2025 Washington Forest Action Plan
Washington State is home to more than 20 million forested acres of land, accounting for more than half of the state. These lands have a profound effect on our clean air, clean water, and overall quality of life. The Washington State Forest Action Plan (Forest Action Plan) exists to provide a comprehensive review of forests across all lands - public, private, rural and urban - and offers solutions to conserve, protect and enhance the trees and forests that people and wildlife depend on.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources publishes an annual, in-depth report highlighting efforts undertaken by DNR and its partners in line with goals and priority actions established within the Forest Action Plan. These goals and actions fall under eight main strategies that guide implementation through June 30, 2030.
The 2025 Forest Action Plan set new priority actions for the state while incorporating other strategies at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), such as the 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan, the Wildland Fire Protection 10-Year Strategic Plan, and the Plan for Climate Resilience. Congress took action in 2008 to require all states to develop a Forest Action Plan. Washington State first published a Forest Action Plan in 2010 and previously released revised versions in 2017 and 2020.
Not only do forest action plans set a clear vision for improving forests in each state, they also qualify states for funding from Forest Service state and private forestry programs. In Washington, more than 215,000 small forestland owners collectively manage 6.5 million acres of land. There are 12 million acres of private land under state fire protection, and Washington has more than 550 rural fire departments. These partners, along with many others, benefit directly from the Forest Action Plan.
Click here to read the 2025 Washington State Forest Action Plan
The most recent annual report tracks success stories and important milestones reached since the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and DNR formally adopted the 2020 Forest Action Plan. The next annual report will detail actions taken in 2026.
Read the 2024 Forest Action Plan Annual Report
Explore the interactive map below to learn more about the watersheds within DNR's high-priority landscapes for improving forest resilience by clicking on each watershed (you may need to click the circled arrow after selecting a watershed to show more information).
The watersheds layer on the map shows the level of opportunity that exists to improve each forested watershed. Turn layers on and off using the "Layer List" button in the upper right corner, and choose the "Legend" button, also in the upper right corner, to see the legend for each layer. Click the up arrow at the bottom of the map to see the data.
