Election Day timber sales could test incoming WA lands commissioner Upthegrove

SEATTLE – The state Board of Natural Resources last week voted to put about 1,500 acres of older forests up for auction, drawing public criticism.

The move also pushed Lands Commissioner-elect Dave Upthegrove further into a growing controversy over the future of some of Washington’s older forests.

The board voted on 10 timber sales that include some portion of structurally complex older forests, called legacy forests, according to environmental advocacy organizations. It also voted on five other sales that did not include older forests.

The vote drew immediate protest from people attending the board’s Election Day meeting.

“You do not represent us,” “See you in court” and “Your children will curse you” were among the sentiments.

Since the state’s founding, forests owned by the state and today managed by the Department of Natural Resources have been chopped to make money for public institutions. The revenue supports everything from libraries to fire districts and other essential services.

But in recent years, growing concern over climate change has engaged not just activists in the issue but also some tribal, state and local elected leaders and other Washingtonians. Some have been calling for a new path forward for some of the forests.

Upthegrove ran his campaign to head DNR in part on a plan to protect legacy forests.

On election night, he sounded like a modern day Lorax.

“Our state lands don’t belong to industry, they don’t belong to big business, they belong to We the People,” Upthegrove said. “They are public lands, our lands.”

Trees suck carbon from the air and create oxygen, and offer homes for people and wildlife. While younger trees might sock away carbon fastest, the carbon stored increases as forests age, studies show.

When Upthegrove takes office, he doesn’t plan to bring sales of the structurally diverse mature forests to the board for a vote, at least until he sees other conservation objectives met.

He said he intends to bring forward other parcels of timber in order to generate revenue for those who rely on it.

Upthegrove said he’s not sure what can be done about some of the forests that have been approved for auction by the board, but said it is something he and his team will be exploring as he takes office.

While it’s unclear what his path forward may look like, the scene at the Election Day board meeting may illuminate some of the challenges ahead.

In the days leading up to the board meeting, some environmental groups, including Washington Conservation Action, Conservation Northwest and the Sierra Club, called on the board and current Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz to await the results of the election and let the next commissioner decide the future of Washington lands.

Some at the meeting shared concerns specific to their community.

“We want to protect our watershed,” Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Vice Chairman Russell Hepfer told the board. “Our ancestors have put in a lot of years and time to get to the restoration of the river, and it’s been a success.”

The Elwha River has been recovering since two dams that blocked nearly 90 miles of river and tributary habitat were removed about a decade ago.

“We really don’t want any trees cut,” Hepfer continued, “but in light of Clallam County and our surrounding communities depending on these funds we would like to have the Alley Cat (timber sale) protected at a minimum, so that we can ensure that our river will still recover.”

Three of the timber sales proposed at the Nov. 5 board meeting were in the Elwha watershed. More than 5,000 letters were sent asking DNR to cancel all upcoming timber sales in the Elwha watershed as of Election Day.

DNR last year announced the conservation of 2,000 acres of mature forests across the state, including 69 acres within the Elwha River watershed that were part of a controversial timber sale that was canceled.

Others in attendance at the board meeting reiterated calls to defer votes on older forests until the next commissioner takes office.

A Skamania County school director, the Port Angeles School District superintendent and a representative from Port Blakely were among those who shared concerns about how the loss of some logging might affect their operations.

Two members of the board, Jim Cahill, the senior budget assistant to Gov. Jay Inslee, and Chris Reykdal, the state superintendent of public instruction, also sought to remove the 10 timber sales that included older forests from the vote that day.

They raised concerns about things like potential litigation and wanted to wait to see who the next commissioner might be and what alternative management suggestions might come out of a state workgroup.

Reykdal has for years advocated for a new approach.

“Sure, we can get an extra dollar today, but then there won’t be a forest in 50 years,” he said in a phone call. “Let’s play the long game here.”

Franz, in response to comments from Lower Elwha Klallam tribal leaders, pulled one sale near the Elwha River.

Reykdal and Cahill’s efforts to pull back the swath of older forests until the next commissioner is in office did not have enough support from the rest of the board.

The next board meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Dec. 3 in the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. SE, Olympia.