State of our Forests and Public Lands

State of our Forests and Public Lands

WA S H I N G TO N ENVIRONMENTAL C O U N C I L

WA S H I N G TO N

2021

WA S H I N G TO N

ENVIRONMENTAL

C O N S E R VAT I O N

C O U N C I L

V O T E R S

Table of Contents Introduction

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Statewide Forestry Issues

Wildfire Funding Bill

20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan

Carbon Sequestration & Storage in Forests Across Washington

Urban & Community Forestry

Implementation of DNR’s Plan for Climate Resilience

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Issues on State Trust Forestlands

Legal Case at the State Supreme Court: Managing State Lands for “All the People”

Managing for Carbon & Climate on State Forestlands

Older Forests & Critical Habitat on State Lands

Olympic Experimental State Forest

Trust Land Transfer

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Issues on Private Forest Lands

Adaptive Management Program Conflict Resolution

Water Typing

Protecting Stream Temperatures in Headwater Streams and Clean Water Act Assurances

Compliance Monitoring Issues on State Aquatic Lands Other Notable Work Special Legislative Thanks Topics We’re Tracking Conclusion

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26 28 29 30 31

Why does this report focus on our state’s forests? We believe forests are irreplaceable ecological, sociocultural, and economic assets. Forests clean our air, filter sediment and pollutants from our water, absorb and store carbon dioxide, prevent flooding and landslides, and are places of cultural importance. They provide us with food, thousands of jobs, millions of dollars of economic activity, wildlife habitat, wood products, and recreational opportunities. They facilitate healthy habitat for salmon, which is critical for fulfillment of Tribal Treaty Rights. In an era of uncharacteristic wildfire, healthy forests are our best tool to mitigate wildfire risk. The state’s forests are not only core to our ecological and cultural identity — they are unique on a global scale, providing valuable benefits beyond Washington.

Since 2015, WEC and WCV have published an annual State of our Forests and Public Lands report highlighting the progress of the Commissioner of Public Lands and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Our responsibility is to keep the public informed on how well elected officials are protecting the environment and addressing the climate crisis. The Commissioner of Public Lands is the only elected statewide position that works almost exclusively with our natural resources, making it one of the most important positions for Washington’s environment. We initiated this report because many of our organizations’ areas of work align closely with the mandate of DNR and the Commissioner of Public Lands.

Commissioner Hilary Franz is Washington State’s 14th Commissioner of Public Lands, and was elected to a second term in 2020. The Commissioner leads DNR, which is responsible for managing, regulating, and protecting Washington’s 10 million acres of state and private forests, 2.6 million acres of state aquatic lands, and 1 million acres of state grazing lands. The Commissioner also supervises our state’s wildfire response and chairs the Washington State Board of Natural Resources and the Forest Practices Board. The Board of Natural Resources sets policies to guide how DNR manages our public state forests, aquatic lands, and rangelands. The Forest Practices Board adopts rules for private and state forests that are implemented and enforced by DNR.

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Introduction

Washington Environmental Council (WEC) and Washington Conservation Voters (WCV) are nonprofit, statewide advocacy organizations that drive positive change to solve Washington’s most critical environmental challenges. We work with activists, partners, state agencies, and elected officials to develop, advocate, and defend policies that ensure environmental progress and justice by centering and amplifying the voices of the most impacted communities. We advocate for sustainable management of our lands, and strive to hold elected officials and industrial landowners accountable.

The 2021 State of our Forests and Public Lands report focuses on the past year of Commissioner Franz’s progress. This report reflects on issues that we feel should be a priority for any Washington Commissioner of Public Lands, and around which WEC and WCV center our work. Our priorities may not always align with the Commissioner’s priorities, and the topics covered in this report are not a comprehensive list of all areas in which the Commissioner engages. However, we believe the issues we cover are vital to the sustainable management and protection of our state’s private and public forestlands. We “As we experience extreme heat waves, also want to be clear that we appreciate the work and dedication of DNR staff that we uncharacteristic wildfires, and drought, engage on these topics, and value our positive working relationship with them. the urgency of the climate crisis and the

value of our natural ecosystems have never We are living in a unique moment in time with regards to our forests and the climate. been more apparent.”

As we experience extreme heat waves, uncharacteristic wildfires, and drought, the urgency of the climate crisis and the value of our natural ecosystems have never been more apparent. Coupled with these challenges, opportunities have emerged to manage our state’s forests and natural resources in better, new ways for people and planet. With the passage of the Climate Commitment Act, a renewed interest in forest carbon, and the clear acknowledgment that environmental inequities disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income communities, Washington is well positioned to evolve management of our forests and incentivize good practices. We look forward to this dialogue advancing in the coming year.

Methodology The report captures a Success, Work in Progress, or Needs Improvement grade on progress relevant to keeping Washington forests, aquatic lands, and other vital resources like salmon healthy and thriving. By association, these natural resources will help Washington’s communities and people of all backgrounds remain healthy, resilient, and thriving for generations to come.

SUCCESS Signficant accomplishment or milestones achieved. If the current trajectory continues, DNR will meet or exceed all milestones WEC hopes to see.

ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT WORK IN PROGRESS Notable progress or interim milestones achieved, which may serve as stepping stones for subsequent progress. If the current trajectory continues, DNR will likely achieve some or all milestones WEC hopes to see.

Limited progress, or DNR has not demonstrated strong commitment and active engagement.

Progress is not significant or comprehensive across important elements of the topic. If the current trajectory continues, DNR will not achieve milestones WEC hopes to see.

We chose topics based on WEC/WCV’s assessment of their importance and timeliness, as well as our priorities. Our assessment of each topic is based on whether DNR has achieved meaningful progress and accomplishments, and whether DNR is on track to achieve milestones we hope to see. Each evaluated section includes an introduction providing context on the topic, bullet points describing progress during the past year, and identification of opportunities WEC/WCV sees moving forward.

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Statewide Forestry Issues This section addresses topics that are relevant to all forests statewide, across different land ownership types (i.e., private, state, federal, tribal).

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The Commissioner successfully introduced an important wildfire and forest health funding bill (HB 1168), which was signed into law in April. The bill commits a total of $500 million over the next 8 years for wildfire response, forest restoration, and community resilience.

Wildfire Funding Bill

The funds made available by HB 1168 will better equip DNR to prevent and fight wildfire in the state by funding 100 additional wildland firefighters, enhanced aerial firefighting resources, forest thinning and prescribed burns, fuel breaks to protect homes, improved warning and communication systems, a forest sector workforce development program, and community participation in wildfire preparation and adaptation programs.

SUCCESS

HB 1168 did not specify a dedicated funding source. As a result, securing funds beyond the 2021-2023 biennium is unfinished business for future legislative sessions.

This investment will allow DNR to address wildfire more proactively and rapidly, while restoring ecological resilience to Washington’s forests and protecting our state’s communities from the effects of fire and smoke.

