The Washington State Department of Natural Resources is currently calculating a sustainable harvest level for forests growing on state trust lands located east of the Cascade Crest. This calculation will cover approximately 680,000 acres for the 2025-2034 planning decade.

 

The sustainable harvest level is the volume of timber to be scheduled for sale during a planning decade (RCW 79.10.300). For this effort, DNR will use advanced forest modeling techniques to determine a level of timber harvest for present and future trust beneficiaries that optimizes revenue production while also providing ecological values, such as healthy forest ecosystems and habitat for threatened and endangered species. Setting this level is an important component of DNR's sustainable and responsible stewardship of trust assets. The sustainable harvest level is a policy decision that requires approval by the Board of Natural Resources. 

 

This calculation will support implementation of the goals in the Forest Health Treatment Prioritization and Implementation on State Trust Lands in Eastern Washington legislative report (as required by E2SHB1711), and the 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan. Grounded in science, both of these ambitious documents are intended to restore forests to healthy conditions, increasing resiliency to wildfire and climate change.

 

The graphic below shows the four major phases of the sustainable harvest calculation.

 

 

DNR held a second scoping period for this project because the purpose and need statement has changed since the 2021 Scoping Notice was issued. The scoping process allowed the public and other agencies to comment on the scope of this project and helped DNR identify key issues and concerns.

Scoping Cover Memo