A little-known 13-member board has a big decision to make regarding Washington's lumber industry: Should the state extend the buffer zone where trees cannot be cut down?

Washington

The Washington Forest Practices Board is preparing to vote on whether to increase the buffer zone for timber harvesting around non-fish-bearing streams from 50 to 75 feet. This decision follows more than 25 years of study and debate, and could affect between 3% and 8% of the state's timber harvest, impacting both large and small timber businesses.

Stakeholders, including industry representatives, tribes, conservation groups, and local governments, have voiced both support and concern during public comment. Some landowners warn that the rule could make nearly half their land unusable for timber, threatening the viability of family businesses. The outcome of the vote is expected to have significant economic and environmental implications for Washington.

Future of WA lumber business up in the air

Well, lumber is big business in Washington, and tomorrow a little-known board will make a big decision on the future of the industry. FOX 13's Matthew Smith joining us now. Matt, we're talking about the Forest Practices Board. There's a vote tomorrow that's going to affect the bottom line of farms, big and small? Yeah, and we're talking farming in terms of family forests, because as the Commerce Department would tell you, 62% of timber harvested in our state come from private forests. But the state does play a huge role when it comes to rulemaking that impacts all those businesses. Tomorrow, that little-known 13-member board has a big decision to make. Should they increase the buffer zone, where trees cannot be cut around non-fish-bearing streams to 75 feet, from the current buffer zone of 50 feet? I understand that these issues are critical to many in our state, from industry to tribes, from local governments to conservation advocates. That's why both the Department of Natural Resources and the Forest Practices Board have been committed to a fair and open process throughout the development of this rule. The Forest Practices Board has been studying and debating this issue for more than 25 years. This has been a long and sometimes arduous process to reach this vote. Now that was Public Lands Commissioner Dave Updegrove posting online ahead of the vote the rule proposed by the Department of Ecology. And there's certainly people and groups supporting this, but included in the over 100 people and groups that sounded off during public comment ahead of tomorrow's huge vote, there's also been a lot of concern. I've seen this debate where there could be an effect on anything from 3% of the timber that's harvested in our state, all the way up to 8% of the timber. But for an industry that generates billions and creates roughly 100,000 jobs, some in this industry say those numbers, either way, would crush them. When the Forest and Fish Law passed, those buffers took on our farm almost a third of our trees. We can't touch them anymore. This would bump that up to about 50% of our land that we can't touch. And not only the land that's actually in the buffers, but also stranded land. Because if you have to go through the buffer to get to the trees on the other side, that makes it prohibitively expensive. And yet they are paying taxes on all that land still. And Heather went as far as saying that she'd hate to say it out loud, but if the rules were to pass, she doesn't know if they still have a viable family business, meaning potentially giving up on a business that her father began. Now, whether you're a timber-adjacent industry or not, this will ultimately affect you if the rules are passed. Because we're talking about a big economic driver for our state, and that means a lot of tax dollars. We're also talking about attempts to avoid harming the environment we rely on. So threading the needle with this rulemaking matters, but the question is, does this rule do that? Either way, 13 people are planning to make that decision, who will of course be the ones living with it. We'll let you know how it goes.

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