Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove has signed a sweeping order to permanently conserve more than 77,000 acres of structurally complex forests—marking one of the most significant conservation actions in the history of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Signed just hours ago, the order guarantees protection for all remaining older forests on state lands, including over 10,000 acres of mature stands.
“Our world is changing, and our forests are changing with it. How we steward those forests must change, too,” DNR said in a statement supporting the order.
Wood Central understands the directive builds on DNR’s decades-long leadership in sustainable forest management. Rather than relying solely on traditional industrial harvests, the agency will implement a diversified revenue strategy for conserved lands. “This includes selling carbon credits, monetising ecosystem services, acquiring replacement timberlands, and maximising returns from certified forest products,” it said.
At the same time, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is investing in higher-value mass timber markets and reevaluating the structure of timber sales to unlock greater economic returns. These initiatives are part of a broader shift toward climate-aligned land management, with the agency also looking to advance a push toward innovative silviculture techniques to accelerate stand development, enhance habitat quality, and improve overall forest health.
“These forests are workhorses for capturing climate pollution and are critical for healthy, biodiverse ecosystems,” the agency stated. “Ensuring they become the old growth of tomorrow while implementing innovative management practices is the next step in our world-leading approach.”
The new order comes after Wood Central reported that vast tracts of Washington State’s National Forests could be tied up in Donald Trump’s executive order to expand timber production by more than 25%. It comes as a presidential order granted the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the US Forest Service, sweeping new powers to salvage timber in eight of the state’s forests.
In April, Brooke Rollins, the US Secretary of Agriculture, issued a Secretarial Memo to establish an “Emergency Situation Determination” across more than 112 million acres of National Forest System land. “Healthy forests require work, and right now, we’re facing a national forest emergency. We have an abundance of timber at high risk of wildfires in our National Forests,” Secretary Rollins said. “I am proud to follow the bold leadership of President Trump by empowering forest managers to reduce constraints and minimise the risks of fire, insects, and disease so that we can strengthen the American timber industry and further enrich our forests with the resources they need to thrive.”
