Sustainable Resource Management: Some Observations Regarding WDNR Lands

1
Sustainable Resource Management Some
Observations Regarding WDNR Lands

• B. Bruce Bare
• College of Forest Resources
• University of Washington
• Seattle, WA 98195
• October 24, 2001 -- Forks, WA

2
Qualification

• The opinions offered tonight are mine and not
  those of the BNR or the University of Washington.

3
One Key Goal for the BNR

• The board of natural resources shall establish
  policies to ensure that the management of lands
  and resources within the Department's
  jurisdiction are based on sound principles
  designed to achieve "the maximum effective
  development and use of such lands" (RCW 43.30.150
  ).

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Observation

• From this statute it is clear (to me) that our
  fore fathers viewed the Departments role as one
  of an active steward.

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A Second Key Goal for the BNR

• Washington statutes regarding the administration
  of the federal grant lands also reflect the
  primary objective of maximizing the economic
  returns due the benefiting institutions (AGO
  Opinion 11, 1996).

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Observations

• Case law throughout the West has generally upheld
  the notion that income generation is a paramount
  obligation of Federal grant land managers.
• Maintenance of the corpus of the trust must also
  be considered.

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Categories of Lands

• Public lands Lands belonging to, or held in
  trust by the state, which are not devoted to or
  reserved for a particular use by law.
• State lands
• School lands held in trust for the support of the
  common schools

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Categories of Lands

• University lands held in trust for university
  purposes
• Agricultural college lands held in trust for the
  use and support of agricultural colleges
• Scientific school lands held in trust for the
  establishment and maintenance of a scientific
  school

9
Categories of Lands

• Normal school lands held in trust for state
  normal schools
• Capitol building lands held in trust for the
  purpose of erecting public buildings at the state
  capital for legislative, executive and judicial
  purposes
• Institutional lands held in trust for state
  charitable, educational, penal and reformatory
  institutions and

10
Categories of Lands

• All public lands of the state, except tidelands,
  shore lands, harbor areas and the beds of
  navigable waters.

11
Key Statutes Multiple Use

• The management and administration of state-owned
  lands under the jurisdiction of the department of
  natural resources to provide for several uses
  simultaneously (on a single tract and/or planned
  rotation) of one or more uses on and between
  specific portions of the total ownership (RCW
  79.68.020).

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Multiple Use

• Legislature directs that a multiple use concept
  be utilized by the department of natural
  resources in the management and administration of
  state-owned lands where such a concept is in the
  best interests of the state and

13
Multiple Use

• the general welfare of the citizens thereof, and
  is consistent with the applicable trust
  provisions of the various lands involved (RCW
  79.68.010).

14
Key Statutes Sustained Yield

• Management of the forest to provide harvesting on
  a continuing basis without major prolonged
  curtailment or cessation of harvest. (RCW
  79.68.030)

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Sustainable Harvest

• The volume of timber scheduled for sale from
  state-owned lands during a planning decade as
  calculated by the department of natural resources
  and approved by the board of natural resources.

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Timber Harvest Policy

• The Department will manage state forest lands to
  produce a sustainable even flow harvest of timber
  subject to economic, environmental and regulatory
  considerations. (Forest Resource Plan, 1992)

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Even Flow Harvest

• A sustainable harvest wherein the planned sale
  volume remains constant from one decade to the
  next.

18
Observations on Even Flow

• Most times, an even flow interpretation is more
  constraining and, hence, more costly to the
  trusts than a more flexible interpretation
  permissible under RCW 79.68.030.
• But, it provides some degree of volume certainty
  to local communities.
• Favored by Federal land agencies.

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Nondeclining Flow

• A sustainable harvest wherein the planned sale
  volume either remains constant or increases from
  one decade to the next over the planning horizon.

20
Modulating Flow

• A sustainable harvest wherein the planned sale
  volume fluctuates up (or down) within prescribed
  limits from one decade to the next over the
  planning horizon.

21
Observations on Modulating Flow

• The most flexible (least constraining) to a trust
  manager.
• Generally produces the greatest economic returns
  to the trust beneficiaries.
• Generally leads to the harvest of all over mature
  timber as fast as harvest flow constraints permit
  leading to a

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Observations

• reduction in the planned sale volume until
  re-growth leads to an increase over time.
• The next slides illustrate a few of these points.

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Planning Scenarios

• DNR Uses 60 year rotations on/off base acre
  allocations as shown no wildlife thins no
  partial cuts in the 60-70 year old age classes
  even flow harvest constraints no harvests in
  riparian or wetland areas nondeclining late
  seral conditions.