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The Commissioner’s strong leadership was instrumental to the success of HB 1168. After attempts to pass a wildfire funding bill in 2019 and 2020 fell short, HB 1168 was passed unanimously by both chambers of the legislature.

DNR staff worked tirelessly to ensure the bill’s success by clearly communicating the urgent need for action, and engaging a broad coalition of stakeholders. The Commissioner also intervened alongside conservation organizations to neutralize a proposed divisive amendment related to the Sustainable Harvest Calculation on state trust lands.

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The wildfire funding account will support implementation of DNR’s 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan, which is a strong guiding document. We are particularly encouraged by language affirming the important role older trees play in wildfire resilience and climate change mitigation. The community resilience components of the bill are also an exciting inclusion.

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Racial equity shows up in this bill through prioritization of forest workforce development in historically underrepresented and marginalized communities, partnership with tribal nations, and increasing engagement with non-English speaking communities on wildfire preparedness.

Opportunity We are interested to see implementation and outcomes of enhanced wildfire funding. In particular, we view these funds as a critical opportunity to restore ecological resilience, and begin to recover from a historic legacy of wildfire suppression. These funds must also support community resilience among historically marginalized and underrepresented communities, who are most vulnerable to the impacts of wildfire. We hope to see productive cooperation between DNR and the US Forest Service, and appropriate planning and environmental assessment for forest health treatments.

Spotlight on Community Resilience to Wildfire Additionally, DNR initiated a “Wildfire Ready Neighbors” pilot program in April 2021, which connects residents with experts and free tools to proactively protect their property from wildfire. To date, 2,000 residents have signed up in the three pilot counties: Chelan, Okanogan, and Spokane. Funding from 1168 will allow this work to expand across the state.

The wildfire funding bill requires 15% of funds to be dedicated to strengthening community resilience to wildfire.

This allocation responds to a need identified and advocated for by frontline communities.

Funds from HB 1168 will deepen work with limited English proficiency communities, which has been initiated by both DNR and community-based organizations such as Latino Community Fund and Washington Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network. Work to date has included cultural competency training and curriculum, development of a community engagement plan, translation of public safety notices, and improved interpretation capacity.

We are encouraged by DNR’s work on community resilience and hope to see it deepen in the coming year — with DNR learning from, and working in close partnership with, local communities and organizations representing communities of color.

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WORK IN PROGRESS

20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan In recent years, Washington’s wildfire seasons have become longer and more intense. These climate-driven wildfire seasons pose significant risk to ecosystem health and human health, particularly among our state’s most vulnerable populations.

In the 2017 session, the state Legislature directed DNR to conduct a forest health assessment and create a treatment framework.1 In response, DNR convened a group of stakeholders and developed the 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan for Central and Eastern Washington.2 The plan seeks to

reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfires, better protect rural communities, and increase the health of forest and aquatic ecosystems. Through the plan, DNR establishes a strategy for implementing prioritized forest health treatments across watersheds and large landscapes.

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DNR has completed science-based landscape evaluations on over 3.3 million acres. These evaluations identified 790,000 to 1,100,000 acres in need of forest health treatments to achieve a more resilient condition.

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By the spring of 2021, DNR and its partners had reported 88,138 acres in which forest health treatments were completed across state, private, and federal land ownerships in priority planning areas.

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On DNR-managed state trust lands, 25% of vegetation treatments from 2017 to present have been non-commercial treatments in priority planning areas. We are particularly interested in seeing DNR advance non-commercial treatments in priority areas.

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Burning alongside thinning is critical to achieve forest health outcomes. Data provided by DNR does not include any prescribed burns on state trust lands. Although DNR staff indicate that some prescribed burning is occurring on state lands, acreage is not currently available. More work remains to overcome historical barriers to prescribed fire, particularly on state trust lands.

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DNR has made progress on forest health treatments during the first 5 years of this 20-year plan, and we look forward to continuing to track progress in the coming years.

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Opportunity New funding secured from HB 1168 in 2021 should allow DNR to increase the pace of restoration. These funds must be dedicated to non-commercial treatments designed to restore ecological resilience and restore older tree populations. To do so, it is important that DNR accelerate efforts to bring low-intensity fire back onto the landscape through prescribed fire.

We hope to see DNR make progress on restoring forest health across all land ownership types — including on state trust lands, where barriers to non-commercial forest health treatments and prescribed fires remain. Lastly, we hope to see assurances from DNR that use of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) categorical exclusions on federal lands will be limited to small projects with negligible risk.

“Washington’s forests play a critical role in addressing the climate crisis. Sustainable forest management and restoration offer untapped potential to enhance climate mitigation.”

Carbon Sequestration & Storage in Forests Across Washington

WORK IN PROGRESS

Washington’s forests are among the most carbon dense, productive forests in the world. According to the 2020 Washington Forest Ecosystem Carbon Inventory, our state’s forests collectively store approximately 2.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, and remove approximately 13.7 million metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.3 This annual CO2 sequestration is equivalent to ~14% of the state’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, based on data from the most recent statewide inventory published by the Department of Ecology in 2018.4 Washington’s forests play a critical role in addressing the climate crisis. Sustainable forest management and restoration offer untapped potential to enhance climate mitigation. In the past year, initial steps led by DNR have evaluated and acknowledged the role of forests in climate change mitigation — but decisive action is now needed by the state.

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The Carbon Sequestration Advisory Group (CSAG) was convened by DNR to guide the agency’s work on carbon sequestration in natural and working lands. CSAG brought together an expert stakeholder group and published a final report in November 2020. CSAG recommendations included summarizing and sharing results of the forest carbon inventory, identifying strategies for avoided conversion, and a gap analysis for incentive programs. Although we were pleased to see this group convened, unfortunately the recommendations do not provide a clear or ambitious enough path forward to a climate change mitigation strategy for natural and working lands, nor do they address climate-smart forestry practices. The report also focused on forests, without fully incorporating croplands, rangelands, wetlands, grasslands, aquatic lands, or urban greenspace.

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The same budget proviso also directed DNR to produce carbon inventories to understand carbon stocks and fluxes in Washington’s natural and working lands. The resulting inventories focused exclusively on forest ecosystems, wildfire, and harvested wood products. The Forest Ecosystem Carbon Inventory should serve as a baseline to prioritize action to enhance forest carbon sequestration. For example, National Forests and private non-corporate ownerships sequester a significant quantity of net CO2 annually. However, the inventory found that net carbon sequestration on DNR-managed lands is not statistically different from zero — in other words, DNR-managed lands may not be sequestering more carbon than they emit.5 Moving forward, additional data will be important to determine a more precise, statistically significant carbon flux value on state lands. Regardless, this finding underscores the opportunity to enhance carbon sequestration on

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DNR-managed forestlands and private corporate lands, which were also found to be potential net carbon emitters. To address the climate crisis, our forests should be meeting their full potential by unequivocally sequestering a net quantity of carbon, as the inventory finds for federal, private non-corporate, and other state and local government ownerships.

