County commenters warn proposed 50-foot buffers would lock up timber, urge public input

John Keithley, an elected member of the Cowlitz Conservation District, and Darren Haupp, manager of the Cowlitz Conservation District, spoke during public comment to urge Cowlitz County to review and comment on a proposal now before the state Forest Practices Board. The proposed rule would add a 50-foot buffer on each side of perennial, non–fish-bearing streams in Western Washington, the speakers said. "It is a big change from the existing forest practices," Keithley said, and he pointed commissioners to a county-by-county table he said was produced from University of Washington data showing large economic impacts to private timber inventories. Why it matters: The commenters said the table shows Cowlitz County could lose an estimated $245,000,000 in merchantable private timber and about $12,000,000 in annual excise-tax revenue under the proposal. Darren Haupp said the technical rationale behind the rule is weak and warned the buffers could worsen canopy outcomes where the retained strips blow down. "There is just a real lack of science backing the proposed rule," Haupp said, adding that the study authors themselves recommended further research. What was discussed: Keithley and Haupp described three sets of materials they brought to the county: the proposed rule text, an economic-impact table derived from University of Washington data, and industry commentary from the Washington Forest Protection Association and related groups. They noted the Forest Practices Board voted at its June meeting to begin a formal rule process with a close 5–4 vote among the 9 voting members present, with two agencies abstaining. The speakers urged the county to submit public comments and to press the governor’s office to fill the counties’ seat on the Forest Practices Board. Next steps: County staff did not take formal action during the meeting. The speakers asked commissioners to review the materials and consider a comment letter to the Forest Practices Board and to ask the Association of Counties to press for representation on the board. The matter will move forward if commissioners direct staff to draft a letter or otherwise participate in the rulemaking comment process.