Background:

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages state land for a number of different purposes. Some land must be managed to generate revenue for named beneficiaries. The DNR is also charged with the responsibility of managing aquatic lands, Natural Area Preserves and Natural Resource Conservation Areas. The Legislature has also directed the DNR to manage state lands for multiple uses, including recreation, when those uses do not conflict with the management goals of the land. Public uses of state land include camp sites, picnic areas, trails, and educational and scientific research areas.

The Board of Natural Resources has been delegated the responsibility to direct the management of state lands that are held in trust for identified trust beneficiaries. Beneficiaries of these land trusts include the state's public schools, higher education institutions, and counties. Each land trust has a specific beneficiary that financially benefits from the land management activities of the DNR.

Summary of Bill:

The DNR is authorized to create and manage the Community Forest Trust (CFT). The CFT must be a discrete category of non-fiduciary trust lands held by the DNR and actively managed to generate financial support for the CFT and to sustain working forest conservation objectives.

The DNR must identify goals for the CFT before identifying lands for inclusion into the CFT. These goals must include the following:

protecting in perpetuity working forest lands that are at a significant risk of conversion to another land use;
securing financial and social viability through sound management plans and objectives that are consistent with the values of the local community;
maintaining the land in a working status;
generating revenue at levels that are, at a minimum, capable of reimbursing the DNR for management costs.
providing for ongoing, sustainable public recreational access; and
providing educational opportunities for local communities regarding the benefits that working forests provide to Washington's economy, communities, environment, and quality of life.

The DNR may acquire parcels for the CFT through purchase, gift, donation, grant, transfer, or other means other than eminent domain. If state trust lands are transferred into the CFT, then the value of that transfer must be provided to the beneficiaries of the trust.

The DNR is required develop criteria for identifying and prioritizing forest land that is suitable for potential inclusion in the CFT. Priority considerations are to be given to lands that meet certain values or conditions. These values and conditions include the active participation of community partners, risk of conversion, buffering of commercial forest lands from development, and enhancing the forest products manufacturing infrastructure.

The DNR must submit biennially to the Office of Financial Management and the Legislature a prioritized list that identifies nominated parcels of state land or state forest land that are suitable for transfer into the CFT. The list of nominated parcels must reflect consideration of local nominations. Prior to actually acquiring land for a CFT, the DNR must obtain a commitment from the local community to preserve the land as a working forest. This community commitment must be demonstrated by a financial contribution of at least 50 percent of parcel's value. Each parcel added to the CFT must be accompanied by a management plan developed in cooperation with a local advisory committee.

The DNR is also directed to provide a decennial report reviewing the CFT program. As part of this review, the DNR may recommend divestiture actions for non-performing parcels.

In addition to local advisory committees for individual parcels, the DNR may establish a statewide advisory committee for the entire CFT program. Members to the advisory committee are not to be paid or be reimbursed for travel costs. Also discretionary to the DNR is the creation of local working forest districts. These districts would be partnerships with local governments in order to synchronize the management of CFT lands with other public and private lands located near one another to accomplish a common set of community goals.

Certain existing funds and accounting mechanisms available to the DNR are expanded to allow the inclusion of CFT funds. These include the Real Property Replacement Account, the Park Land Trust Revolving Fund, and the Resource Management Cost Account.