costs.
In recognition of this, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal has called on the state to move away from the dependency on DNR trust land timber revenue to fund school construction and find new sources of funding, such as general obligation bonds or cash sources. Reykdal, who also serves on the board that oversees DNR trust lands, has said he supports the legacy forest conservation plan.
The plan proposed by Commissioner Upthegrove marks a significant step toward preserving the state’s remaining legacy forests, with minimal impacts on schools, DNR harvests or the state’s timber industry. We applaud Upthegrove for his courage in moving this plan forward. As with any plan, there is more work to do to ensure it fulfills its environmental promise. But this plan is the right move for Washington, and deserves our support. The future of these unique ecosystems, and the lives they sustain, is at stake.
