Goldmark for Public Lands commissioner

Mother Nature helped make the case for change at the top of the state Department of Natural Resources. Devastating slides off clear-cut forest land in Lewis County in December 2007 washed away our support for incumbent state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland.

Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark, an Okanogan rancher with a doctorate in molecular biology and new strains of wheat to his credit, is the right candidate to infuse oversight of state trust lands with an appreciation for the role of science.

Management of DNR is a big job. The commissioner oversees millions of acres of state-owned timber and aquatic lands. The office also has responsibility for harvest levels on industrial-scale forestland and small lots. In the summer, the department runs the state's biggest fire department.

Last winter's flooding in Lewis County caused $57 million in property damage. A Seattle Times investigation pointed toward an absence of expert review of slide potential on land approved for clear-cutting. State Department of Transportation officials were loudest about a lack of coordination and follow-through on geological surveys and stability assessments.

Sutherland generally lays the blame on freak winds and record rainfall, but initiated a departmental review. Goldmark sees lax management and eroding oversight.

After twice endorsing Sutherland, we are drawn to Goldmark's scientific background and his bigger worldview for the department and the breadth of DNR's areas of influence. Goldmark makes his living in agriculture, he knows about managing the land to maximize production. State revenues off public lands are important to schools and communities that rely on harvest income. Goldmark gets that.

But Goldmark can also take the office into a leadership role on Puget Sound cleanup, pay attention to clean water supplies and be mindful of climate-change issues.

Goldmark, a longtime member of the Washington State University Board of Regents, offers great potential for binding the eastern and western halves of the state on big resources themes. He lacks Sutherland's management experience, but the office obviously demands something more.