Associated Press
MOUNT VERNON — The state Legislature is considering allowing logging in a northern Washington state forest that includes several popular recreation areas.
The Skagit Valley Herald reported Thursday that the Legislature’s budget decisions this spring will determine whether recreation areas in central Blanchard State Forest will remain free of logging. The state Department of Natural Resources is requesting $7.7 million to keep that agreement in place.
Gov. Jay Inslee has proposed giving Natural Resources $1.5 million toward the Blanchard Forest Strategy agreement.
Natural Resources officials say those funds would go toward fulfilling a long-standing agreement with Skagit County and other stakeholders, but it wouldn’t prevent the agency from having to log the forest.
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