Opportunity •

DNR should pursue CSAG’s recommended next steps while simultaneously using outputs of the CSAG to inform a statewide strategy for carbon sequestration in natural and working lands. Moving forward, we hope to see natural and working lands form a central component of the state’s emissions reduction strategy, with DNR engaging alongside other government entities and Tribal Nations to inform development of a statewide plan for enhancing carbon sequestration and storage in forests.

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In light of the results of the Forest Ecosystem Carbon Inventory for DNR-managed lands, it is clear that DNR and the Board of Natural Resources must act on the opportunity to enhance carbon sequestration and climate resilience on state lands through policy and climate-smart forestry practices.

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Implementation of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) is a critical opportunity to affirm the role of forestlands in Washington’s emission reduction efforts. Projects that preserve or increase carbon sequestration in forests and other working and natural lands are eligible for investment through the CCA’s Natural Climate Solutions Account. We hope DNR supports prioritization of forest carbon sequestration projects among investments funded by the revenue generated by the CCA. We also hope to see DNR provide meaningful and inclusive support for small forest landowners to participate in carbon markets, a role established in the CCA.

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Urban & Communi

The successful Urban and Community Forestry bill (HB 1216) was another legislative achievement for forests, with the potential for positive impacts on trees and people in urban environments. This DNR request legislation will expand the agency’s existing Urban and Community Forestry Program. HB 1216 added notable components to the program, including focus on health disparities and overburdened communities, emphasis on salmon recovery, greater analysis of urban forest canopy, and expanded technical assistance for cities, counties, and Tribal Nations. Changes to the program will enhance DNR’s ability to deliver guidance, grant money, and other resources to municipalities interested in creating and improving urban forests — particularly in communities that have historically been denied access to these benefits.

Investment in greenspace and tree canopy in urban communities is vital. Studies link urban forestry to improvements in mental and physical health in neighborhoods. Yet affluent neighborhoods historically and currently have had much greater access to these amenities than communities of color and low-income communities. The impacts of these disparities were underscored by the deadly June heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, in which lower income communities with limited tree cover suffered the most drastic impacts.

We look forward to more robust support for urban forestry as a result of the updated Urban and Community Forestry Program, and hope to see the program contribute to closing the tree canopy gap in our state’s urban areas.

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The bill clearly articulates the connections between climate change, urban tree canopy, and human health, and acknowledges the disparate impacts of these factors on highly impacted communities. The new statutory definition of “highly impacted communities” and health disparity mapping tools will be used to identify and target resources for frontline communities. We hope to see activities and grants targeted to frontline and underrepresented communities and organizations.

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The bill will support enhanced urban forestry efforts such as tree planting, public education and outreach projects, and strengthen capacity for urban forestry technical assistance.

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In recognition of the relationship between tree cover and salmon and orca recovery, the bill prioritizes program activities in regions with important salmon habitat, as identified by regional salmon recovery plans.

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Modernization of the existing Evergreen Communities Act is an outcome of HB 1216. The Evergreen Communities Act seeks to equip cities, towns, counties, and tribes with tools to manage their urban forests.

SUCCESS

ity Forestry

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Implementa Climate Re WORK IN PROGRESS

In February 2020, Commissioner Franz released DNR’s Plan for Climate Resilience, which prioritizes climate-related risks and identifies responses relevant to DNR’s mission and operations.6 Last year, we graded the creation and publication of the Plan for Climate Resilience as a success. This year, our evaluation considers the plan’s implementation, which is ongoing and in nascent stages. The agency has made progress implementing the Plan for Climate Resilience in several key areas.

• Development of climate-resilient seed man(“Urban & Community Forestry,” continued) Opportunity •

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Prioritize Urban and Community Forestry Program investment in communities of color and low-income communities, and pursue meaningful engagement with local stakeholders to ensure urban forestry investments are consistent with their communities’ needs and vision.

Create direct links between urban forestry activities and local comprehensive planning required under the Growth Management Act. DNR could support local jurisdictions to incorporate urban forestry into comprehensive land use planning. Program funding can help communities implement comprehensive planning goals as well as strengthen climate resilience.

agement and reforestation approaches, promoting climate-suitable strategies for at-risk tree species

• The Natural Areas Program assessed the vul-

nerability of plant species and documented 80 new occurrences of rare ecosystems.

• DNR exceeded its 2020 greenhouse gas emis-

sion reduction requirement under the State Agency Climate Leadership Act, achieving a 20.8% reduction compared to its 2005 baseline.

• DNR has broken ground on a solar project

that will fulfill the first 150 megawatts of its goal to generate 500 megawatts of solar energy on DNR lands by 2025.

• The agency conducted a Diversity, Equity, and

Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental Justice

ation of DNR’s Plan for esilience Success Story: The Whatcom County Landslide Inventory

(EJ) organizational assessment to review practices, advise on an equity strategic plan, guide next steps for internal DEI efforts, and align this work with the HEAL Act.

In past reports we evaluated the Commissioner on landslides and steep and unstable slopes, and during the 2015 legislative session WEC worked with DNR and other partners to secure funding for a potentially life-saving remote sensing technology called LiDAR. High resolution LiDAR data can be used by scientists to analyze floodplains, river migration, and landslide-prone areas.

• DNR is working with a robust network of organizations, fire districts, conservation districts, and local communities on wildfire prevention, recovery, and restoration in order to facilitate access to wildfire expertise, capacity building and financial assistance for communities and small forest landowners.

Examples of climate resilience work reflected elsewhere in this report include wildfire, forest health, carbon sequestration, and urban forestry.

This is important in Washington, which has the largest number of deep-seated landslides in the continental US. In spring 2020, DNR published a landslide inventory of Whatcom County using LiDAR data. This inventory identifies the locations of 1,911 landslides, which provides important information for county planners, emergency managers, and anyone living and working near landslides. Coming full circle over the last five years, this example demonstrates the power of partners coming together on a common goal to improve public and community safety. We look forward to engaging DNR as they continue and build on this work.

DNR is making progress on implementation of the Plan for Climate Resilience. We have evaluated this item as a “Work in Progress” because progress differs across sectors and action items. This long-term plan was launched only 1 ½ years ago, and we look forward to comprehensively evaluating success as implementation matures in future years.

Opportunity As is often the case with climate action, much work remains. We’d like to understand how the agency is incorporating climate resilience principles into authority structures, such as legal, policy, and guidance documents, and creating program-specific strategies, implementation plans, and metrics. We look forward to seeing how the agency continues to integrate climate mitigation and resilience into all aspects of its work on public lands.

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Issues on State Trust Forestlands This section addresses topics relevant to the 2.1 million acres of public forests that are managed by DNR and generate revenue for beneficiaries such as schools and counties. Management of these lands is guided by Washington’s State Trust Lands Habitat Conservation Plan.

