Skamania County Commissioners respond to legacy forest designation

“As Skamania County Commissioners, we are united in expressing profound disappointment in Public Lands Commissioner Upthegrove’s announcement this week to add 77,000 more acres of timberland to the millions already conserved across Washington state, rendering them unavailable to produce revenue that supports critical public services like education and public safety. We are especially disappointed that the announcement came without any further engagement with us after what felt like a productive conversation with him this spring, when we described the challenges faced by encumbered counties like ours.

“Timber harvest has funded schools, fire departments and critical infrastructure throughout Washington state’s history, allowing the state and timber-based counties like ours to provide excellent services in spite of our small population. But starting in the late 20th century, state and federal regulations aimed at protecting habitat severely limited timber harvesting. These 'encumbrances' effectively stripped our county of its primary revenue source even as demand for public services increased."

Between the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, 849,000 of Skamania’s 1.1 million acres are federally owned. 

“As an example, July’s search and rescue missions here increased 200% over July 2024. These life-safety missions are coordinated by the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office and funded through the County’s budget. Yet, the majority of people we rescue are visiting from other counties and states and pay no property taxes here. As technology enables 911 calls to be made deeper in our forests, we expect these calls to continue to increase in volume and difficulty, competing with other services for our limited funding.

“While we are encouraged to read that ‘29,000 acres of the forests will remain available for harvest’ and ‘most of the roughly two-dozen timber sales paused will proceed,’ we remain deeply concerned about what the future will look like with an additional 77,000 acres locked up. That is why we will be seeking clarity from the Commissioner on how many of the 77,000 additional acres are in our county, what impacts to future timber sales here will be and what paths he sees for us to shore up funding for the critical services that people from all across the region rely on us to provide. These are the types of conversations we could have had prior to the announcement, had he followed through on his pledge to stay in touch after our meeting this spring.”