The Trust Land Transfer (TLT) Steering Committee was established as part of the 2021-2023 Capital Budget (SHB 1080 Sec. 3333). The Washington state legislature directed to DNR to convene a work group of state trust land beneficiaries and stakeholders to develop recommendations that govern the way Trust Land Transfer proposals are developed and implemented. The Phase 1 work group convened in July 2021. Over nine meetings, this work group collaborated on building a framework for revitalizing the Trust Land Transfer tool. The framework and topics needing further discussion were summarized in a December 2021 report to the Legislature. The Phase 2 work group met in January 2022. The goal of this phase was to complete all revitalization work on the Trust Land Transfer tool. The work addressed the topics listed in the 2021 legislative report – work group members also participated in a pilot project, in which they prioritized a limited number of parcels for transfer using new prioritization criteria. The steering committee concluded its work in November 2022. A small Taxing District Focus Group was also formed and met regularly from September 2022 through April 2023 to provide county and junior taxing district perspectives on mitigating impacts to taxing districts of state forestlands that would be nominated for trust land transfer. The TLT steering committee is now updated on a quarterly basis – a new iteration of the committee will begin meeting in early 2024.

Click here to view the members of the committee. 

SHB 1080 Sec. 3333 grants the committee its authority (additional legislation pending in 2023 session).

Contact Sarah Ogden, Trust Land Specialist, at Sarah.Ogden@dnr.wa.gov with questions and comments.