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Legal Case at the State Supreme Court

Managing State Lands for “All the People” T

he Department of Natural Resources manages roughly 3 million acres of state lands, including 2.1 million acres of forests, and currently does so in a way that prioritizes maximizing revenue from logging for specific beneficiaries above all other forest benefits and services.

In 2020, Conservation Northwest, WEC, Olympic Forest Coalition, and local individuals brought forth a lawsuit regarding state management of these state lands. Washington State’s constitution states that “all the public lands granted to the state are held in trust for all the people.” The suit urges the courts to hold that this language authorizes and requires management of these lands in the long-term best interest of all Washingtonians. If decided in the organizations’ favor, the case would give DNR the discretion to manage for both revenue and the broader public benefits that forests and other state lands provide, such as clean water, clean air, carbon sequestration, habitat, and recreation. Such a ruling would allow DNR to better incorporate local and Tribal concerns and priorities.

In March 2021, the case was granted direct review by the State Supreme Court.7 The case will be heard October 21, 2021, with a decision anticipated by mid-2022. This historic case could lay the groundwork for re-imagining the way state lands are managed.

In parallel to this legal appeal, WEC and our partner organizations are committed to working with the economic beneficiaries of state forestlands to ensure that any reforms to how these forests are managed will be sustainable, equitable, and fair to the rural communities who have been historically-dependent on them.

“This historic case could lay the groundwork for re-imagining the way state lands are managed.”

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Managing for Carbon & Climate on State Forestlands

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Forests play a vital role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The 2.1 million acres of state forestlands managed by DNR must be a part of Washington’s climate solution. Managing state forestlands for carbon sequestration is consistent with DNR’s 2018-2021 strategic plan goal to “seize opportunities to generate benefits for trust beneficiaries and communities by incentivizing carbon sequestration on public and private lands.” Managing state trust forestlands for climate and carbon also aligns with DNR’s obligations to manage trust assets prudently and in perpetuity, with objectives of intergenerational equity and reduced risk of loss to the trusts.

Since June 2019, WEC has engaged with DNR and the Board of Natural Resources (BNR) on the need for a carbon and climate policy to inform management of state trust forestlands. We submitted a policy request to BNR in June 20198 and received a response from DNR over a year later in July 2020.

DNR’s response stated “DNR shares your goal of developing a climate policy for state lands.” However, the response primarily described DNR engagement in other aspects of climate, such as the 20 Year Forest Health Plan, renewable energy, and the Plan for Climate Resilience. The letter stated “The Board has and will continue to carefully consider the role of state lands in addressing this pressing issue as we work towards a comprehensive forest carbon policy.”

“2.1 million acres of state forestlands managed

by DNR must be a part of Washington’s climate solution.”

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Since submitting the policy request, we have been engaged in intermittent dialogue with DNR staff and leadership about carbon sequestration on state lands. Progress has been slow and stalled at times, though DNR has been open to dialogue in recent conversations. We continue to seek a collaborative path forward on this topic.

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To date, the agency and BNR have not initiated a formal policy process to manage forest carbon on state trust lands.

Opportunity BNR members’ requests for more information on carbon dynamics are encouraging, and we see an opportunity to engage the BNR in dialogue towards the goal of establishing an approach to consider carbon in forest management decisions. We hope DNR collaborates with WEC and others to identify and address any information gaps related to carbon sequestration and climate-smart forestry, and guides the BNR in discussions grounded in carbon and climate science. Ultimately, the goal is for this dialogue to lead to enhanced carbon sequestration on state forestlands.

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Older Forests & Critical Habitat on State Lands

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

It is critical to have a shared understanding among DNR, the Board of Natural Resources (BNR), and the public as to how older forests are managed on state lands. These forests are habitat for vulnerable species, sequester vast amounts of carbon, and provide ecosystem services like water provisioning and climate regulation. They are more biodiverse and resilient than young, evenaged, single-species forests. Because older forests provide exceptional carbon storage and unique habitat, this issue is closely linked to carbon management on state forestlands, as well as protection of threatened and endangered species.

For example, the survival of marbled murrelets depends on older forests for nesting habitat.

In 2018 and 2019, DNR attempted to remedy stakeholder concerns with the Marbled Murrelet Long-Term Conservation Strategy (LTCS) by creating the Solutions Table. This group convened the agency, beneficiaries of timber revenue, the timber industry, and conservation organizations to find mutually-beneficial solutions to mitigate impacts and create economic opportunities for resource-dependent communities, and further assist the marbled murrelet beyond the measures in the LTCS. Unfortunately, the Solutions Table concluded in 2020 without enacting any substantive solutions for murrelet conservation or rural communities.

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The March 2021 article in the Seattle Times titled “Amid climate crisis, a proposal to save Washington state forests for carbon storage, not logging,”9 indicates that DNR doesn’t anticipate bringing forward timber sales containing older forests while the agency and Board examine their older forest policies and management. Sales that may include older forests, however, have come forward since the publication of this article and continue to come forward.

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The Commissioner is quoted in the article as stating the agency will take a more holistic, ecological view of older forest characteristics and function when identifying and managing stands. While this sounds like a positive approach, it is unclear what shape this assessment will take, what criteria it will use, whether it will replace current methods for identifying older forests worthy of protection, and what the implications are for the older westside forests not currently conserved. DNR has recently been involved in a lawsuit regarding older forest timber sales, preventing many of these questions from being answered. We are eager to gain clarity on these issues in the near-term, and to engage with the agency and BNR on meeting the agency’s commitments for managing older forests.

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ate forest land

NEEDS MORE WORK

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DNR provided an overview of their current old growth and older forest policies at recent BNR meetings. However, at the time of writing, we still have questions and concerns about how DNR is defining, monitoring, and managing older forests, whether they’ll meet the objectives of their Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Policy for Sustainable Forests, and if any changes will be made to their older forests management approach.

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The status of the marbled murrelet conservation issue remains the same as in the 2020 State of our Forests and Public Lands Report. We have reached out to DNR staff to ask whether Solutions Table work will continue in any form, and staff have indicated they will discuss this question with the Commissioner.

We look forward to hearing from the Commissioner and the agency. While we wait, marbled murrelets and other older forest-dependent species continue to lose habitat.

Opportunity While it is difficult to assess opportunities without complete information on DNR’s current practices surrounding older forests, the agency should take steps to protect older forests and their benefits. This would require: 1. Truly halting harvesting older forests while stakeholders and the BNR gain clarity on current practices and path forward; 2. Providing a plan for how DNR will meet documented HCP older forest commitments, including a clear definition of older forests and evaluation methodology, and; 3. Connecting management of older forests to a larger effort to increase carbon sequestration and storage in state forestlands.

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Olympic Experimental State Forest The Olympic Experimental State Forest (OESF) provides 270,000 acres of forested habitat for a number of threatened and endangered species. The OESF is intended to be a landscape on which to test forest management strategies that balance both ecological values and revenue generation. Fifty percent of the OESF, however, is predominantly young forests — a result of extensive clearcutting in the 1970s and 80s.10 The OESF is home to the federally threatened marbled murrelet and northern spotted owl, as well as the endangered bull trout and Lake Ozette sockeye salmon.

