WA lands commissioner debate: Herrera Beutler and Upthegrove square off

Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler and Democrat Dave Upthegrove faced off Sept. 18 in Spokane in a debate that highlighted the candidates’ different views on land management, forest health and the future of timber harvests in Washington.

The debate, hosted by the Association of Washington Business, was the first between Upthegrove, a King County Council member and former state lawmaker, and Herrera Beutler, a former state lawmaker and congresswoman. It comes after Upthegrove advanced following a dramatic primary election recount in the race for commissioner of public lands.

The winner of the Nov. 5 general election will take the helm of Washington’s Department of Natural Resources and oversee nearly 6 million acres of public land, including about 3 million acres of state “trust lands” that produce revenue – mostly from logging – for schools, counties and other parts of government.

While both candidates agree that Washington’s forests should remain healthy and protected for generations, they don’t seem to agree on how to get there. Here are four takeaways from the discussion.

Upthegrove thinks current land management is working. Herrera Beutler doesn’t think it’s enough.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Upthegrove and Herrera Beutler is their vision for managing Washington’s lands.

Upthegrove believes the state should be preserving more land while Herrera Beutler thinks the state should put a stronger emphasis on managing lands for timber.

Specifically, the two clash on what to do with Washington’s “legacy forests,” or lands with older trees that are not necessarily old-growth – which both agree should remain protected.

Upthegrove said he wants to update the state’s forest policy to protect these legacy forests from logging, a move that environmental activists support. He said the state can do so while still generating revenue and managing lands for forest health.

“Deferring the harvest of those small groups of forest lands does not preclude us from managing them for forest health or wildfire prevention,” he said.

Herrera Beutler, however, is skeptical of setting aside these legacy lands, which she said could make forests more susceptible to disease, raise wildfire risks, and reduce the stream of revenue on which schools and other public services rely.

She said Sept. 18 that the state needs a new approach.

“What we’re told right now is that we have to set it aside to protect it,” she said. “That’s old science, folks.”

Instead, she said, keeping forests healthy and generating revenue through logging will keep them sustainable for decades to come.

The future of timber in Washington could depend on who wins this race.

Upthegrove said he wants to maintain existing levels of timber harvesting on state lands, but he wants to find different places to do it.

He said he would look for other suitable logging lands across the state to make up for any loss from preserving legacy forests. Longer term, Upthegrove said he wants to acquire more private timber lands that might otherwise be converted and keep them generating revenue.

“We can do this and still maintain full funding for our public services,” he said.

Herrera Beutler pushed back on his plan and said it could cost the state hundreds of jobs in the timber, paper and pulp industries.

“Once this workforce is gone, you can’t just flip a switch and get it back,” she said.

Herrera Beutler added that she would keep those forests generating revenue and would work to better support mill workers by increasing the use of Washington-made wood products instead of importing them from other countries.

Both candidates appear open to carbon sequestration.

The Department of Natural Resources has proposed using about 10,000 acres of its land for a carbon sequestration project, which would leave trees unlogged and sell the carbon it generates as credits on carbon markets.

Both opponents seemed open to the idea of using lands for carbon sequestration, though Herrera Beutler would not comment on the specific proposal as the project is currently caught up in litigation.

“I’m very open to new and innovative strategies that help us fight the carbon emissions that we have in smart, responsible ways,” she said.

Upthegrove said the state has a responsibility to be innovative, and the proposed carbon sequestration project is a good example of finding ways to generate more revenue in the long-term.

Wildfire prevention is top of mind for both candidates.

Both Upthegrove and Herrera Beutler acknowledge one of the most challenging parts of the job is combating wildfires, and both believe that prevention is the best way to do that.

The Department of Natural Resources has a 20-year forest health strategic plan that treats forests across the state to improve their health and reduce their risks for wildfires, and both candidates said they would continue this work.

Upthegrove said he wants to add effectiveness monitoring on treated forests to make sure that what the department is doing is working. “Prevention is the most cost effective and smartest strategy,” he said.

Herrera Beutler again emphasized the importance of not simply setting aside lands without managing them.

“If you really want to combat these fires, our forests have to be healthy,” she said. “Healthier forests can last through these fires, but if they’re unhealthy, like many of our forests, especially on the west side, they’re going to burn.”

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