Forestry Riparian Easement Program
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DNR is accepting new applications for the Forestry Riparian Easement Program.
All applications will be preliminarily accepted and placed on a waiting list for future funding.
FREP Overview
In 1974, the state of Washington began to require forested buffers along streams and rivers to protect water quality and wildlife habitat. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was directed to develop Forest Practices Rules that define how forested riparian areas are to be managed. To provide protection over the long term, the riparian forest must be able to regenerate itself.
In 1999, the Washington State Legislature responded to the federal Endangered Species Act listing of several salmonid species by authorizing the Forest Practices Board to adopt rules for salmonid recovery. These rules increased the size of riparian buffers and created further measures to protect water quality and restore salmonid habitat. Recognizing that these rules would have a disproportionate impact on small forest landowners, provisions were included in the legislation to create a Forestry Riparian Easement Program to be managed by the Small Forest Landowner Office. The easement program acknowledges the importance of small forest landowners and the contributions they make to protect wildlife habitat and water quality.
The plant communities that form the transition between land and water comprise a riparian area that is essential to sustaining wildlife habitat and water quality. This interface between land and water is the most biologically diverse part of a watershed’s ecosystem. Salmon runs, bird and animal habitat, flood events, irrigation, timber production and recreational activities are all directly affected by activities in riparian zones.
The Forestry Riparian Easement Program compensates eligible small forest landowners in exchange for a 50-year easement on “qualifying timber.” This is the timber the landowner is required to leave unharvested as a result of forest practices rules protecting Washington’s forests and fish. Landowners cannot cut or remove the qualifying timber during the easement period. The landowner still owns the property and retains full access, but has “leased” the trees and their associated riparian function to the state.