The issues outlined in the 2020 State of our Forests and Public Lands report remain largely unaddressed: •

Marbled murrelet habitat in the OESF remains in danger of being logged under the current Long-Term Conservation Strategy for the species, while the courts decide litigation brought by conservation organizations, beneficiaries, and timber industry.

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Negotiations with stakeholders and the US Fish & Wildlife Service on insufficient bull trout riparian habitat protections under the 2016 OESF Land Plan remain at an impasse, without resolution of protections for listed species.

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The 2016 OESF Land Plan prioritizes revenue generation over habitat, leaving forests and vulnerable species at risk in the face of the climate crisis. DNR has an important opportunity with the Western Washington Forest Health report to give forest health equal weight alongside revenue generation, and recommend actionable changes for habitat preservation and restoration.

Opportunity As in many facets of life, the pandemic delayed movement forward on critical OESF issues and research. Going forward, we hope scientific study and forest management experiments aligned with the original goals of the OESF are prioritized in forest harvests.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

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Trust Land Transfer WORK IN PROGRESS

The Trust Land Transfer (TLT) program is a critical tool DNR uses to protect land of exceptional ecological and social value while improving revenue generation for the trusts. TLT allows DNR to shift special trust lands into conservation or open space functions. In compensation, the TLT program provides funding to purchase replacement trust lands that will improve revenue for future generations. The program enables the state to create and expand Natural Resource Conservation Areas (NRCAs), Natural Area Preserves, and other protected public lands, such as the Mt. Si and Klickitat Canyon NRCAs. •

Disappointingly, funding for the program’s operation was not included in the agency’s budget request to the legislature for the 2021 session. During the prior 30 years, appropriations to TLT have averaged $59 million per biennium.11 This year was a missed opportunity for the Commissioner to protect biologically important and unique natural areas in the state, such as an expansion of the Dabob Bay Natural Area, Devil’s Lake on the Hood Canal shoreline, or ancient forests in Morning Star.

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A TLT proviso was approved during the 2021 session, which appropriates funds for DNR to convene a work group of trust land beneficiaries and stakeholders “to develop a recommended process for the way TLT proposals are developed and implemented.”

The proviso clearly demonstrates the importance of the TLT to the state and legislature. A report of recommendations is due to the legislature by December 1, 2021.

Opportunity: DNR has the opportunity to strengthen the Trust Land Transfer program through a robust work group process and recommendations, and to prioritize future budget allocation to the program. We also hope to see the agency identify synergies and opportunities that may emerge from the ongoing Trust Land Performance Assessment.

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Photo of Broad Spit – East side of Dabob Bay, within the DNR’s Dabob Bay Natural Area

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Issues on Private Forest Lands This section addresses topics relevant to the 9.3 million acres of non-tribal, private forestlands that are subject to the DNR-administered Forest Practices Habitat Conservation Plan. Our focus in this section is specifically on private forestlands, since state trust forestlands are covered by their own habitat conservation plan.

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Adaptive Management Program Conflict Resolution Washington has a 50-year Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) with the federal government, which gives the State valuable assurances that timber harvesting activities satisfy the Endangered Species and Clean Water Acts.

The HCP’s Adaptive Management Program (AMP) — which applies rigorous science to monitor and test the rules and refine rules when necessary — is crucial to the legal and biological assumptions underlying the HCP. However, the AMP has long suffered from a lack of commitment to the solutions-based collaborative principles under which it was founded. In response, DNR and the Forests Practices Board (FPB) have sought to address issues of stakeholder collaboration in the AMP over the past few years. The Commissioner made AMP reinvigoration a top priority by hiring a third-party neutral conflict transformation specialist to work with AMP participants and principals.

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The Commissioner should be commended for seeking to reinvigorate the AMP. However, no improvements have been achieved in the 4 years since initiating the process. After publication of a Conflict Assessment Report in May 2020, work with the conflict transformation specialist paused until late winter 2020 due to a delay in renewing her contract.

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Problematically, the conflict transformation specialist resigned from the project this spring, concluding that conditions were not in place to make meaningful progress on conflict resolution within the AMP. As a result, the path forward for AMP reinvigoration remains unclear.

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At the same time, the Washington State Auditor’s Office completed a Performance Audit of the AMP in January 2021.12 The audit reached a number of concerning conclusions, including that the program put Washington “at risk for litigation” without changes, and confirmed “the program is not operating as intended.” Furthermore, a representative from a federal agency stated “the program is not meeting requirements of the Habitat Conservation Plan.” The report made a number of recommendations to improve the program.

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In response to the audit, DNR staff and the FPB addressed the report directly by drafting a comprehensive work plan to address the recommendations. We have chosen to consider this section “a work in progress” because of the potential for positive change from this work plan. However, the work plan designated the now-resigned specialist to lead processes to address particularly challenging audit recommendations, including exploring different decision-making models and engaging AMP principals. With the facilitator’s resignation, prospects for progress in the near-term look challenging.

Opportunity If the program is to be strengthened and function as intended, the highest levels of the DNR executive team must commit to demonstrating leadership in the daily functioning of the program. Stakeholder principals must fully commit to addressing issues identified by the audit with resolve. DNR also needs to create a credible plan for implementing the audit work plan and continuing a principals process, in the wake of the facilitator’s resignation.

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WORK IN PROGRESS

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Water Typing Water typing is a DNR classification system that identifies whether fish habitat is present in streams and other water bodies. The Forest Practices Program uses water types to determine the size of a protective riparian buffer required for logging operations. For example, a stream in western Washington determined to be fish habitat could be required to have a riparian buffer of 68-150 feet with no logging permitted13 vs. 0 to 50 feet if the stream is non-fish habitat.14 Forest Practices Rules have operated under a temporary water typing rule for 24 years.

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Adopting a permanent rule has languished for decades, and continued to languish this year. Delays continue to impede progress toward a final rule. For instance, a workgroup associated with the water typing process was proposed as a half-year exercise, but is currently scheduled to finish its work in November 2021 — two and a half years after it was proposed. Work group leaders continue to work diligently towards completing the relevant study.

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The lack of progress on water typing this year is largely a result of the Forest Practices Board’s decision to remove deadlines for completing a rule in 2019. Regardless, both this year’s progress and the twenty-four-year history of water typing as a whole meet the “Needs Improvement” criteria of: “limited progress, or DNR has not demonstrated strong commitment and active engagement.”

Opportunity The Commissioner needs to support creation of a water typing system that adequately protects our salmon and other aquatic species. Although DNR is one stakeholder among the various stakeholder groups in the AMP, the agency is positioned to take a leadership role in moving to rulemaking without further delay. Achieving a water typing rule will require significant work and leadership from DNR, and a notable shift from DNR’s past approach to this process. We hope to see a rule selected and moved forward this spring.