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Planning Scenarios

• ALTS Uses 50 year rotations on/off base acre
  allocations as shown wildlife thins partial
  cuts in the 60-70 year old age classes 25
  change in harvest from one decade to the next
  partial harvests in riparian or wetland areas if
  on-base nondeclining late seral conditions.

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W Washington Acreage Summary
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Scenario Results
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Ideas as a Member of the BNR

• Consider adopting sustainable forestry as the
  guiding paradigm.
• Rethink how we group lands to form sustainable
  harvest units.
• Rethink the utility of the use of on and off
  base lands to meet our land management objectives.

35
Ideas as a Member of the BNR

• To better meet our economic responsibilities,
  ensure that all management practices pass a
  minimum economic test before inclusion in
  management plans.
• Take steps to ensure each trust that its lands
  are being managed to achieve the best results.

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Sustainable Forestry

• Managing a forest to meet all existing
  regulations such that environmental, social and
  economic factors are balanced to meet the needs
  of the present without compromising the ability
  of future generations to meet their needs.

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Sustainable Forestry

• A land stewardship ethic that integrates
  reforestation, growing, and harvesting trees for
  useful products while conserving soil, air, and
  water quality, wildlife and fish habitat and
  aesthetics, and protecting a) the resource from
  fire, pests, and diseases and b) lands of special
  significance.

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Sustainable Forestry

• Consider key values
• biodiversity
• habitat protection and enhancement
• riparian/wet land protection
• protection of productive capacity
• protection of endangered plants and animals
• protection of cultural, spiritual, and historical
  sites

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Sustainable Forestry

• Definition conveys the notion that sustainability
  applies to many resources in addition to timber
  considers the needs of future generations as well
  as those of the present is concerned with
  ecological functions and condition and is as
  much a social and economic as a bio-physical
  process.

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Sustainability Occurs at the Intersection
Soc
Econ
Env
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Observations

• The challenge to actually define and implement
  sustainable forestry is tremendous.
• It may be the greatest challenge for educators,
  resource managers, scientists, and policy makers
  at the start of this Century.

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Observations

• Our College is adopting sustainability as its key
  integrating concept.
• Our undergraduate and graduate programs are being
  redesigned to support sustainable forestry,
  sustainable urban environments and sustainable
  enterprises.

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Observations

• There are not many examples of where we have
  successfully achieved adoption of a sustainable
  forestry program in Washington.
• Some may differ arguing that the HCP for our WDNR
  lands is an example of such a program.

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Observations

• Others might argue that forest lands certified
  under the FSC or SFI principles qualify as
  examples.
• Others would agree with me, citing lack of
  compliance with the seven indicators and 67
  criteria to the Montreal Process to which the USA
  agreed.

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Quick Look at Current BNR Policy

• Use an even flow model (Forest Resource Plan,
  1992) .
• Definition of ownership groups.
• Use of off base acres to meet policy goals.
• Individual vs. consolidated trust management
  plans.

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Current Ownership Groups

• W Washington
• forest board transfer (16 counties)
• Federal grant and forest board purchase lands (5
  administrative regions)
• Capitol State Forest
• OESF
• A total of 23 separate even flow harvests.

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Current Ownership Groups

• E Washington
• All State lands (5 administrative regions)
• A total of 5 separate even flow harvests.

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Observation

• An even flow harvest model coupled with 28
  independent ownership groups may lead to more
  volume certainty for each group, but comes at the
  expense of lost opportunities to the trust
  beneficiaries. We should re-examine this policy.

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Observation

• We also need to re-examine how we establish the
  rotation age as well as the economics associated
  with all management practices included in our
  management programs.

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Current BNR Policy

• Off base acres do not contribute to the
  sustainable harvest. They include lands
• too small, isolated or costly to harvest
• can not produce another crop of timber within 80
  years
• of risk to public resources
• deferred from harvest (owl habitat, old growth,
  gene pool, and mature natural stands)

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Observation

• If we adopt sustainable forestry as our guiding
  management paradigm, we may wish to do away with
  most (all) categories of off base lands as we
  recognize that all lands support the generation
  of desirable outputs or functions. Our current
  use of on and off base is biased towards timber
  production. We should re-examine this policy.

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Responsibilities Run Separately to Each Trust

• No sustainable harvest is currently determined
  for each individual trust.
• Lands from various trusts may be grouped into a
  consolidated management plan, but only if each
  trust is not disadvantaged.
• We need to re-examine this issue.

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Conclusions

• Exciting times lie ahead as we evaluate the use
  of sustainable forestry on our state trust lands.