Originally published November 3, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified November 3, 2007 at 12:42 PM
Editorial
Anniversaries in the forest
Washington's rich heritage of natural resources and the state economy's connection to healthy forests and productive lands are at the heart...
Washington's rich heritage of natural resources and the state economy's connection to healthy forests and productive lands are at the heart of two significant anniversaries being celebrated.
The University of Washington College of Forest Resources is turning 100. Established in 1907, the program grew from eight undergraduate students and two graduate students to an enrollment of more than 700. The college was known as the School of Forestry until 1967. College staff, faculty and students focus on education and research on emerging natural-
resource issues and an ever-changing economic climate for the future. The college earned a world-class reputation with research and teaching that embrace a spectrum of evolving issues on forest health and biodiversity, renewable energy, population and social pressures, and globalization.
Sustainable is a word that reflects today's world challenge. Sustainable forests, urban environments and forest enterprises need to be explored and monitored through the college's resources.
Forest Resources staff, students and faculty use their skills and tools to observe, measure, evaluate and provide direction for industry, community leaders and stakeholders.
The college and Dean Bruce Bare are to be congratulated for the substantial achievement this anniversary represents: sustained leadership, innovation and education responsive to changing environmental, political and social climates.
Cheers as well to the Washington Department of Natural Resources as it reaches the half-century mark.
Established in 1957, the department was created by the Legislature with a goal to preserve the state's public lands. The department shifted from a timber-focused management to include tidelands, shorelines, streams, aquatic reserves and wildlife. Proceeds from timber sales support county governments, local schools and other public institutions, such as universities, prisons and the state capital campus.
In addition, the department offers leases to agriculture, including the booming wine industry. As energy demands changed, the department responded in 2003 with its first lease of trust lands for wind power.
Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland is responsible for 5.3 million acres of state-owned forests, and commercial, agricultural, range and aquatic lands. Each fire season, the department is responsible for coordinating protection of private and state forestland.
The challenges for the next 50 years include balancing population growth, economic development, habitat and wildlife health, recreational demands and biodiversity across the state's rich natural lands. The department has a central role in keeping Washington green and wild, and not concrete and gray.
Washingtonians should honor the Department of Natural Resources and the College of Forest Resources for what they have achieved and their role in tackling the challenges for a sustainable future.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Leonard Pitts Jr. / Syndicated columnist: A tragic clash of cultures

Opening day at Crystal Mountain
Skiers crowded the slopes at Crystal Mountain for one of the resort's earliest openings.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Seattle U. Men's Hoops | Big recruit goes from Huskies to Redhawks
- Razor found in muffin an accident, 'mortified' baker says
- Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
- Suspect's family shaken by slaying of police officer
- Mountlake Terrace woman reports razor in muffin
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
628 - Seattle man to pack a pistol into community center to protest mayor's ban
180 - Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
177 - GOP clueless as families struggle with health care
158 - ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
125 - KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
125 - Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
110 - Prosecutor weighs death penalty in police slaying
103 - Wright State game thread
96 - Person of interest in custody in connection with Greenwood arsons
93
- Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- Washington in race for federal education funds
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Goodwill's Glitter Sale is Nov. 14-15
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Boeing: 787 fix is complete on first plane
- Seattle U. Men's Hoops | Big recruit goes from Huskies to Redhawks





