Resolution 1002 – Supporting a new approach to Forest Lands

  1. WHEREAS greenhouse gasses from the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activity have
  2. raised the average temperature of the climate 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels
  3. (1), and natural climate solutions have the potential to sequester up to one-third of the emissions
  4. necessary to meet global 2030 climate goals (2), with reforestation and natural forest management
  5. standing out as having the most sequestration potential while being very cost effective (3), and
  6. WHEREAS the Pacific Northwest forest biome is among the best in the world at sequestering
  7. carbon while supporting biodiversity (4), and Washington State’s older forests are essential to meet
  8. the State’s goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but under current state forest
  9. policy, older forests are being clear-cut at an alarming rate of 5,000 acres per year (5), and
  10. WHEREAS the Supreme Court of Washington State, in Conservation Northwest v Lands
  11. Commissioner, determined that the state’s Department of Natural Resources has “myriad ways” to
  12. generate revenue from state forestlands or otherwise put them to use for the benefit of the trust
  13. beneficiaries (6), and
  14. WHEREAS Washington State’s Trust Land Transfer program has proven to be an effective tool for
  15. retaining ecosystem service and special lands in public ownership while sustaining and improving
  16. potential future economic returns for trust beneficiaries,
  17. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Washington State Democratic Central Committee calls
  18. upon the Board of Natural Resources to oversee the development of a new Forest Conservation
  19. and Management Plan for State Trust Lands that restores forest health, protects biodiversity, and
  20. maximizes carbon storage and sequestration, while conserving the remaining legacy forests of
  21. Western Washington in a way that accelerates the development of structurally complex forests in
  22. areas that lack complexity, or are vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire, disease, or pest infestation,
  23. and
  24. THEREFORE IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the new Plan should be developed in close
  25. consultation with independent scientists who are not beholden to the timber industry, and
  26. THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be sent to the Governor of the State of
  27. Washington, Washington State House and Senate Democrats, the members of the
  28. Board of Natural Resources, the Commissioner of Public Lands, the Superintendent of Public
  29. Instruction, the Presidents and Regents of the University of Washington, and the President and
  30. Trustees of Washington State University, Eastern Washington University, Central Washington
  31. University, Western Washington University, and The Evergreen State College.

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