DNR to conserve 77,000 acres of mature forests: ‘We are the Evergreen State’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- DNR order protects 77,000 acres of structurally complex forests across Western Washington.
- Another 29,000 acres remain harvestable to sustain funding for schools and governments.
- Commissioner eyes ecosystem services, like carbon credits, for future revenue.
Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove on Aug. 26 signed an order to conserve 77,000 acres of mature and older state forests across Western Washington.
Upthegrove, who took charge of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in January, announced the move at a news conference held in the older forests of Tiger Mountain near Issaquah.
The order protects structurally complex forests, including over 10,000 acres of older forests on state lands. It also tells the agency to pursue innovative strategies to ensure the forests’ long-term sustainability.
The commissioner said in a call after the conference that he’s motivated by the fact that the world is changing.
“We’re seeing the impacts of climate change. We’re losing plant and animal species — and the agency that I lead has always been a world leader in responding to the urgent needs of the moment,” Upthegrove said. “I’m excited for us to once again respond to address the challenges of today.”
State, local and tribal leaders and conservation groups are lauding the commissioner’s order as both necessary and forward-thinking. But critics contend that it’s a drag on Washington’s forest-product sector that spells bad news for community and school revenues.
Earlier this year, Upthegrove temporarily paused certain timber sales so DNR could develop criteria for such conservation. Agency forest experts then came up with a new tool to detect older, structurally complex forests, a news release notes.
The tool revealed that the department had 106,000 acres of “Maturation II” forests, a term meant to describe those with diverse species beneath their canopy; small gaps caused by natural disturbances, such as wind; and a relatively small amount of standing dead trees or big, fallen logs.
The order keeps 29,000 acres of such forests available for harvest. DNR says those acres will help ensure the agency meets its responsibility to generate revenue for local governments and schools during the shift to new, diverse management strategies on the larger set of acres, the release said.
Upthegrove told McClatchy that the state has the opportunity to get into ecosystem-services markets, including the sale of carbon credits and monetizing other values of the forest. Revenue can be made through the ecological thinning of lands to help improve forest health and habitat, he said.
He also emphasized his commitment to growing the state’s forestland holdings. He called the Aug. 26 action the “biggest step forward in forest conservation in a generation, and makes good on the commitment I made to the people of this state and the importance that people place on these older forests. After all, we are the Evergreen State.”
Speaking at the Aug. 26 news conference, Thurston County Commissioner Tye Menser said his district contains a big chunk of Capitol State Forest. About five years ago, he was approached by constituents opposed to a proposed DNR plan to harvest a stand of structurally complex forest near their neighborhood.
Of 110,000 total acres, he said, less than 3,000 acres of structurally complex forest remained in the state forest — and Thurston County residents desperately wanted to keep them there. Some sales were paused temporarily, but all were eventually allowed, he said.
“So today, we in Thurston County could not be happier to stand here in support of Commissioner Upthegrove’s landmark announcement, which I believe represents the biggest step forward for our forests in a generation,” Menser said.
The Washington Conservation Action also cheered on the order, with CEO Alyssa Macy calling it a “bold” and necessary decision at the Aug. 26 event.
But the American Forest Resource Council is sounding the alarm. In a news release, the group argued that the order will mean less revenue for schools, libraries, hospitals and fire districts that rely on trust land funds — while leading to fewer forest-sector family-wage jobs.
Upthegrove countered that it isn’t surprising that the timber industry would broadcast such views. He said that in reality, local governments and schools will be fully funded moving forward. And DNR will continue to find innovative ways to generate revenue while growing forestry holdings over time, he added.
Nationally, much is going south in terms of the environment, Upthegrove said — and the state needs to take significant steps to safeguard the climate, habitat and biodiversity.
He expects the plan to attract broad public support.
“I understand that those who benefit from the status quo tend to resist change,” Upthegrove said. “But it’s forward-thinking, it’s done thoughtfully to ensure we’re maintaining jobs and support for rural economies and schools and counties — and I think it’s an exciting day.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "DNR to conserve 77,000 acres of mature forests: ‘We are the Evergreen State’."
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