HomeMy WebLinkAbout020523 FW_ Public comment for Feb_ 6 BOCC - forest workshop
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From: Mary Jean Ryan
Sent: Sunday, February 5, 2023 11:51:13 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
To: Heidi Eisenhour; Greg Brotherton; Kate Dean
Subject: Public comment for Feb. 6 BOCC - forest workshop
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Dear Commissioners- I am writing to provide my comments on the forest report and next steps.
I want to start by saying thank you to Malloree and team for all the great work. I look forward to the presentation and hearing more about the next steps you are contemplating.
Because of the work you all did last spring, you were provided with a great opportunity by the Commissioner of Public Lands and DNR to provide them with your vision and preferences/
priorities regarding the forests in E Jefferson. You were offered the opportunity to move toward a co- management model. To take best advantage of the opportunity, it seems like there
needs to be one more phase of this project during which the full set of recommendations can be refined, agreed upon and submitted to DNR. The report in front of you speaks to many of
these potential recommendations and points to the potential benefits of including a map in the final work product. Maybe it would take just another month of work to flesh out a few
more recommendations in order to be a bit more comprehensive?
It is important to express the county’s preferences for parcels to be conserved as well as harvested. Also important to express a preference about harvest methods so we can transition
away from clearcuts as the dominant method and end the use of herbicides post harvest. There is a lot being learned about the benefits of ecological forestry and longer rotations that
you might consider recommending.
In the next year, the State will be updating the Sustainable Harvest Calculation which is the name for the ten year logging plan. By expressing a comprehensive set of recommendations
this spring you can greatly influence this plan.
I am also writing today to express my enthusiasm for the potential of this legislative session to deliver a much stronger set of conservation and climate protection tools. I urge the
county to do all it can to support four distinct measures—
TLT legislation- HB 1460 and SB 5372- we need the policy bill and 25 million from the capital budget. This will fund the Devil’s Lake TLT and set the program up for effective future
use. Thank you Commissioner Eisenhour for doing SO much work on this!
Carbon project- New bill has been introduced - requested by DNR- and would give DNR explicit authority to enter the carbon markets directly. They would not have to use a lease structure
and they could sell into the more rigorous and lucrative compliance market. Transactions could be MUCH longer - 100-125 years vs. only 40. I think this legislation would make their
pilot much more effective. I hope the county will support this.
Natural Climate Solutions- under the CCA there is a new account created which the legislature can invest in natural solutions that boost sequestration such as older, carbon dense forest
conservation. This will be a budget item.
Reykdal bill- one other bill that the county might choose to support is requested by Sup. Reykdal. It would make it a lot easier for rural school districts to get construction/ major
maintenance money. Seems like it could help many Jefferson County districts like Quilcene as an example.
Thank you for your consideration!
Sincerely,
Mary Jean Ryan
Sent from my iPad