Policy for Sustainable Forests on State Trust Lands
   

The Policy for Sustainable Forests replaces the 1992 Forest Resource Plan. The new suite of policies, approved by the Board of Natural Resources, guides DNR's long-term sustainable management of 2.1 million acres of forested state trust lands statewide.
 
Policies were revised or replaced to reflect new laws, department practices, and other changes such as adoption of DNR's 1997 multi-species trust lands Habitat Conservation Plan; the sustainable harvest level for forested trust lands in Western Washington set September 7, 2004, by the Board of Natural Resources; and new state Forest Practices Rules.
 
As a result, the people of Washington can expect a continual flow of economic, ecological and social benefits into the foreseeable future, including revenue to support our public schools and institutions, creation of wildlife habitat, clean air and water, and outdoor recreation.

Policy For Sustainable Forests

  • Complete Document — (4,392KB PDF)
  • Section One — (1,561KB PDF)
    - Contains: Cover, Acknowledgements, Cover letter, Table of Contents, Introduction and Background
  • Section Two — (1,078KB PDF)
    - Contains: Policies
  • Section Three — (1774KB PDF)
    - Contains: Appendix A: Board of Natural Resources Resolution; Appendix B: Commissioner's Order on Tribal Relations; Appendix C: Glossary of Terms; Appendix D: Map of State Trust Lands

Amendments

As part of the 2019 sustainable harvest calculation, DNR amended the Policy for Sustainable Forests with a new policy called End of Decade Analysis: Arrearage.
 
Environmental analysis of this policy was conducted as part of the 2019 sustainable harvest calculation process. For more information, refer to the final environmental impact statement. More information on the sustainable harvest calculation can be found at this link.

2006 Public Process

The two-year public process to develop the Policy for Sustainable Forests in 2006 included development of policy objectives; scoping; finalization of the policy subjects; development of policy alternatives; preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); response to public comments on the Draft EIS; Final EIS; and Board of Natural Resources consideration for adoption.

SEPA Documents

 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement On The Policy For Sustainable Forests, April 2005
Final Environmental Impact Statement On The Policy For Sustainable Forests, June 2006
  • SEPA Cover Memo — (27KB PDF)
  • Complete Document — (9,335KB PDF)
  • Section One — (3,515KB PDF)
    - Contains: Cover; Commissioner's Letter; Fact Sheet; Table of Contents; Chapter 1: Executive Summary, Background; Chapter 3: Alternatives and Analysis; Appendix A: Sustainable Harvest Calculation Policies; Appendix B: Ecoregions of the State; Appendix C: Commissioner's Order on Tribal Relations; Appendix D: Prehistory of Cultural Resources; Appendix E: Forest Resource Plan Update Scoping Summary; and Appendix F: Glossary
  • Section Two — (3,690KB PDF)
    - Contains: Appendix G: References Cited; Appendix H: Response to Comments; Appendix I: Policy Crosswalk; Map 1: Eastern Washington Forest Health; Map 2: Western Washington Forest Health; and Map 3: Location of the Gene Pool Reserves Designated by Washington DNR
Background Information