>>> Click the “Start Writing” button to send a prewritten comment to the Commissioner of Public Lands and the Board of Natural Resources! <<<

The fight to protect our legacy forests has never been more urgent. There are only about 77,000 acres left of unprotected legacy forests in Western WA that are managed by DNR. The fate of these forests has become a central issue in the current campaign for the next Commissioner of Public Lands (CPL). In a rush to auction off some of the best legacy forests before the next Commissioner of Public Lands takes office, the current administration has decided to fast-track the sale of nearly 2,400 acres of legacy forests!

On November 5th, the DNR is trying to get the Board of Natural Resources ( BNR) to approve 11 controversial timber sales of legacy forests, which is unheard of! 11 out of the 16 timber sales slated for approval contain older forests, showing the disproportionate rate at which these legacy forest sales are being targeted, considering they only make up less than 5% of the total land DNR manages.

What can you do?

We’ve made it quick and easy for you to email the Commissioner of Public Lands and the BNR to tell them that WA’s legacy forests are worth more standing!

Click “Start Writing” to send a prewritten comment urging the BNR to 1) immediately stop DNR from planning and approving all timber sales containing mature forests until the next Commissioner of Public Lands takes office, and 2) enact a policy that permanently protects all 77,000 acres of legacy forests.

Thank you for taking action!

More context:

Who are we writing to?

The Commissioner of Public Lands is an elected position that oversees our state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and is responsible for managing nearly 6 million acres of public lands for the good of all Washingtonians. Right now, there's currently an election to decide who the next Lands Commissioner will be, which will determine the fate of these last remaining 77,000 acres of legacy forests. The outgoing Commissioner Hilary Franz will only be in office for three more months before the newly elected Commissioner will take office in January.

The Board of Natural Resources (BNR) is the governing body of DNR and works with the Commissioner to create new policies and decide what lands should be logged. We are writing to both!

Why?

Washington State’s mature “legacy” forests are carbon workhorses, storing and sequestering more carbon than any other type of forest in the world! They also make our communities more resilient to climate change impacts including wildfire, flooding, drought, and biodiversity loss. Legacy forests are Washington State’s best natural climate solution.

Every time one of these rare forests is logged, we’re giving up a powerful tool in our climate-change-fighting toolbox — and we don’t have time to waste. The next Commissioner of Public Lands will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to introduce a new policy ensuring that these legacy forests keep doing their job of storing and sequestering carbon and protecting our future. We need to make sure that the current Commissioner doesn’t liquidate these older forests before they leave office in three months!