WA’s new lands chief hits pause on controversial timber sales

By Lynda Mapes
The Seattle Times in the Daily News
January 21, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Dave Upthegrove

OLYMPIA — On his first day as Washington’s new commissioner of public lands… Dave Upthegrove knew one thing he would do right away: make good on a campaign promise by pausing for about six months on cutting unprotected, older forests on state trust land. …Upthegrove said he will direct his staff at the Department of Natural Resources to get a better handle on the older unprotected forests managed by the state: where they are, how much there is, and what criteria defines them. Some forests, or portions of them, might be released for cutting before the pause is up, depending on what is learned, Upthegrove said. The pause doesn’t mean the state will cut less timber overall, but it will change where the agency harvests, and what type of trees DNR cuts, Upthegrove said. …Nick Smith, with the American Forest Resource Council, an industry group, was skeptical. …Upthegrove’s decision to retain so many of the agency’s professional staff is reassuring, Smith said, and “we appreciate that he is accessible and willing to talk.”

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