Forestry policy in Washington

In Washington, regulations for logging, water quality, road construction, fish and wildlife habitat, pesticide use, etc. on the 12 million acres of state-owned and private forest land in the state are defined by the Forest Practices Act and regulated by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s Forest Regulation program.

Of these, 2.4 million acres are managed directly by DNR, including State Trust Lands and State Forest Lands. As a trustee, DNR has the responsibility to use forest revenue and products from long-term timber production on these lands for public programs such as schools and county services. Actions must also protect habitat for native species, and provide clean water and recreational opportunities.

In 2011, the state also established the Community Forest Trust to include citizens and local organizations in forest management, create jobs, and protect forests and the benefits they provide from increasing suburbanization. Similarly, DNR’s Small Forests Landowner Office provides funds and management expertise for small foresters across the state. 

Learn more about Washington forest regulations here and here! 

The broader context 

Forestry and climate change

• Through photosynthesis, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and store it in their bodies and the soil beneath them - this process is called carbon sequestration. Forests as a whole are called carbon sinks because they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, slowing climate change. 
  

• However, deforestation, fires, and natural death and decay return this carbon to the atmosphere. According to MIT, since 1850 about 30% of all CO2 emissions have come from deforestation, the majority of which aims to clear land for agriculture, especially beef and soy. 

False solutions

• Biofuels are generally not a sound or just climate solution because plant combustion still releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and most biofuels are produced from corn or sugar which often rely on deforestation for cropland expansion, petroleum-based fertilizers, and carbon-intensive agricultural practices. 
  

• Similarly, while afforestation is important, not all forests are created equal. Monocultures planted to meet climate targets or generate revenue from offsets but then quickly harvested actually decrease biodiversity and hold much less carbon for a shorter period of time. In China, species evolved to thrive in more temperate environments were planted to challenge desert expansion and therefore depleted soil and water supplies. Forests naturally regenerate, so preventing deforestation in the first place should be a high priority. “Proforestration” means allowing existing forests to mature into old-growth: according to one study, older forests store more than twice the carbon of younger plantations. 
  

• Carbon storage in wood products is touted by the timber industry as a climate solution, but only about 15-25% of a tree’s carbon ends up in wood products. The rest is lost through processing. And because up to 50% of a forest’s carbon is stored in the soil, the disturbance caused by logging operations is another significant source of biogenic CO2.
  

• Similarly, there is rising demand for wood pellets as an apparently ‘carbon neutral’ energy source. The assumption is that because wood pellets are compressed organic material, usually timber, simply planting another tree will offset emissions. As explained above, small plantation trees that are quickly harvested (especially plantations created to produce wood pellets) and larger old-growth forests are not created equal.
  
  Accounting must also include process emissions and environmental justice. The E.U. and U.K. allow wood pellet combustion to count as ‘reductions’ towards renewable energy goals; the associated surge in demand has driven expansion of wood pellet production in the U.S. South by companies like Drax and Enviva, polluting majority-Black communities.  

Forestry and equity

• Indigenous people “own, manage or occupy one-quarter of the world’s land that is home to 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity” (UN). But, from the Amazon to Washington State, deforestation has and continues to be rampant on indigenous people’s lands without their consent, endangering the health of sacred ecosystems and indigenous culture, safety, and livelihoods. In response to ongoing colonization, indigenous people are on the frontlines of climate activism, including patrolling forests and suing governments and developers.
  
  From controlled burns to selective logging, indigenous foresters also show that it is not a zero sum game between deforestation and monoculture and top-down protected areas - it is possible to sustainably manage forests. Returning land and management rights to indigenous communities is one way to achieve environmental justice for people and forests. It is also important that consultation with indigenous people is prioritized even if they are not the largest donors. 
  

• Community forestry accompanied by financial and technical support is beginning to supplement or replace top-down government management structures such as protected areas. Government management that lacks buy-in from people who rely on forests is often less effective, especially if conservation laws restrict existing management practices or religious motivations for conservation. In addition to other scales and structures of forestry, community forest management can generate income for rural communities. 
  

• Heat waves are intensifying and trees - healthy forests in particular - provide cooling through shade and evapotranspiration as the tree draws water from the soil to its leaves. Canopy cover is a matter of racial justice! In Seattle, for example, “neighborhoods impacted by racial and economic injustice not only started with less canopy but also lost more than the citywide average.”