H-4287.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 3073

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By Representatives Linville, Ericksen, Morris, Quall and Barlean

Read first time 01/27/2000.  Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.

Creating a Lake Whatcom forest land management plan.

    AN ACT Relating to Lake Whatcom; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The Lake Whatcom landscape management pilot project is created.

    The department of natural resources, in cooperation and consultation with local citizens who have knowledge of the issues, shall develop a management plan regarding state-owned forest lands in the Lake Whatcom watershed area.  The management plan shall address at least the following topics:

    (1) Procedures for coordinating management activities with other major forest land owners in the watershed and involving watershed residents in management activities;

    (2) Establishing riparian management zones along all type five streams, as classified under chapter 5, Laws of 1999 sp. sess.  The department shall manage lands within such zones to protect water quality and riparian habitat, and include restrictions upon timber harvest and yarding activities;

    (3) Harvest and road construction upon unstable slopes should be carefully regulated, including limiting new road construction on unstable slopes and providing windthrow buffers during harvest; and

    (4) Creating and implementing a sustainable yield model specific to the Lake Whatcom watershed that encompasses the revised management standards.

    The management plan shall be completed and implementation initiated by June 30, 2001.

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