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Protecting Stream Temperatures in Headwater Streams and Clean Water Act Assurances The Adaptive Management Program (AMP) is designed to study the ability of the state’s Forest Practices rules to meet the AMP’s objectives and adjust forest practices rules as needed. One objective of the AMP is to “meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act.”15 Cool temperatures are essential for water quality as well as for downstream fish habitat.

Tree cover in riparian areas is an important determinant of water temperature, and forest management activities often reduce forest cover in riparian areas. As a result, the Department of Ecology issued a determination known as the Clean Water Act (CWA) Assurances: if the AMP is functioning effectively, forest management activities on private land across the state will be considered compliant with the state’s water quality standards.

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A 2018 study commissioned by the AMP found the harvest buffers on roughly 30% of non-fish bearing, perennial streams in Western Washington result in stream temperatures above state water quality standards.16 Because study results indicate a significant number of streams are out of compliance with water quality standards, the Department of Ecology extended the CWA Assurances to allow time for the AMP to develop new harvest criteria to ensure compliance. Ecology set an expectation that rulemaking should begin by summer of 2021.

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The three-year plus timeframe to address the temperature issue is inconsistent with the language of state law: “the purpose of an adaptive management process is to make adjustments as quickly as possible to forest practices that are not achieving the resource objectives.”

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At the May 2021 Forest Practices Board meeting, DNR staff did not seek to initiate rulemaking, and would not commit to initiating rulemaking this summer.

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Despite frustration voiced by several caucuses, DNR also declined to initiate rulemaking in the August 2021 Forest Practices Board meeting. This puts DNR on a trajectory to miss the timeline for compliance with CWA Assurances.

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Opportunity To ensure forest management activities in Washington meet the water quality standards that fish and people rely on, proactive leadership from DNR is needed to meet Ecology’s extended deadline. Given that rulemaking was not initiated in August, it is clear DNR has declined to make rulemaking a priority at the Board. Over the next few months, it is imperative that DNR staff work with urgency at the stakeholder level to complete draft rule language for public review, and initiate rulemaking in winter of 2021.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Compliance Monitoring •

Monitoring DNR’s on-the-ground implementation of the Forest Practices rules is an integral pillar of the state’s Adaptive Management Program (AMP) and Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Monitoring allows us to understand whether current Forest Practices rules are meeting the objectives of the AMP. If monitoring demonstrates the objectives of the AMP are not met, this indicates a need to reevaluate and adjust Forest Practices rules.

DNR currently conducts two types of monitoring for the AMP: effectiveness monitoring and compliance monitoring. Effectiveness monitoring studies the ability of forest practices rules to meet the objectives of the program. However, effectiveness monitoring is only informative if we are confident of adherence to Forest Practices rules on the ground. Thus, the AMP also conducts compliance monitoring to determine if Forest Practices rules are followed in the field.

To accurately understand the level of compliance with Forest Practices rules, DNR’s compliance monitoring program must accurately evaluate and publicly report approved Forest Practices Act compliance. Two issues impede the credibility of current compliance monitoring: •

Compliance monitoring does not differentiate between significance of potential impacts across different types of non-compliance: To provide better information about the effects of non-compliance on riparian ecosystems, compliance reports should rigorously sort findings of non-compliance into categories based on severity of impact on aquatic resources.

For example, a clearcut to a fish stream will have a clear negative effect on the riparian ecosystem, whereas improperly identifying tree species in a stream buffer may have a marginal effect. Still, both actions are categorized as non-compliant in the same way. Categorizing non-compliance based on potential damage to aquatic resources will help AMP to prioritize efforts to improve compliance rates in a way that also improves outcomes for aquatic resources under the forest practices HCP.

Opportunity Only after these issues are addressed will the AMP be able to determine if compliance levels across the landscape are protecting riparian ecosystems, and subsequently begin the work of improving compliance to protect aquatic resources as intended by the HCP. DNR should provide disaggregated harvest compliance data, and create a more rigorous categorization system to convey the severity of non-compliance. Categorizing non-compliance based on potential damage to aquatic resources will help AMP prioritize efforts to improve outcomes for aquatic resources.

Compliance calculations inflate compliance rates: Rather than present information on whether a given timber harvest complies with forest practices rules, the program calculates aggregated compliance of all relevant rules within all sampled timber harvests. This methodology creates inflated compliance rates compared to past DNR compliance reporting, and provides inconsistent standards of evaluation across the landscape. As a result, it is difficult to gain a meaningful understanding of the real level of compliance on the ground.

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WORK IN PROGRESS

DNR has been making strides on removing creosote materials from the aquatic environment, declining fossil fuel terminal expansions, and purchasing aquatic lands for conservation. This important work must continue, and it also must accelerate. DNR can play an even greater role in meeting the need to increase healthy and functional habitat on aquatic lands.

• DNR’s Aquatics Division continues to do good work stewarding aquatic public lands and the natural resource values they provide in terms of habitat.

However, as environmental threats escalate, DNR should increase monitoring around conditions in the aquatic environment. Underinvesting in monitoring leaves the agency unable to assess the success of restoration programs, some of which are required for mitigation outcomes.

• Many agencies have overlapping interests and obligations. DNR should increase coordination with other state agencies on shared responsibilities to protect and restore aquatic habitats important for salmon recovery. Outstanding Orca Recovery Task Force recommendations need DNR to increase collaboration with other agencies on synergistic approaches.

• Community-based science programs were on hold during COVID, but these need to ramp back up as soon as is safe to do. In particular, the Acidification Nearshore Monitoring Network (ANeMoNe) pro-

Issues on State Aquatic Lands 26 26

vides a good model of mutually beneficial partnerships, as the public provides added capacity while also learning more about their local aquatic environments. This program will also provide better scientific understanding of impacts of climate change impacts on aquatic lands.

• DNR is moving forward on restoration at Whiteman Cove, placeholder which involves removal of a fish passage barrier named in the 2013 U.S. District Court order in the culvert litigation. Removal will reestablish fish passage to and from Case Inlet, thus improving salmonid habitat in the South Puget Sound, within the Squaxin Island Tribe’s usual and accustomed fishing area. DNR successfully advocated for funding from the legislature to move design and permitting of the project forward while faced with misguided opposition from a recreational interest. Funding was provided in the 2021-23 capital budget.

Opportunity • Expand effectiveness monitoring, and status and trends monitoring, on aquatic lands to ensure that DNR investments in aquatics are resulting in habitat gains.

Investments in effectiveness monitoring are critical to adaptively manage restoration programs.

• We encourage DNR to engage directly with multiple Tribes on salmon recovery, particularly nearshore habitat needs, as relating to Tribal Treaty Rights • Reinitiate community-based science programs, particularly ANeMoNe.

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Other Notable Work Although WEC has not closely engaged on the following issues, we want to acknowledge and support successes related to the agency’s work in forestry, renewable energy, and recreation. In some cases, these topics were profiled in prior State of our Forests and Public Lands reports.

