Comment: Forest conservation must be part of budget bill

By Mike Stevens / For The Herald

Washington is experiencing the far-reaching impacts of climate change and the biodiversity crisis first-hand. Our fire seasons are longer and more destructive, and average annual snowpack has decreased significantly across the American West; 41 percent between 1982 and 2019, with a snow season shortened by 34 days. Some species of wildlife are shifting their ranges northward and higher in elevation if they can, or are threatened with extinction if they cannot.

Forest conversion and fragmentation continue at a rapid pace, while our state is under pressure from both population growth and pandemic-weary crowds looking for outdoor recreation and respite. And, while outdoor recreation is part of what makes Washington such a great place to live, the benefits of nature are not equally accessible to everyone. According to the 2020 Nature Gap Study by the Center for American Progress, people of color in Washington are more likely to live in nature-deprived areas than are white residents.

We need a generational investment in natural climate solutions and outdoor access for all, especially forest conservation, to provide a sustainable future — both ecologically and economically — for the Evergreen State. A recent study by The Nature Conservancy and University of Washington demonstrates how Washington’s natural spaces can help our state achieve our net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal by midcentury.

Congress is currently considering a substantial investment in forest conservation that would support the economy, create jobs and take action on climate change. We were glad to see the House Agriculture Committee included $40 billion for forestry provisions in its reconciliation legislation, and heartened to hear President Biden highlight forest resilience and climate-smart forestry as part of the framework agreement announced on Thursday.

Part of President Biden’s framework is a critical $1.25 billion investment in the Forest Legacy Program, which helps states and private forest owners maintain working forest lands and is a key tool to protect natural infrastructure and climate resilience.

The Forest Legacy Program (FLP) is a voluntary conservation program that is responsible for the conservation of more than 2.8 million acres of working forest lands across the U.S., primarily through conservation easement purchases, with more than half of project costs leveraged from non-federal sources. Here in Washington, the program has conserved 77,549 acres, leveraging nearly $57 million in federal funds to protect places like Grouse Ridge in the Mountains to Sound Greenway, wildlife corridors along the Yakima River, forests around Mount St. Helens, the Klickitat Canyon, and more.

The program invests in natural infrastructure by conserving forests that sequester carbon dioxide, provide important wildlife habitat, and protect our rivers and lakes as well as our drinking water supplies, all while supporting sustainable jobs in the woods and providing public recreation access.

Each year, however, there are far more Forest Legacy Program applications than can possibly be funded, meaning that urgent opportunities to protect forests are left on the table. In Washington, an FLP project in Kittitas County would conserve 6,000 acres of working forest adjacent to the I-90 wildlife crossings near Easton, protecting these lands from conversion while improving water storage capabilities and management efficiency in partnership with the Washington Department of Natural Resources. But this project might not get funded unless Congress provides additional dollars.

With the rapid pace and scale of forest conversion, now is the time to invest in forest protection before it is too late. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, as well as Reps. Kim Schrier, Derek Kilmer and Rick Larsen, have been consistent champions of forest conservation. We urge them to support the forestry provisions in the reconciliation bill and make clear to congressional leadership that these natural climate solutions should remain in the final reconciliation package.

Mike Stevens is the Washington state director for The Nature Conservancy.