Protecting Public Lands

My last entry ended with a call for supporters of the public good to summon their strength and defend public lands against exploitation by private interests. Just a few days later, I found myself on a hike with a group that has already joined that fight.

I didn't have the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition of Washington (LFDC) in mind when I wrote last month's blog entry, but it was clear early on in their hike through a forest that had been hastily sold for clearcutting by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WSDNR) that the organization's environmental work was exactly the kind of thing I meant.

The LFDC employs two strategies that are particularly important in protecting public lands. First, they challenge forest sales that violate WSDNR's own policies regarding the preservation of old growth timber. For example, after the sale of the forest I was touring had been fast-tracked late in 2024 by Hilary Franz, WSDNR's outgoing commissioner, LFDC asked for and received a restraining order against the logging of the forest. The organization is now in court to overturn the sale.

The second important strategy LFDC uses is bringing people together to protect these public forests. By organizing and guiding the hikes through the forests, LFDC establishes relationships and collective power around the issue of protecting public lands. The hikes also help connect people with these shared forests.

If we are going to succeed in pushing back against the private exploitation of our public lands, we should look at the model used by LFDC for guidance.