An organization that represents large private forestland owners across Washington state plans to file a legal challenge to recent state forest practice rules.
The Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) announced last week that it would file litigation against Washington state. The lawsuit will challenge a new buffer rule by the Washington State Forest Practices Board. The new rule expands the required no-cut buffers around non-fish-bearing streams in the state, requiring forestland owners to leave more trees uncut.
In a statement from WFPA, the group states that it believes the new rule is a result of the Washington state Department of Ecology “misinterpreting” a federal water temperature standard. The statement added that the financial cost of implementing the rule is so large that it “justifies a judicial review.”
The group also painted the creation of the new rule as a break from the state's tradition of collaboration with other stakeholders and interest groups when it comes to institution policies for environmental protection.
“The Forest Practices Board’s recent decision to expand Forests and Fish law buffers on non-fish streams, driven by Ecology’s insistence on a “no measurable temperature change” standard, breaks from that tradition,” reads a statement from the WFPA. “The rule overreaches the law, ignores on-the-ground realities, adds costly and unnecessary regulations, and offers little to no benefit for salmon recovery.”
The WFPA describes the litigation as its last but necessary resort to “restore lawful, transparent, science-based policymaking.”
“We remain committed to working with all partners to develop practical, science-driven solutions that protect clean water, advance salmon recovery, and support rural economies,” reads the statement.
According to its own website, the WFPA represents private forestland owners harvesting trees on roughly 4 million acres in Washington state. The organization boasts 117 years of experience representing forestland owners and represents a mix of private companies large and small as well as individual and family-owned tree farms.
