Buying Back Our Public Forests

People have used a lot of different strategies to prevent the logging of public forests. On Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, environmental advocates led by Elwha Legacy Forests recently found success buying back units of forest from a logging company before most of the trees could be cut.

In 2024, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WSDNR) sold the logging rights to a piece of public land known as the "Doc Holliday" forest. The forest included old-growth trees and a well-established ecosystem.

When efforts to convince WSDNR to rescind the sale failed, Elwha Legacy Forests and its partners reached an agreement with the logging company. The company would not log the forest if the environmental advocates could raise enough money to compensate for the lost timber profits. 

Earlier this month, Elwha Legacy Forests announced that it had reached its fund-raising goal. Although a few acres of the forest had been logged, the majority of it will continue to stand. All told, the campaign to protect this public forest raised more than $560,000 in a few months.

Buying public forests to prevent logging on them is an interesting strategy. I can't say for sure that it's always going to work, but one forest still stands because of it, and that's good news.

Conserving Public Lands

Speaking of public lands, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WSDNR) announced on August 26 a new approach to forest management that will help conserve public forests in the state.

After I wrote my last two blog entries about the threats posed to public lands by private interests and the need to preserve those lands, the announcement from WSDNR that it will conserve 77,000 acres of forest owned by the state, including all remaining 10,000 acres of older forest, called for a third post.

In the past, WSDNR has often sided with private interests in the choices it's made about Washington's forests, meaning Tuesday's announcement represented a substantial and welcome shift in policy. As my earlier posts argued, a renewed effort to protect public lands is much needed these days, so WSDNR's new policy comes at a crucial time. It's a big win for environmental advocates and defenders of the public good, and hopefully, it's a step toward a better future.

Conserving the forests covered by the new policy also helps address global warming. The older forests can store carbon, and they give WSDNR the ability to sell carbon credits, proving that protecting public lands pays off environmentally and economically.

I wish to thank WSDNR and Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove for instituting this policy. Upthegrove became commissioner in January after winning election in November 2024, and so far, he has demonstrated the vision and courage to lead the department and defend public lands. Thank you for protecting the public interest through conservation.

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.

Strategic Reserves

In Jurassic Park, John Hammond says, "Creation is an act of sheer will." However, when it comes to the creation and maintenance of aquatic reserves, Washington state turns to collective will.

A partnership between the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR), environmental groups, Native American tribes, and other residents has produced seven aquatic reserves throughout Washington. Each reserve sets aside state-owned land for preservation and restoration.

The process for establishing these reserves provides a model for strategic public handling of environmental issues. First, an individual or organization proposes a site. DNR evaluates the plan and decides whether to make it a formal proposal. Once DNR submits a formal proposal, the public has the opportunity to comment.

Even the management process employs public participation. After a proposed reserve has been accepted, a management plan is created. Currently, citizen committees manage five of the seven sites. Along with DNR and the tribes, partners in the Aquatic Reserves Program include the Washington Environmental Council, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, the Nisqually Reach Nature Center, and Whidbey Watershed Stewards. For more information about the program, click here.

Collaborations like Washington's Aquatic Reserves Program show the potential of harnessing our collective power to make positive environmental impacts.