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Public commenters urge board to stop aerial glyphosate spraying and protect legacy forests
Summary
During public comment at the June 2 Board of Natural Resources meeting, multiple residents, tribal and environmental representatives urged the board to reconsider plans to aerially spray glyphosate on thousands of acres and to halt harvests of structurally complex and legacy forests, citing ecological, health and climate concerns while some industry speakers stressed the importance of timber revenue for local services.
Public commenters at the Board of Natural Resources' June 2 meeting urged officials to halt planned aerial glyphosate spraying and to protect legacy and structurally complex forests.
Nicole Martel, who identified herself during public comment, told the board: "The question is whether those regulations fully reflect the best available science and our responsibility to future generations." She asked the department to evaluate whether pesticide regulations and practice "align forest management practice with the state's climate goals." Charlotte Persons warned that spraying glyphosate across more than 2,000 acres "will affect the environment of all wildlife" and cited National Audubon Society findings on bird declines as a local ecological concern. Donna Albert said DNR plans to spray "thousands of Southwest Washington DNR timber plantations" and asserted that the agency is not complying with its own habitat conservation and environmental review obligations.
Speakers also linked harvesting plans to community impacts. Katie Whittier, speaking for Skamania County, said the March Kingfisher sale produced roughly $5,000,000 (about 20% above minimum bid) and described timber receipts as "foundational to keeping their community ecosystem alive," noting local dependencies such as search-and-rescue and other public services. Court Stanley and other rural representatives urged continued timber sales to support local jobs and county services.
Board members did not take immediate action on the spraying plans; the public-comment period closed and the meeting proceeded to staff briefings. The board has scheduled additional special study sessions on sustainable-harvest calculations; petition and program-level decisions (including a July 7 petition review) were announced earlier in the meeting.
