Forests

Washington’s forests act as powerful carbon “sinks”, absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in trees and soil for decades.

Community-owned working forests can deliver the triple-bottom line for communities, providing the unique social, ecological, and economic benefits they need.

Learning to live with and manage increasingly frequent and severe wildfires in Washington is essential for healthy communities and ecosystems.

The fish & wildlife that call Washington’s forests home are vital to the culture, biodiversity, and ecological health of the state.

Washington’s 2 million acres of state- managed forestlands clean our air and water, sequester carbon, and provide timber revenue, recreation opportunities, and critical habitat for some of our most vulnerable wildlife.

The wood we build with and where it comes from, matters. A look at a wood product’s entire lifecycle, including how its forests of origin are managed and how it was processed, will more fully convey its carbon and environmental impacts.

The Department of Natural Resources, led by the elected Commissioner of Public Lands, directly manages 2 million acres of public forestland and applies forest practices rules on privately-owned lands.