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Public commenter urges Island County to use DNR grants, clarify PBRS alignment for forest health
Summary
A Langley resident told the Board of Island County Commissioners that county-owned forests are overgrown and urged the county to seek Department of Natural Resources evaluations and funding; commissioners and the commenter discussed how DNR assistance and the county's Public Benefit Rating System intersect.
A Langley resident urged the Board of Island County Commissioners on Sept. 2 to seek Department of Natural Resources assistance to evaluate and treat dense, overgrown forest on county-owned lands and to clarify how the county’s Public Benefit Rating System should treat forest maintenance.
“My name is Bill Poss from Langley, Washington, and I just wanted to speak for a few minutes about our forest, conditions in Island County,” Bill Poss said during public comment, describing county properties he said are densely overgrown and at increased wildfire risk.
Poss said the Washington State Department of Natural Resources offers a free property evaluation and financial assistance that can cover “50 to a 100% of that treatment,” and he handed commissioners a DNR brochure describing the program. He also pointed to the Good Neighbor Authority, a partnership by which DNR works with the U.S. Forest Service and tribes on thinning and treatments of federal lands, and suggested Island County could use similar approaches on county parcels.
The claim that DNR funds are available to local governments was repeated in the meeting: Poss told the board he had confirmed eligibility with the DNR. A commissioner asked whether the program could be used by Island County departments such as public works or parks; Poss said yes.
Commissioners and staff discussed aligning the county’s Public Benefit Rating System, or PBRS, with forest-health goals. A commissioner asked stakeholders to coordinate so PBRS rules for preserving unharvested forestry lands would not conflict with incentives to perform forest maintenance for fire reduction and forest health.
Discussion only; no formal motion or county-funded program change was approved at the Sept. 2 meeting. Commissioners encouraged follow-up: one commissioner said they would be in touch with a county staffer (Marnie Jackson was named in remarks as a county contact) to discuss how PBRS could accommodate both preservation and necessary forest maintenance, and a separate commissioner said they had directed contact with a David who works on forest stewardship plans.
Poss emphasized the wildfire risk posed by dense understory and urged the county to model action on public properties to encourage private landowners to pursue DNR evaluations and treatments.
The board did not take formal action on the matter during the meeting. Commissioners suggested staff-level follow-ups and stakeholder coordination before any policy changes or requests to the board.
The discussion occurred during the public-comment and commissioners’ announcements portions of the Sept. 2 regular session.
