The seven candidates running for Washington state commissioner of public lands shared their preferred policies and how they would manage and protect state lands last week at a forum in Vancouver to educate voters prior to the Aug. 6 primary election.
Washington’s commissioner of public lands position is up for election this year, as incumbent Democrat Hilary Franz is running for U.S. House of Representatives. The commissioner oversees the Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its wildfire protection branch and manages over 5 million acres of state-owned land, including forests, aquatic lands, and develops policy for wildfire protection. Additionally, the commissioner chairs the state’s Board of Natural Resources and the Forest Practices Board, with an annual salary of $166,762.
Candidates in the unusually crowded race who spoke at the forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Washington included:
• Allen Lebovitz — A Democrat currently serving as the Washington state Department of Natural Resources wildland fire and forest resilience liaison.
• Jaime Herrera Beutler — A Republican former member of Congress representing Washington’s Third Congressional District from 2011 to 23.
• Dave Upthegrove — A Democrat currently serving as the chairman of the King County Council and chairman of the King County Flood Control District.
• Sue K. Pederson — A Republican and current real estate investor with experience in environment, fisheries and energy.
• Patrick DePoe — A Democrat currently serving on the executive team at the Washington state Department of Natural Resources.
• Jeralee Anderson — A Democrat CEO of a nonprofit focused on sustainability and transportation infrastructure currently serving on the Redmond City Council.
• Kevin Van De Wege — A Democrat currently serving as a Washington state senator, where he serves as the chair of the state Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources and Parks Committee and the Senate Ways and Means and Health and Long Term Care committees.
Managing Washington’s trust lands
As chair of the Board of Natural Resources, the commissioner shapes policies governing Washington’s state trust lands, generating non-taxed revenue crucial for state, county services and public school construction. Currently, over half of these lands are protected and not harvested.
Herrera Beutler said she would not change Washington’s dedication to keeping half of its forests protected, while ensuring its trust land marked for harvesting is utilized and maintained for beneficiaries and jobs.
“Right now, there is a battle taking place over whether or not we're gonna set additional land aside, and I am the candidate on the stage who has the ability to go toe to toe with either special interest or party bosses to say we're gonna do what's right for schools, for our police, and our fire and our library districts,” she said.
Pederson, a biologist, advocates for conducting a new analysis to balance land use between harvesting and environmental protection. She aims to create jobs, particularly for veterans, while preserving a healthy ecosystem.
“I want to recreate a timber industry where we have sawmills with blades that are bigger than 22 inches,” Pederson said.
Upthegrove recognizes the necessity of harvesting lands for revenue but emphasizes the need to carefully evaluate where and how trees are harvested. He prioritizes safeguarding forests with mature "legacy" trees, crucial for their significant carbon production capabilities.
“You know, our lands don't belong to the timber industry. They belong to we the people. They're public lands. They're our lands … We're not talking tree farms. We're talking naturally regenerated, structurally diverse forests,” Upthegrove said. “I believe we can do this at the same time by, in the short term, harvesting other parcels in every taxing jurisdiction. In almost every taxing jurisdiction, there's appropriate timber that we can harvest.”
Lebovitz, a DNR wildfire management executive and founder of a conservation-focused timber company, believes Washington can capitalize on more than just logs. He highlights untapped opportunities in the state's carbon, clean water and recreation resources.
“We also need to make sure to understand that conservation is completely compatible with using natural resources,” Lebovitz said. “We don't need to set land aside. We just need to manage land differently with the restoration approach. So if we focus on restoring our forest lands, everything else will come.”
Forest protection and enforcement
As part of their responsibilities, the commissioner of public lands oversees the protection of vast expanses of land, including DNR's management of 13 million acres owned by the state, tribal lands and private entities.
Van De Wege, a firefighter, places a high priority on wildfire prevention. He highlighted that last year, over 300 homes in Washington were lost to wildfires. This contributed to Spokane breaking low air quality records in 2020.
“Fifty-three percent of Washington forests will never be harvested again. They’ve been set aside forever,” he said “… Keeping the 53 from burning is gonna be the real challenge. When forests burn, the environment loses.”
Ensuring the safety of Washington's protected forests from fire hazards and pollution demands adequate staffing. DePoe emphasized increasing enforcement, suggesting that DNR might need to collaborate with local law enforcement agencies and organizations due to limited funding. As the first appointed co-chair of the Environmental Justice Council, DePoe also prioritizes amplifying the voices of Native tribes and rural communities in environmental decision-making.
“We put legislation forward time and time again here in Washington state for more enforcement for DNR. It always comes down to if there's no money in the budget or not. We (recently) doubled our enforcement on the Olympic peninsula. We now have two officers out there,” DePoe said.
Furthermore, safeguarding forests from pests and diseases is crucial to maintaining a healthy environment. Anderson proposed an integrated approach in Washington to manage pests through natural solutions. Pederson noted that continuous replanting of Douglas fir trees has negatively impacted the state's biodiversity.
“There could be an investment in improving removal of invasive species, as well as increasing native vegetation and adding pollinators,” Anderson added.
The forum can be viewed in full online at https://tinyurl.com/wtt59f5r.
