H-2127.1  _______________________________________________

                 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 4408

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By Representatives Thompson, Buck, Sheldon, Sump, Alexander and DeBolt

Read first time 02/24/97.  Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.

Creating the joint select committee on management of state forest lands.

    WHEREAS, The legislature is the ultimate trustee of the state's forest trust lands; and

    WHEREAS, The legislature is concerned that the trust beneficiaries of our state forest lands receive all the benefits of those lands to which they are entitled; and

     WHEREAS, The legislature is concerned that the rate of return generated by the current management of state forest lands is less than what it could be if the lands were managed under an alternative approach;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, That there is created a joint select committee on the management of state forest lands to compare the current management approach on state forest lands with management approaches used in the private sector, and to make recommendations to the legislature and to the department of natural resources based on its findings; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select committee shall consist of six members, three members from the House of Representatives and three members from the Senate.  The speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint the House members, appointing at least one member from each caucus.  The president of the Senate shall appoint the Senate members, appointing at least one member from each caucus.  The committee shall choose a chair and vice-chair from among its membership; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,  That the joint select committee shall scrutinize current management practices used on state forest lands and shall compare these management practices to the management regimes used on privately owned commercial timber lands.  At a minimum, the committee shall compare management policies and the associated costs and returns of:

    (1) The choice and production of nursery stock;

    (2) Tree planting;

    (3) Interim silvicultural operations such as fertilizing, application of pesticides, and thinning;

    (4) Approaches to compliance with the federal endangered species act; and

    (5) Harvest quantities and policies.

    The committee shall also analyze the effect of current federal policy on log exports from public lands and shall identify the difference this creates in returns generated by state forest lands versus private commercial forest lands.  The department of natural resources shall provide information to the committee necessary to complete its analysis; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select committee shall be staffed by Senate committee services and the House of Representatives office of program research; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select committee shall complete its analysis and report its recommendations to the Legislature by December 1, 1997; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select committee expires April 1, 1998.

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