There is a debate over management practices on our state lands which boils down to forest preservation versus economics. Both candidates in the public lands commissioner race claim they are the best positioned to meet both needs. In the meantime the Department of Natural Resources is pushing hard to continue logging as usual.
The main issue at hand is our legacy forests which comprise 16,000 to 25,000 acres in Washington state. That’s 3 percent to 8 percent of our state forest lands available for logging. I have been on guided walks through some of these amazing beautiful forests. Once they are logged they are gone. Can’t we agree to allow these legacy forests an opportunity to continue to flourish.
Jaime Herrera Beutler asserts “we don’t have the luxury of waiting 40 years to see if setting aside works.” My response to that is, we can’t afford not to set these forests aside. Waiting is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Dave Upthegrove said he would look to make improvements to where and how timber sales are made, including deferring harvests on some mature low land forests that are not yet old growth but have similar characteristics. Which is the classic definition of a legacy forest. The Everett Herald Editorial Board wrote, “Dave Upthegrove’s concern for the agency’s environment responsibilities is no less important than Herrera Beutler’s regard for financial constraints.” I agree.
That’s why I am voting for Dave Upthegrove for our next lands commissioner. He will manage the lands for all of us, and for all of the forests diverse purposes.
Carolyn Johnston
Everett
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