Heroes and Antiheroes of Washington’s Legacy Forest Protection Movement: A Forest News Update
Submitted by Mary Goody, FOCC Board of Directors
As always, Friends of Clark County’s Forest Team is working hard to follow all of the moving parts on the legacy forest preservation front and take action by engaging with the DNR, BNR, and Clark County leadership. Read on to learn what FOCC, as well as our statewide allies, have been up to. Plus, we’d like to acknowledge some local heroes and antiheroes of the movement we’ve discovered along the way.
For background on Friends of Clark County’s forest advocacy, be sure to check out our last legacy forest update article from March.
Read FOCC’s Legacy Forest Update for March 2026
Our Ongoing Advocacy for Clark County’s Forests
Since our last update, FOCC has called upon the Clark County Council to write a 5th letter to the Department of Natural Resources
Photo of Turnover timber sale, courtesy of Tonya Enger
(DNR)/Board of Natural Resources (BNR) requesting that there be cooperation and joint planning regarding upcoming Clark County timber sales before the DNR spends their limited funds on research, environmental aspects, and full State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) planning. We are making this request because DNR management has repeatedly stated that it is unlikely they will change their harvest plans so late in the planning process. Having a collaborative and proactive relationship with county officials will help ensure county priorities are considered when making harvest plans. We also urged the Council to push the DNR to pick a more suitable nomination area for the Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) swap program—not the lands that already require Spotted Owl habitat protection.
Read FOCC’s April 2026 Comments to the Clark County Council
We flagged 3 upcoming Clark County timber sales to the Council, one of them being the Reflection timber sale (near Yacolt). Recently, Reflection received a Determination on Non-Significance (DNS) from the DNR. A DNS is a formal, written notification from the WA DNR that the proposed timber cut is not likely to have a significant environmental impact. It is important to note that there are no other agencies who sign off on the DNS, therefore the DNR is the only agency in charge of approving their own environmental review. NOTE: Unless you are on the DNR’s SEPA mailing list, you will not have any notice that a proposed timber sale is headed for a vote by the BNR (Board of Natural Resources.) Following the Reflection sale, we will face the Looking Lens and Pea Pull timber sales, which is why we are urging Clark County government to be as proactive as possible. Sign up for SEPA Notifications here: (sepacenter@dnr.wa.gov)
FOCC has also signed onto a letter that has been prepared to send to the Governor from Indivisible Tacoma and Mason County Climate Justice to inform him of concerns with his BNR designee. The BNR meets monthly to approve the timber sales recommended by the DNR, and the governor’s designee consistently votes to cut legacy forests. In addition, this designee never speaks in support of State School Superintendent Commissioner Reykdal who has spoken openly about the need to shift school funding from timber sales to another sustainable form of support.
Read Forest Advocates’ Letter to Governor Ferguson Regarding BNR Representative
In addition, FOCC attends every monthly BNR meeting and monthly Washington State Lands Working Group meetings. We also attend WSLWG’s half-yearly meeting with Commissioner Reykdal and their de-briefs of meetings with Washington’s Commissioner of Public Lands, Dave Upthegrove. Staying in contact with the broader legacy forest protection movement is vital in order to fully prepare to inform the Clark County Council and the public!
Heroes and Antiheroes
Dabbler timber sale, courtesy of Legacy Forest Defense Coalition
Each of us have our environmental heroes, and Pat Arnold, Executive Director of Friends of the White Salmon River in Klickitat County, is one of ours. This 4 minute clip of her work in Southwest Washington is totally worth the watch. Pat is also a member of the Washington State Lands Working Group, and is a key mover behind the recent Washington State Court of Appeals Decision that protected the Western Gray Squirrel.
Our big-time hero is the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition, who recently alerted the environmental community to the DNR’s plans in place to aerial spray glyphosate and other systemic broad spectrum herbicides over a total of 2,257 acres in Southwest Washington. “If you thought clear cuts were bad, imagine spraying them from above with toxic chemicals.” Thanks to LFDC’s attention and leadership for raising this shocking issue. We encourage you to take LFDC’s Call to Action against this planned DNR practice.
Take Legacy Forest Defense Coalition’s Call to Action Against DNR Toxic Aerial Sprays
As far as antiheroes, Commissioner Dave Upthegrove has continued along on his quest to bamboozle the many Washington Counties – especially our very own Clark County – with his tiresome rhetoric about how DNR is committed “to restoring the health of our forests,” and stating, “This Earth Day, I’m reflecting on the great work this agency does.” (Email from Upthegrove of April 22, 2026.) These comments come as the DNR prepares its now-abbreviated SEPA for the Reflection timber sale in Clark County and eyes the remaining 20,800 acres of legacy forest in the state, which will be up for grabs to the timber industry unless we are able to make our voices loudly heard in the very near future.
Get Involved
It is so important to participate in requests for action from groups such as the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition, Cascade Forest Conservancy, and Conservation Northwest and others as more partners raise the alarm concerning the decimation of our legacy forests.
In addition, the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance, another of our partners, is holding an informational session on May 27th at noon on the Washington Green Amendment. According to the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance, “the goal of Green Amendments For The Generations is to advance a national, state by state, Green Amendment movement and to ensure that governments across the nation at the local and state level honor the rights of all people to pure water, clean air, a stable climate and healthy environments in the laws they enact, the decisions they make, and the actions they take by securing the passage of enforceable environmental rights amendments in the Bill of Rights section of every constitution – state and federal – and ensuring their strong and meaningful enforcement. Three states already have Green Amendments and are putting them to work – Washington State needs and deserves one too!”
Register here for the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance Green Amendment info session on May 27th at 12pm PST.
Hang in there with us as we continue our efforts to protect Clark County’s legacy forests!
Additional Resources
Here are two video links related to CPL Upthegrove’s April 22nd appearance with Indivisible Tacoma, followed by a panel discussion. The first link has the whole program, while the second link has just the panel discussion.
Panel: Daniel Harm of the Center for Responsible Forestry, Katie Fields and Miguel Perez-Gibson of WA Conservation Action, and Sherri Dysart of Mason County Climate Justice.
Entire Program Video
What’s Happening to WA Legacy Forests? Upthegrove & Forestry Advocates
Video Rooted in Resilience and Panel only
Saving Our Legacy Forests – Forestry Advocates Speak Out