HomeMy WebLinkAbout022221_cabs02JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
Philip Morley, County Administrator
FROM: Julie Shannon, Executive Secretary II
DATE: February 22, 2021
SUBJECT: BRIEFING AND POTENTIAL ACTION re: Letter of Support for Trust
Land Transfer Program Budgeting including Devils Lake Trust Land Transfer
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
The Board will consider approval of a letter to support continued Capital Budget Funding for DNR's Trust
Land Transfer (TLT) Program for the upcoming Biennium.
ANALYSIS:
n/a
FISCAL IMPACT:
n/a
RECOMMENDATION:
Discuss and possible approval of a Letter to support continued Capital Budget Funding for DNR's Trust
Land Transfer (TLT) Program for the upcoming Biennium.
Date
February 22, 2021
Representative Steve Tharinger
Washington State House of Representatives
JLOB 314
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
[ Steve.Tharinger@leg.wa.gov: leanne.horn@leg.wa.gov ]
Dear Representative Tharinger:
We are writing to support continued capital budget funding for DNR's Trust Land Transfer (TLT)
program for the upcoming biennium.
A coalition of over 37 statewide and local conservation groups, leading education advocates
such as Superintendent Chris Reykdal, and Jamestown S'Klallam and Port Gamble S'Klallam
Tribes are proposing four projects to get the Trust Land Transfer program back on track to
partially address a backlog of projects and prepare for future needs. This includes preserving a
priority conservation area, the Devils Lake addition at Dabob Bay in Jefferson County. We hope
the Legislature will keep the Trust Land Transfer program operating by funding this modest list
of four projects.
The Trust Land Transfer (TLT) program has been an essential tool used by DNR for more than 30
years to conserve critical habitats and outdoor recreation areas and re -position trust lands to
more economically productive timberlands. Until 2014, the program was funded at of over
$60M a biennium and 128,000 acres have been conserved to date. Over these years, TLT has
been a critical tool in helping protect public resources that depend on critical habitats and
healthy ecosystems, while keeping Trust lands whole.
When DNR proposed the Devils Lake NRCA near Quilcene for expansion in 2016 to include 370
acres of School Trust lands, the project received broad support from private citizens, shellfish
businesses, the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, and county
government at public hearings and was approved by the Commissioner of Public Lands. The
expansion area will conserve one mile of forested shoreline on steep slopes that provide
diverse wildlife habitat and helps protect the water quality and shellfish resources of Dabob
Bay, including two of the world's largest shellfish hatcheries. The area also includes older
forests eligible for protection under DNR's Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification
standards.
The Devils Lake addition was on DNR's proposed TLT project list in 2017-19 and 2019-21 but has
not yet been funded. DNR's 2019-21 budget request for Devils Lake TLT project was $5.2 M, of
which $4.1 M was based on estimated timber value and is a direct reimbursement to the
general School Construction budget. The remaining $1.1 M was land value that would go into
DNR's property replacement account to purchase productive timberland for the School Trust.
Over the past ten years, we have seen how the Trust Land Transfer program has been essential
to the success of several major conservation efforts in Jefferson County that involve state
timber trust lands, including the expansion of the Dabob Bay Natural Area and expansion of
Gibbs Lake County Park, as well as protecting significant natural wonders throughout the state,
including Blanchard Mountain and Mount Si. Currently, a backlog of TLT projects proposed by
DNR in past years remain; with no formal protection in place and no reimbursement to the
Trusts until the legislature takes the last step and funds these projects.
We encourage you to include funding for TLT in 2021-23, to help revitalize this essential
program and specifically to complete the Devils Lake Natural Resource Conservation Area and 3
other high priority projects in the state.
Sincerely,
Kate Dean Heidi Eisenhour Greg Brotherton
Commissioner District 1 Commissioner District 2 Commissioner District 3
Cc: Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands
Senator Kevin Van De Wege
Representive Mike Chapman