Welcome to the Office of the Commissioner of Public Lands. We provide operational and staff support to Washington’s elected Commissioner of Public Lands − Peter Goldmark. As Commissioner, Peter oversees all DNR operations, its 13 divisions, six regional offices, and the state’s aquatics region.
One of Peter’s duties as Commissioner is to chair the state’s Board of Natural Resources, which sets policy for the management of state lands including some 3 million acres of trust lands. He also chairs the Forest Practices Board, which regulates private timber harvests, forest road building, and other forest operations.
Also as Commissioner, Peter oversees the largest fire department in the state, protecting 12 million acres of private and state-owned land from wildfires.
Peter Goldmark is the 13th Commissioner of Public Lands since statehood in 1889, and the fifth Commissioner to run the Department of Natural Resources since its creation in 1957. He began his term in January 2009, and is the first elected Commissioner from Eastern Washington.