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Forest Action Plan: DNR released its 2020 Forest Action Plan in October, outlining more than 100 actions to improve and conserve forests across Washington, including goals that support fish and wildlife, rural economies, wildfire response, outdoor recreation, family forestry, urban trees, and clean air and water.17 The 2020 Forest Action Plan includes a western Washington prioritization map, identifying 16 areas with the greatest opportunities for forest investments.

These priority landscapes guide where state and federal resources will be prioritized to increase forest resilience.

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Rattlesnake Flats Wind Farm: Operations on Rattlesnake Flats Wind Farm — profiled as a success in last year’s report — began in December 2020. This 160-megawatt project is capable of supplying clean, wind-generated power to 38,000 homes. The project was also built with a Project Labor Agreement, which is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with relevant labor organizations. DNR leased land to make this project possible, and is looking to lease more lands for clean energy projects to help support local governments and to help reduce fossil fuel dependency.

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Forest Practices Online: Annually, thousands of forest practices applications are submitted to DNR for permitting review. Reviews are additionally conducted by Tribal Nations, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Ecology. All of these reviews are conducted via an outdated database that is becoming obsolete.

In the 2021 legislative session DNR successfully advocated for funding to update to a new Forest Practices Online system. This system will allow applicants to more efficiently submit applications, DNR and reviewers to streamline their reviews.

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Recreate Responsibly Coalition: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Franz partnered with REI to help launch the Recreate Responsibly Coalition. The coalition now consists of hundreds of organizations nationwide, which provide tips on staying safe while recreating. As the world begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the coalition is now looking towards other issues to work on together. The campaign continues to serve as the touchstone on all DNR’s communication efforts on how to safely enjoy the outdoors as we navigate COVID-19. To learn more about this effort, visit www.RecreateResponsibly.org.

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Special Legislative Thanks During the 2021 legislative session, the Commissioner and DNR were supportive on a number of important environmental priorities. Two important legislative successes — Wildfire Funding and Urban and Community Forestry — are highlighted in previous sections of the report.

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Climate Commitment Act (SB 5126): Washington passed the strongest, most innovative carbon pricing policy in the nation this year. The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) establishes an economy-wide cap & invest program covering approximately 75% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to the state’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The CCA will also reduce air pollution and engage Tribal Nations and representatives from overburdened communities in the management of the program.

The program will generate revenue to invest in decarbonization of the economy, climate resiliency, natural climate solutions, and addressing long-standing inequities from the climate crisis.

DNR was supportive of this legislation, including language enabling funding from the Natural Climate Solutions account to be spent on avoided conversion projects, community forests, creation of new conservation lands, and improved resilience to climate impacts.

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Safe harbor agreement for northern spotted owls (SB 5411): The DNR-led Northern Spotted Owl Implementation Team recommended that DNR enter into a statewide Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) with US Fish and Wildlife Service as a strategy for spotted owl recovery. This DNR request bill sought to formalize creation of a SHA, which would incentivize private landowners to maintain and restore spotted owl habitat.

Although the bill was not successful this session, DNR’s renewed focus on this issue is welcome.

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Utility Wildland Fire Prevention Advisory Committee (SB 5158): This successful bill creates a standing advisory committee focused on mitigating wildfire risk associated with utilities, building off an existing utility task force.

Given incidents of downed power lines igniting wildfires—including a significant number of wildfires on Labor Day weekend in 2020— this committee is a modest but important step towards mitigating wildfire risk in Washington.

Topics We’re Tracking WEC/WCV is monitoring progress and engaging on a number of topics that have not yet reached an During the 2021 session, the Commissioner her Agency were appropriate stagelegislative for evaluation.

In addition to the topicsand evaluated in more detail throughout the report, supportive is ontracking a number of important priorities.

Twobe importWEC/WCV progress on theenvironmental following topics, which may featured in a future State of our ant legislative Forests report. successes — Wildfire Funding and Urban and Community Forestry — are highlighted in previous sections of the report.

• Siting of renewable energy projects: As DNR • Sustainable Harvest Calculation — Eastside • explores Climate leasing Commitment Act (SB 5126): • and Utility Wildland Prevention Advisory state-managed lands Washington for wind, Westside: DNR isFire beginning the process of passed strongest,energy, most itinnovative carbon Committee (SBestablishing 5158): This the successful bill cresolar, andthe geothermal will be critical calculating and next decadal policyequity in the nation this of year.

The Cliates a standing advisory committee topricing center racial and the needs frontline Sustainable Harvest Level on both the focused east andon mate Commitment (CCA) and establishes mitigating riskThe associated withconutilicommunities in sitingAct decisions, to avoid an west sides of wildfire the state. agency has economy-wide & investand program ties, abuilding an existing utility of task force. harm to sensitivecap ecosystems species.covering WEC vened technicaloffadvisory committee forest approximately of the practices state’s greenhouse Given incidents of downed ignitplans to monitor 75% consultation related modeling and inventory expertspower to helplines inform emissions, contributing to the state’s goal ing calculations. wildfires—including a significant number togas siting of renewable energy facilities, and of these We are tracking the work of achieving zero emissions bylocal 2050.commuThe CCA wildfires on Labor weekend in 2020— hopes to seenet DNR closely engage theofcommittee and lookDay forward to engaging will also air pollution and engage this committee is Board a modest butpublic important step nities, localreduce governments and Tribal NationsTribal as with the agency and in the process Nations and representatives from overburdened mitigating wildfire risk in Washington. part of any potential renewable energy project fortowards this planning effort. communities in the management of the program. on state-managed lands.

The program will generate revenue to invest in • Trust Land Performance Assessment (TLPA): • State Lands Habitat As the DNR has initiated a long-term project to decarbonization ofConservation the economy,Plan: climate resilconversation around DNR’s older forest policy improve the amount and reliability of revenue iency, natural climate solutions, and addressing and implementation develops, we climate expect crisis. to it delivers to trust beneficiaries. We’ve engaged long-standing inequities from the continue examining how the agency is meeting with the agency and Board of Natural Resources DNR was supportive of this legislation, including its multi-species commitments under the the Natural 1997 on the project’s scoping and will continue to language enabling funding from Habitat Conservation Plan. engage as actions are suggested and explored.

Climate Solutions account to be spent on avoided We hope the TLPA guides DNR to develop a conversion projects, community forests, creation • Status and Trends of Small Forest Landowners holistic vision for modernizing management of new conservation lands, and improved resilin Washington State: A University of Washof state trust forestlands that acknowledges ience to climate impacts. ington study was published in January 2021 and enhances the many values state forestlands theharbor statusagreement of Small for Forest Landowners • on Safe northern spotted in owls provide.

