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Rep. Brian Blake, serving the 19th District Serving Pacific, Wahkiakum, and parts of Grays Harbor and Cowlitz counties. |
Seven years of persistence pays off for Wahkiakum County
Newly-signed legislation throws lifeline to timber-dependent small counties
May 26, 2009
OLYMPIA – The governor signed a bill earlier this month that will help
rural counties like Wahkiakum generate much-needed revenue from previously
restricted timber lands.
Timber harvests in Wahkiakum and some other
counties have been restricted due to the federal Endangered Species Act. In
order to protect the endangered marbled murrelet, certain public forest
lands have been off-limits to logging, but this has proven to place an
increasing financial hardship on small counties.
“Revenues from
public timber represent 40 percent of Wahkiakum County’s budget, but over
the years this revenue has decreased by more than 70 percent,” said
Rep. Brian Blake (D – Aberdeen). “At that rate, the entire county
would eventually have to shut down.”
County officials and state
legislators have worked on the problem for the past seven years, trying to
forge an agreement with the state Department of Natural Resources that would
create a way to transfer certain state forest lands to a different public
land status. However, no such agreement could be reached.
But this
year’s passage of
House Bill 1484 includes a provision that lets some counties participate
in a program similar to the already-established state Trust Land Transfer
Program. The bill continues to protect the most important habitat land for
conservation purposes, but allows sustainable revenue from timber harvests
for smaller counties.
Blake co-sponsored House Bill 1484, but
praised the efforts of Wahkiakum County Commissioner Dan Cothren.
“Commissioner Cothren’s tireless dedication to the issue really inspired us
to get the bill passed,” Blake said.
Dwindling revenue has caused
cuts in county services that bill proponents hope can now begin to be
restored. Increased timber revenue also means less dependence on property
taxes, which is more good news for county residents.
The bill was
signed on May 6 in Olympia, and takes effect in July.