On Tuesday, the DNR announced that more than 10,000 acres of older forests will be conserved permanently
When the newly elected Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove took office earlier this year, one of his first actions was to halt roughly two dozen pending timber sales as part of an effort to conserve 77,000 acres of state forests. That ‘pause’ lasted eight months and reduced the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) timber output to its lowest level in two decades.
On Tuesday, the DNR announced that more than 10,000 acres of older forests will be conserved permanently – effectively eliminating all remaining older forest harvests on state lands-dealing a serious setback to rural Washington.
Rep. Kevin Waters, R-Stevenson, issued the following statement in response to the commissioner’s decision.
“For communities like Skamania, Pacific, and Wahkiakum counties, this decision does not occur in isolation. For over 30 years, timber-dependent counties have lived with the consequences of federal timber harvest reductions, which cut off a reliable revenue stream for schools, county services, and infrastructure. Federal shortfalls, once promised to be temporary, have instead become the norm, forcing rural counties to scrape by on less funding year after year.
“Tuesday’s action by the DNR compounds that problem. It trades financial certainty for untested markets. The agency’s own Ecosystem Services Report acknowledges that revenue sources such as water leasing, carbon offsets, and wildfire emission credits are years away from being viable – and in many cases may not equal the revenues timber harvest provides today.
“When timber policies are made, they may ‘save’ a forest, but they rarely account for the lives, schools, and counties that are directly affected. This latest decision will further limit school funding, reduce county budgets, and restrict log supply to local mills at a time when Washington is already facing a housing shortage and a strained state budget.
“We need a balanced approach that considers both environmental stewardship and economic stability. Rural communities are projected to lose hundreds of millions of dollars because of this decision. This is just death by a thousand cuts. That is not how we support the people who live in these counties who are already working with far fewer resources.
“I will continue working with colleagues in the Legislature to pursue solutions that restore balance, ensure predictable funding for schools and local governments, and keep Washington’s timber economy strong.”
Waters represents the 17th Legislative District.
Information provided by Washington State House Republicans, houserepublicans.wa.gov
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Rep. Kevin Waters wants you to believe that conserving old forests will starve schools and ruin rural counties. That framing is not just wrong, it is designed to keep communities dependent on a failing model. Washington’s Constitution guarantees school funding, and it is not tethered to log trucks.
Waters dismisses ecosystem services and carbon markets as “untested.” His solution is to double down on a timber economy that has been collapsing for decades. That is not balance, it is stagnation. The real risk lies in pretending the past is still a future.
This is not about kids or classrooms. It is about shielding the timber industry from change while communities are told there is no alternative. That is the false binary at the core of Waters’ argument: cut or collapse. The truth is we either diversify revenue through conservation, recreation, carbon, and clean energy, or we keep rural Washington on life support, waiting for the next mill closure or wildfire bill.
It is also worth asking who benefits from Waters’ outrage. His talking points echo industry press releases more than community concerns. If the timber lobby is writing the script, then the counties are not the real beneficiaries. The mills are. The political contributions that flow alongside them are.
Waters’ problem is not only his position but his framing. If a legislator cannot imagine solutions beyond yesterday’s sawmill, then he is not solving problems. He is protecting them.