Western Washington Forest Health Strategic Plan

Western Washington forests are vital to the identity, economy, and quality of life vital to the region. From the Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula and Columbia Gorge, healthy forests provide clean air and water, sustain fish and wildlife habitat, store carbon, and support local jobs in forestry, recreation, and tourism.

These forests also hold deep cultural significance for Tribes. They serve as places of connection, renewal, and education for millions of residents and visitors each year. Yet, these same forests are increasingly threatened by climate change, drought, and the pressures of development and urbanization. In order to truly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of forest health work in western Washington, we must also consider emerging forest health issues, wildfire west of the Cascades, and the socioeconomic considerations unique to the region.

The Western Washington Forest Health Strategic Plan is the result of an holistic and collaborative effort by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to bring partners representing all lands and stakeholder groups together to identify priorities and strategies for how to steward and manage western Washington forests at a landscape scale. This plan builds on lessons learned from the development and implementation of the 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan: Eastern Washington.

Goals and Priority Strategies

The mission statement of the Western Washington Forest Health Strategic Plan reads as follows: Foster coordinated, voluntary actions and investments across western Washington that: promote forest and watershed health and climate resilience; respect landowner objectives; enhance the cultural, social, and economic vitality of historically forest-dependent rural communities; and strength collaborative stewardship across Tribes, agencies, landowners, and communities.

That mission statement lays the foundation for the five overarching goals of the strategic plan. Suites of priority strategies and actions chosen to accelerate forest health and resilience in western Washington reside underneath each goal. Taken together, these goals,

strategies, and actions represent the interests, values, and concerns raised during the engagement process led by DNR staff during development of this plan.

Below are summaries of each goal area -- click here for more detail and to read about all of the strategies and priority actions contained within the strategic plan.

Goal 1: Enhance Forest and Watershed Health and Resilience in Western Washington

The strategies and priority actions within this goal are intended to increase the pace and scale of forest stewardship across land ownerships with a focus on priority landscapes and practices that enhance forest and watershed resilience.

Specific actions include: creation and implementation of a Western Washington National Forest Road Strategy; engaging with Tribes to incorporate indigenous knowledge into forest planning and management; and expanding education, incentives, financial cost-share programs and technical assistance to encourage adoption of voluntary forest health treatments by small forest landowners.

Goal 2: Maintain Working Forests in Western Washington by Reducing the risk of Forest Conversion to Non-Forest Uses

Decisions made today about where development occurs, which forests are protected, and how working forests are supported will have lasting impacts on communities, economies, and the environment in Washington.

Specific actions include: increasing funding for conservation easements, acquisitions, and financial incentives that help landowners in western Washington keep their forests as forests; prioritizing the values and needs of Tribes for lands with high potential for land conversion; and supporting the establishment and growth of community forests that provide local stewardship, economic opportunities, and Tribal and public access for communities in western Washington.

Goal 3: Support and Expand Natural Resources Economies in Western Washington

The strategies and priority actions within this goal are intended to support and expand natural resource economies in western Washington.

Specific actions include: supporting expansion of natural resource education programs aimed at youth, young adults, and historically underrepresented communities and Tribes; diversifying revenue streams from forest land through the sale or lease of ecosystem services by identifying profitable forest management systems that include both timber harvest and ecosystem services revenues; and increasing natural resource workforce housing availability and affordability in rural and Tribal communities to attract and retain forestry.

Goal 4: Increase Understanding of Wildfire and Invest in Appropriate Actions to Mitigate Wildfire Risk

The frequency of large wildfire events in western Washington is lower than in eastern Washington, but when large fires do occur in western Washington, the risks to people, property, and other values are often higher.

Specific actions include: investing in scientific research to increase understanding of current landscape-scale wildfire risks, projected changes, and effective mitigation measures; investing in post-fire outreach, education, and restoration actions; and reducing human-caused fires in western Washington through prevention education, outreach, and enforcement.

Goal 5: Support Western Washington Forest Health Assessments, Monitoring, Research, and Adaptive Management

Embracing uncertainties associated with climate changes and the future as a whole requires us to watch, learn, and adapt our efforts as time goes on. Doing so will be critical to ensuring our strategies and actions are effective.

Specific actions include: prioritizing investments in research at the state and federal levels to continue expanding our understanding of forest ecosystems and socioeconomic well-being in forest-dependent communities; identifying thresholds and trends that trigger evaluation of existing strategies; and increasing investments in forest health monitoring, including aerial surveys, field monitoring, technical assistance, and landowner outreach and education.

Western Washington Watershed Prioritization

Explore the interactive map below to learn more about the watersheds within DNR's high-priority landscapes by clicking on each watershed (you may need to click the circled arrow after selecting a watershed to show more information).