Washington

Forest Action Plan

Conserving, managing, and protecting forests in the Evergreen State

From the Pacific Ocean, across the crest of the Cascade Mountains and into the dry interior, over half of Washington’s total land area is forested. Washington’s Forest Action Plan highlights six major issues confronting our diverse forests: working forestlands and conversion; water quality, quantity and Puget Sound restoration; biodiversity and habitat conservation; forest health restoration; wildfire hazard reduction; and urban/community forests.

The role played by the USDA Forest Service’s State and Private Forestry programs is critical to conserving, protecting, and enhancing these values. Most landscapes are characterized by an intermingling of family forestland, industrial owners, and state and federal land managers, making all-lands strategies essential for success.

Conserving working forestlands, their economic benefits, biodiversity values, and essential watershed functions

Working forests are forests that are actively managed for a diverse suite of values — wildlife habitat, aesthetics, privacy, sustainable timber production, carbon sequestration, and water filtration and flood mitigation. Conserving working forests is critical to maintaining overall ecological function of forested landscapes, and the state’s economic, social, and cultural values. Forest conversion, or loss of forests, increases the costs and risks of fire suppression, results in loss of wildlife habitat, affects water quality, and reduces the forestland base that is necessary to support milling infrastructure and forest industry jobs.

Since statehood in 1889, development has led to the loss of more than 80 percent of old growth forests in Washington. Today, more than 75 percent of Puget Sound estuaries and adjacent habitats, including mixed woodlands and floodplain forests, are heavily modified to the point that they no longer provide original ecosystem functions. In 2009, it was estimated that at least 18 percent of the 5.4 million acres of private forestland in western Washington would be at risk of conversion by 2080. Since the 2009 analysis, data from 2019 suggest that between 2007 and 2012 the area of private forestland fell by an average of 0.7 percent per year.

Future loss of forests can be addressed, and if the state is successful, the decisions made will make significant contributions to the quality of life in the state. The 2020 Forest Action Plan prioritizes working with willing private landowners to use voluntary conservation programs while also advancing new partnerships with state and county planners and developing new incentive programs to stem the loss of forests.

Protect communities and forest landscapes from wildfires, insects, and diseases

Climate change, drought, insects and disease outbreaks, wildfire, invasive species, and conversion pose significant threats to forests in Washington State. The scope and scale of these threats span landownership boundaries and the authority of any one agency or partner. Forests are managed for multiple resource values and by a diverse set of people, tribes, organizations, private landowners, companies, and agencies. Collaborating and coordinating forest restoration and management activities with these partners will be critical to protecting forests from harm.

In Washington, the longest drought in several decades lasted nearly 116 weeks, beginning January 7, 2014 and ending on March 22, 2016. The effects of have been costly. Following the low snowpack of 2015, the state experienced some of the most severe wildfires in recorded history, low flows in streams and rivers that resulted in widespread fish mortality, and an estimated $336 million in drought-related impacts to agriculture in the state.

The 2020 Forest Action Plan makes clear that it has never been more important to align around shared goals and priorities, foster cross-boundary planning and implementation, and advance bold and strategic investments to protect forests and prepare our state for the anticipated impacts of climate change. In pursuit of these goals, the Forest Action Plan serves as a roadmap for implementing the Shared Stewardship Investment Strategy in partnership with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and USDA Forest Service.

Enhance connectivity between upland forest values and urban forest benefits

Forests are part of Washington’s green infrastructure. Just like roads and bridges, forests support critical services that benefit all Washingtonians. Forests provide clean air and water, recreational opportunities, fish and wildlife, sustainable timber and natural resource jobs, and aesthetic values and enjoyment. Collectively, the state’s forests support billions of dollars in regional economic activity. Investing in Washington’s natural infrastructure enhances public benefits and reduces maintenance costs and the risk of expensive disasters over time.

Numerous existing prioritization efforts and strategic plans address specific resource concerns and issues. Many of these plans and processes identify goals and priority actions that, when brought together, articulate a set of common needs and opportunities. This action plan integrates the priorities that have already been identified, and sets forth a vision that supports effective coordination and decision-making at DNR and with partners.

The priority landscapes established in the 2020 Forest Action Plan identify areas where active management and investments can improve forest health conditions based on scientific analysis, and where partnerships and projects already exist to maximize strategic use of limited federal Cooperative Forestry program funding in areas with a high opportunity for leveraging resources.

Best Management Practices

Washington’s best management practices (BMPs) program is quasi-regulatory. The agency responsible for BMPs policy development is the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Click here to view the latest recommendations on the state forestry agency website.

Click the following links to view available BMP monitoring data and implementation rates from NASF’s 2015 BMP survey and NASF’s 2019 BMP survey.

Forest Action Plan

Conserving, managing, and protecting forests in the Evergreen State

Conserving working forestlands, their economic benefits, biodiversity values, and essential watershed functions

Protect communities and forest landscapes from wildfires, insects, and diseases

Enhance connectivity between upland forest values and urban forest benefits

Best Management Practices

Washington Forestry Publications

State Management Plans

Washington Contact Information