The Washington State Board of Natural Resources approved a priority list of eight parcels for legislative funding to conserve via the Trust Land Transfer program during its meeting Wednesday morning at the Natural Resources Building.

 

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources will submit the ranked list of properties, which come from five different counties across the state, to the Office of Financial Management and the Governor’s Office as part of agency funding requests for the next legislative session. The 12,299 acres of land are proposed to be transferred to Tribes and public agencies, including DNR’s Natural Areas Program and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The transfers must be funded by the Legislature before they can be completed.

 

“The Trust Land Transfer tool is a pivotal way to conserve lands while supporting public services and Washington’s rural economy, and from the Columbia Basin to the coast, these parcels are a great example of the benefits this program provides to the Evergreen State,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, chair of the Board and elected leader of DNR.

 

A 12-member volunteer committee ranked the applications based on five weighted criteria – community involvement and support, ecological values, economic values, public benefits, and tribal support – adopted with the help of beneficiaries, tribes, industry, and conservation groups. The criteria were tested in a pilot project in 2022, and the Board formally adopted them earlier this year.

 

DNR generates more than $250 million each year through the management of trust lands, which are required to generate revenue to support schools, colleges, and critical local services across Washington state. That revenue comes from sustainable forest management, agricultural leases, clean energy leases, and commercial real estate leases.

 

The Trust Land Transfer tool is designed to transfer trust lands that produce no or minimal revenue but do provide important ecological values or public benefits. If funded by the Legislature, DNR will transfer these lands to public agencies for conservation or recreation purposes and then replace them with lands better suited to generate money to support school construction and local governments.

 

This is the first time that the Trust Land Transfer tool is being used since the Legislature codified it during the 2023 session. The program had existed since 1989, conserving more than 125,000 acres of Common School Trust lands that support K-12 school construction statewide. Now, the program is available for all types of DNR-managed trust lands.

 

Here are more details on each of the eight parcels included in the package, in ranked order:

 

Beckler 6, King County: This 676-acre parcel 4 miles north of Skykomish would be transferred to the Tulalip Tribes and continue to be managed for conservation. The Beckler River bisects the parcel, which is surrounded by the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on three sides and is more than 3 miles from the nearest DNR-managed parcel. DNR currently manages the parcel as long-term forest cover under its State Uplands Habitat Conservation Plan with the federal government. The Alpine Lakes Protection Society submitted this application.

 

The parcel is currently designated to support the Scientific School Trust, which generates revenue for capital projects for Washington State University.

 

Okanogan G, Okanogan County: This 42-acre parcel 1 mile south of Twisp would be transferred to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation to restore and maintain riparian habitat along the Methow River. DNR had previously managed the parcel under a grazing lease before designating the parcel for disposal in 2019 because of the minimal revenue it generated. The parcel is approximately 2 miles from the nearest DNR-managed parcels.

 

The parcel is currently designated to support the Common School Trust, which funds K-12 school construction across Washington state.

 

Tract C East, Tract C North and Tract C South, Yakima County: These three proposals, totaling 9,936 acres, would be transferred to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The parcels are on the western edge of the Ahtanum State Forest, approximately 25 miles west of Yakima, and Tract C North and Tract C South are both in checkerboard ownership with Yakama Nation lands. The parcels are in the usual and accustomed areas of the Yakama Nation, and they have minimal potential to generate revenue for DNR’s trust beneficiaries.

 

The parcels were split into three applications to ensure that their size fit within the scope of the Trust Land Transfer program. All of the lands are currently designated to support the Common School Trust.

 

Babcock Bench, Grant County: These two parcels about 6 miles southwest of Quincy, totaling 1,235 acres, would be transferred to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to be managed as part of the Quincy Lakes Unit of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area. The parcels include habitat for a host of plant and animal species of concern, including shrub-steppe ecosystems and roosting for at least eight species of bats.

 

The parcels, both of which are currently managed to support the Common School Trust, are currently leased to and managed by WDFW, and their transfer would eliminate an inholding and an edge-holding to the Quincy Lakes Unit.

 

South Lake Ozette, Clallam County: This forested parcel 12 miles northwest of Forks, totaling 372 acres, would be transferred to the Quileute Tribe for conservation and cultural purposes. The parcel, which is directly south of Olympic National Park, includes two creeks that drain into Lake Ozette and provides habitat for the endangered Lake Ozette sockeye salmon run, as well as the federally threatened marbled murrelet and Northern spotted owl.

 

The parcel currently is designated to support the Common School Trust.

 

Middle Fork Snoqualmie, King County: This parcel 2 miles southeast of North Bend, totaling 95 acres, would be transferred to DNR’s Natural Areas Program and added to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Resources Conservation Area. The parcel, the majority of which is not available for timber harvest because of buffers to protect water quality, is currently managed as long-term forest cover. It is adjacent to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie NRCA to the east and west, and it is already within the long-term boundaries of the conservation area.

 

The parcel is currently designated to support King County public services.

 

Maps and more information on each of the proposed Trust Land Transfer parcels are available on the Board of Natural Resources webpage

 

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