Washington State.DNR-led This comprehensive analysis (SB 5411): The Northern Spotted Owl recommended adoption of important policies Implementation Team recommended that DNR • Trust Management Reform: The system govtoenter maintain lands owned by small forest landerning state trust lands was created upon into a statewide Safe Harbor Agreement owners as working thereby providing Washington’s statehood 131 years ago. DNR (SHA) with US Fish forests, and Wildlife Service as a stratproductive ecosystem services to surrounding should lead in proposing policies that reflect egy for spotted owl recovery. This DNR request communities. lookscreation forwardoftoa engaging modern-day priorities and challenges, and bill sought to WEC formalize SHA, which inwould discussions about adopting these recommenbetter serve rural communities, biodiversity, incentivize private landowners to maintain dations. and ecosystem services. We hope to see the and restore spotted owl habitat. Although the bill Commissioner engage in meaningful conversawas not successful this session, DNR’s renewed tion about legal reform of the trust system. focus on this issue is welcome.

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Conclusion

The threats to Washington’s forests, rural communities, and climate are growing every day, and we do not have the luxury to wait for progress. We lose acres of healthy forests every year, and rural communities continue to lose tax revenue from corporate timber that no longer serves local communities. Salmon runs are down by 90% of historic levels. Our state must urgently adapt our practices to respond to new scientific information and new challenges.

DNR plays a critical role in charting the future of our state’s resources. From land stewardship to wildfire response and preparedness, trust land management, forest practices and more, DNR’s influence on the forests of Washington State is unparalleled. But the implications of DNR’s work do not end at the boundary of a timber sale or streambank. These forests, rangelands, and aquatic areas are core to Washington’s identity, economy, health, and biodiversity. As such, we hold the Commissioner of Public Lands to a high bar for achieving progress.

Over the course of this year, we have engaged with DNR to encourage progress on issues important to our state, and we have sought to identify meaningful, at-scale change in this report. The topics we evaluated represent the core aspects of the agency and Commissioner’s responsibility as public land managers, and therefore WEC/WCV’s priorities. The report does not cover all areas of the agency’s work.

Where Commissioner Franz has chosen to lead, she has accomplished important results — most notably in passing important legislation on wildfire funding and urban & community forestry, and advancing DNR’s 20 Year Forest Health Plan and Plan for Climate Resilience. Mobilizing to protect Washingtonians from uncharacteristic wildfire was a clear priority for the Commissioner this year, and she has delivered.

However, significant challenges remain, particularly related to forest practices, management of older forests on state lands, leadership on forest carbon sequestration, and aquatics. In some cases, such as the Adaptive Management Program and the Olympic Experimental State Forest, we see a pattern of insufficient progress across years. In other cases, recent events and public attention have highlighted areas where DNR has the opportunity to lead — among them forest carbon sequestration across Washington and on state lands, and management of older forests on state lands. It’s clear the current system of trust land management isn’t delivering what beneficiaries and the general public need. Washingtonians expect more than the status quo from our forestlands. Strong leadership from the Commissioner on these issues could inspire significant change across the state.

The topics in this report are all deeply interconnected. Just as ecosystems are a network of connections, forest management issues influence one another, and must be addressed as a complex system. As our collective attention turns to wild-

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fire this summer, we must keep in mind the linkages between wildfire and climate change mitigation, climate resilience, forest practices, and older trees.

We know that agency staff are working hard on many fronts, and we appreciate their work and dedication. We don’t enjoy reporting on insufficient progress, and would like to be able to confidently highlight more DNR successes among our priorities. We hope this report will prompt renewed effort from the Commissioner in the coming year on the topics highlighted as needing improvement. It is our role to continue to push for more progress at a faster pace, because our forests, salmon, and people depend on it.

Commissioner Franz has the opportunity to change the status quo and lead Washington State to achieve the triple bottom line of good environmental, social, and economic outcomes in our forests. Protecting and restoring the state’s forests amid a backdrop of climate change will require leadership on complicated issues that may not have easy answers. Washington needs a Commissioner who will make critical and difficult decisions for people and planet and work towards a visionary future of harnessing Washington’s natural climate solutions to support healthy forests and people. WEC and WCV look forward to working with the Commissioner and her staff to realize this full potential.

WEC is a nonpartisan 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization that does not support or oppose any candidates or political parties. We educate the public about the actions their elected officials have taken on environmental issues and we work with elected officials of all party affiliations to protect our environment.

Palouse Hills, WA

WCV is a 501 (c) 4 that ensures Washington’s decision makers keep our environment protected, healthy, and vibrant. Over the last 35 years, we have elected environmental champions, held our elected leaders to the highest standard, and built statewide momentum for environmental campaigns through innovative voter outreach efforts and community organizing.

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State of our Forests and Public Lands

WEC Staff Contributors Rachel Baker, Forest Program Director Alec Brown, Forests and Fish Project Manager Sally Paul, State Forestlands Program Manager Katie Fields, Forests & Communities Program Manager Miguel Pérez-Gibson, State Forest Policy Advisor Zachary DeWolf, Communications Director Grace Drechsel, Communications Associate Rae Minji Lee, Visual Communications Manager Kamna Shastri, Content Manager Lisa Remlinger, Chief Policy Officer Mindy Roberts, Puget Sound Program Director Darcy Nonemacher, Government Affairs Director Danielle “Skippy” Shaw, Local Government Affairs Manager Lennon Bronsema, Chief Campaigns Officer Rebecca Ponzio, Climate & Fossil Fuel Program Director

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References Click through on bolded items to access the linked webpage

1 SB 5546

2 Forest Health 20 Year Strategic Plan.

3 Washington Forest Ecosystem Carbon Inventory: 2002-2016.

4 Washington State Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory: 1990-2018.

5 Washington Forest Ecosystem Carbon Inventory: 2002-2016 (see pg. 13).

6 Plan for Climate Resilience.

7 Washington Supreme Court accepts review of case arguing state forests must be managed for “all the people.”

8 Forest Carbon Policy Request to BNR. 9

“Amid climate crisis, a proposal to save Washington state forests for carbon storage, not logging.”

10 Olympic Experimental State Forest Land Plan.

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Trust Land Transfer Program.

12 Adaptive Management Program: Improving Decision-Making and Accountability.

13 The precise buffer size depends on stream width and site class of soil. WAC 222-30-021 14

The precise riparian buffer size depends on proximity to a Type F stream and stream reach to be harvested.

Forest Practices Habitat Conservation Plan.

16 Effectiveness of Experimental Riparian Buffers on Perennial Non-fish-bearing Streams on Competent Lithologies in Western Washington 17 Forest Action Plan 15

Photo Credits

Under creative commons 2.0 attribution license (flickr) or Unsplash license.

Kevin Ortiz (cover); David Hoefler (1); Trevor Vannoy (3); Sheila Sund (4-5; at Flickr); Northwest Natural Resource Group (6-7); Rae Minji Lee (15-17); Wonderlane (8-10; on unsplash); Andy Zahn (12); Keith Lazelle (18-19); David Luder (20/22); Dorelys Smits (@adroris_photography on Unsplash) (25); Anupam Srivastava (anupam_ts on Flickr); Brylie Oxley(29); Sally Paul (32-33)

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