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Subjects › Environment › Forest Practices
Updated 09/2010

Forest Practices Act

Contents

Introduction

This page provides information about Washington's Forest Practices Act. The Forest Practices Act, originally adopted in 1974, is found in Ch. 76.09, RCW. Forest practices are activities related to growing, harvesting, or processing timber, including, but not limited to, road and trail construction and maintenance, thinning, salvage, harvesting, reforestation, brush control, suppression of diseases and insects, and using fertilizers (RCW 76.09.020(11)). These practices are regulated by the Washington Forest Practices Act and its corresponding rules, found in Title 222, WAC, promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

This page focuses particularly on several amendments adopted in 2007 that address local government administration of forest practices for some types of forest practices permit applications. SHB 1409 establishes a new mechanism for transferring a portion of DNR's responsibility for administration and enforcement of forest practices regulation to local governments. This amendment replaces the mechanism established by SSB 5714 in 1997. In addition, 2SSB 5883 amends the moratorium provisions related to the improper conversion of forest lands to other uses. Under the amended procedure, if a landowner begins conversion activities without an approved forest practices application or without stating in the forest practices application that the land will be converted, DNR must issue a notice of conversion to the Department of Ecology and the local government where the property is located. The local government must then deny a building or subdivision permit application on the subject property for a period of six years after receiving a DNR notice of conversion.

Cities and counties that had a certain number or more of Class IV applications within a defined period of time must adopt ordinances or regulations for the approval of forest practices applications within urban growth areas (UGAs) and certain Class IV applications outside of UGAs by December 31, 2008, as required by RCW 76.09.240. (RCW 76.09.050 and WAC 222-16-050). However, cities and counties that have adopted ordinances or regulations regarding forest practices prior to July 22, 2007 are not required to readopt their ordinances or regulations to satisfy the requirements of RCW 76.09.240. See RCW 76.09.240(4). In 2010, the legislature adopted SB 6481, which narrows the list of jurisdictions planning under the GMA who are required to adopt forest practice regulations to those counties with a population of 100,000 or more and the cities within those counties. Other cities and counties are not required to, but may, adopt ordinances or regulations under this statute. Upon request, DNR will provide technical assistance to all local governments during and after the process of adopting regulations. A related MRSC webpage, Local Government Forest Practices Responsibilities/Compliance Dates, provides additional detail about new responsibilities under SHB 1409 and 2SSB 5883.

The court of appeals held in Berst v. Snohomish County, 114 Wn. App. 245 (2002), review denied, 150 Wn.2d 1015 (2003), that the county should have held a hearing before imposing a six-year moratorium under the Forest Practices Act. In addition, the court held that the imposition of a moratorium was not a "land use decision" under the Land Use Petition Act (LUPA).

If a local jurisdiction has not assumed jurisdiction over forest practices, the Department of Natural Resources would review environmental issues related to the forest practices. However, if a proposal involving conversion of forest lands requires some sort of city permit, such as for road construction or a residence, it appears that the city would be the lead agency for considering environmental factors and making a threshold determination. See the 2010 Attorney General informal opinion by Assistant Attorney General Jessica E. Fogel.

Additional information on forest practices may be obtained by accessing the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Practices Website.

If you have information to share (such as ordinances, issue papers, policies) from your city or county on this topic, or are aware of other web sites that we should link to, please contact Sue Enger, MRSC Planning Consultant, at senger@mrsc.org, or simply press the "Comments" button to contact MRSC in general via e-mail. We also invite any suggestions you may have for improvements and additional topics.

Statutes and Administrative Regulations

Guides and Resources

City and County Ordinances

The following are links to the ordinances and code provisions addressing the requirements of RCW 76.09.240. Most of these were adopted prior to the 2007 amendments:

Links to Other Forest Websites