State bans cutting of trust old-growth timber

OLYMPIA — Washington will ban harvesting of old-growth timber from state trust lands in Western Washington, mostly on the Olympic Peninsula.

The state Board of Natural Resources informally agreed yesterday that preservation of the trees will be part of the Policy for Sustainable Forests that will be adopted in the fall.

The decision covers an estimated 88,000 acres. Nearly all of the old-growth stock already is off limits to logging due to habitat and conservation agreements and various regulations, said spokeswoman Patty Henson. Timber on about 1,000 acres will be protected for the first time, she said.

The significance of the board's decision is to enshrine the protection of old-growth forests into official state policy.

The state manages about 2.1 million acres of forest trust land, selling the timber to raise money for school construction, universities, county government, fire districts and other public needs.

Land Commissioner Doug Sutherland, the statewide elected official who runs the Department of Natural Resources and sits on the board, said protecting old growth would affect only about 1 percent of the trust revenue.

The Legislature will be asked to compensate the trust beneficiaries for the loss. Staffers estimated the value of the lost harvest at between $4 million and $10 million.

The board has been studying the issue for more than a year. After the decision yesterday, Sutherland called old growth "a scarce, but very important" resource that needs protection.

"It provides unique and very crucial habitat ... " he said.