(The Center Square) – Washington’s public lands commissioner is proposing new funding tools to conserve older forests while maintaining revenue for schools and local governments, including raising fees on forestry operations.
Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove outlined the updated forest management approach this week in a news conference , saying the state must find ways to protect ecologically valuable forests while meeting financial obligations to trust beneficiaries.
“We’ve been cutting ourselves into a crisis, one that ensures both ecological and economic uncertainty,” Upthegrove said.
The Washington Department of Natural Resources is pursuing conservation easements, potential carbon-market revenue and additional state funding to reduce reliance on traditional timber harvesting. The agency is also considering changes to management fees that support county governments and school construction.
But Franklin County Fire District 3 Chief Mike Harris said forest maintenance remains a critical need, warning that dead vegetation, overgrown brush and limited resources can increase wildfire risks.
“Our men and women were burnt out and exhausted,” Harris said, describing the strain on firefighters during the late-summer fire season.
Upthegrove said about 55,000 acres of state forestland are currently excluded from planned timber harvests. The acreage is part of a broader conservation effort first announced in 2025 when the department identified roughly 77,000 acres of older and structurally complex forests for management approaches other than traditional industrial logging.
The difference between the two figures largely reflects mapping corrections and the removal of small parcels. The excluded acreage is not currently scheduled for harvest but could be considered for timber sales in the future if new conservation funding tools do not materialize.
“The change from 77 to 55 reflects mostly corrections to the map as well as choosing not to count towards the total very small parcels,” Upthegrove said.
DNR is exploring conservation easements that would allow tribes, public agencies, conservation groups and other partners to pay for long-term protections while keeping the land public and compensating trust beneficiaries.
“The forest could remain in public ownership and continue providing habitat, carbon storage, watershed protection, and climate resilience while we continue to manage them to maintain forest health and wildfire resilience,” Upthegrove said.
The department is also seeking authority to participate in a regulatory carbon market and is pursuing state funding through programs such as the Trust Land Transfer program and Natural Climate Solutions account.
“We need to give conservation a financial value, not just an ecological one,” Upthegrove said. “We need conservation to bring in new resources to the system instead of merely shifting harvest and costs from one forest to another.”
Upthegrove said the state cannot guarantee every forest will be protected and that the agency must address financial pressures as it develops alternatives to timber revenue.
“I cannot promise here today that they will be able to protect every forest the people want protected or that I do,” he said.
The department is proposing to increase its management fee share from 25% to 27% on state Forest Board lands, which generate revenue for counties. That would raise about $1 million, the DNR estimates. A proposal to raise fees from 31% to 32% on federal trust lands, which support school construction, would raise about $2 million.
Upthegrove said the fees have remained unchanged for 12 years while timber prices have stagnated and inflation has driven up costs.
“That adjustment would generate about $1 million a year from the State Forest Board lands and $2 million a year from the federal trust lands,” he said. “That is modest, but it helps during this difficult budget time.”
Timber revenue has faced pressure from stagnant prices, rising costs and the expense of harvesting younger stands, which can cost two to three times as much to harvest as older stands while producing less valuable timber.
“Because it costs us two to three times as much to harvest other traditionally aged stands and the wood is less valuable,” Upthegrove said.
Rep. Kevin Waters, R-Stevenson , criticized Upthegrove’s conservation approach last fire season, arguing that limiting timber harvests could hurt rural schools, county budgets and timber-dependent communities.
“We need a balanced approach that considers both environmental stewardship and economic stability,” Waters said in a statement at the time.
Harris said wildfire prevention requires clearing dead brush, limbs and other combustible material, but private landowners and public agencies face obstacles ranging from limited funding to staffing shortages.
In grassland areas of Franklin County, vegetation can grow quickly after moisture and then dry out, creating fast-moving fire conditions. Harris said debris piles, dead wood and unmaintained landscaping can also help fires spread around homes.
He said homeowners can reduce risks by hauling away yard debris in the spring and maintaining vegetation around their properties.
Harris also described staffing challenges when local fire districts send crews to large incidents outside their home areas. Deploying multiple engines and a water tender can leave fewer resources available locally, while firefighters may be reluctant to leave their families for multiday assignments.
“We need a second crew to give Crew 1 a break, and that’s not happening,” Harris said.
He said state and local leaders need to balance spending on emergency response with long-term forest maintenance and wildfire prevention.