- This week the two candidates competing to be the next Commissioner of Public Lands join host Mike McClanahan on the set for a heated panel discussion about key issues. Guests: Republican candidate Jaime Herrera Beutler and Democratic candidate Dave Upthegrove.
The Commissioner of Public Lands oversees the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) which oversees 5.6 million acres of public forests, shrub-steppe, and tidelands in Washington. The DNR is also Washington’s primary wildfire suppression agency, responding to fires on state and private lands.
The agency is responsible for generating revenue from trust lands while managing natural resources sustainably. The Lands Commissioner makes decisions that impact long-term forest conservation plans and the funding stream for trust beneficiaries such as counties, school districts, fire departments, hospitals, and libraries.
The Commissioner of Public Lands is involved in decisions about recreational access and restricted activities on public lands.
The Lands Commissioner is also empowered to approve or reject the aquatic leases that are required on for operations such as marinas and oyster farms.
Some of the major issues being debated in the Lands Commissioner’s race this year are:
- wildfire suppression and prevention
- traditional vs. transitional revenue streams for trust land beneficiaries
- logging policies in legacy forests (planted before WWII, but not old growth)
- forest health maintenance
- leasing public lands for wind & solar development or carbon offsets
The republican candidate, former Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, and the democratic candidate, King County Council Chair Dave Upthegrove, draw sharp contrasts between their respective values, plans, and track records.
Wildfire Response
- Herrera Beutler — “Our current commissioner had to go to bat. She did a great job propping up, fixing and triaging our fire response system, but we need to do more. We need to make sure the aerial teams in eastern Washington have on-contract, immediate planes that can respond and that they have the ability to fight those fires and not always wait for the state mobilization. We need to make sure that we’re also doing the work upstream of the forest fire, which means managing our forests well for the benefit of the trust, for the benefit of the people of Washington, not setting aside and watching them deteriorate or, God forbid, burn. For the first time last year in all of recorded history, we have had more fires on the west side of Washington state than on the east side. That’s because things are changing. It’s also because we need to do a better job of managing our forests.”
- Upthegrove — “It’s critical for public safety. And for me, the key is going upstream to prevention. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That’s why I’m interested in increasing the work on forest health. Our current commissioner’s done an exceptional job in terms of treating lands in eastern Washington and I would expand that work into western Washington with things like increasing our controlled burns, our commercial thinning, our non-commercial funding, and also not overlooking things like invasive weed removal and land management that can help keep those lands safe.”
Clean Energy Siting
Choosing a place to build a new wind or solar farm is frequently a contentious process in Washington. Where do each of them stand on wind, solar, or other clean energy projects on public lands?
The republican candidate said she is not opposed to exploring alternative uses for land that is not productive for forestry or agriculture.
- Herrera Beutler — ”I’ve worked with, there’s a local legislator
in eastern Washington– in central Washington – who has a proposal that would take land that’s within the urban growth boundary that’s not being actively farmed or harvested, that is really not good for any of those traditional uses and wants to do a tax credit for affordable housing on that land. If they’re going to build affordable housing, they’ll get a tax credit for it. So in that way we would be turning that land more productive for the people of the state of Washington. And I’m open to that when it comes to energy projects. I’m open to that when it comes to how we’re going to get the best use out of it. The one thing I will not stand for and do not want to see though is conversion. I don’t want to see forest land or agricultural land, or tide lands converted when they are active and productive. I want to protect them.”
The democratic candidate is enthusiastic about the prospect of repurposing public lands to accommodate difficult to build wind and solar installations.
- Upthegrove — “I’m excited to use this position to help Washington State meet our clean energy goals. The legislature adopted some requirements that we need to be energy neutral by 2030, and that all utilities in this state have to produce energy from clean sources by 2045. And, you know, we’re getting old. It’s sneaking up on us, quickly. And so there’s a demand for utility scale wind and solar and other energy sources. And I think this agency can help us meet that goal. I’ve proposed the development of a new clean energy trust where revenue generated, from new expanded investments in wind and solar, be put back into rural communities for economic development, in those rural areas.”
The two candidates’ views on legacy forests, pre-WWII stands of timber, is a flashpoint of contention.
- Herrera Beutler — ”When it comes to forestry, we can make sure that we’re doing it in a smart, responsible way here. Keeping those jobs here rather than importing, you know those, those wood products or those other products and exporting our guilt.”
- Herrera Beutler — “My opponent is talking about taking $2 billion worth of timber off the, out of the habitat conservation plan, off the books, out of schools. And I keep saying and he keeps saying, I’ll find it elsewhere. Where are you going to find $2 billion? Do you think that the legislature is going to give you $2 billion to replace this valuable asset?”
- Upthegrove — “My plan is to fund our schools and our public services. What I’m proposing is that we make some modest changes to where we harvest in the short term in order to fulfill the responsibilities we have under existing plans and policies. By listening to the science that created our habitat conservation plan. We’re going to do what’s right for sustainable forestry.”
- Upthegrove — “My opponent’s plan is the industry’s plan. It’s doubling down on the same old way of doing things, which is log baby log. I believe we can do better. Of course, I’m going to fund our schools and public services.””
The closing arguments got heated.
(Direct Link) Herrera Beutler “While you were chair of the environmental subcommittee, the special areas, the environmental areas within the DNR did not get funded. The e recreational areas did not get funded. Both those programs had to go hand in mouth to get grants to do the maintenance work. And you want to add more land to that. You didn’t fund the riparian easement program that helps small forest landowners make sure that they’re meeting their needs. You didn’t fund the program to remove derelict vessels to make sure that we’re cleaning up the Puget Sound. Chinook salmon are in crisis today. And you take credit for the Puget Sound Partnership. You’ve spent more time in government, and you have less to show for it. You know, from my work in Congress, rather Republican or Democrat, I worked with Democrats to get s#*t done. And I think that this place and this role needs to be about getting stuff done for the people of Washington.”
(Direct Link) Upthegrove “I get it. We set some big, ambitious goals in this region, and we’re continuing to make progress. The question is, are we going in the right direction? And the answer is yes. My opponent, on the other hand, would take us in the wrong direction, supporting and voting for policies and apparently continuing to support policies that take us backwards, voting to roll back clean water protections. Voting to gut the Endangered Species Act. Voting to take us backwards on climate. My vision for the future is one where we’re protecting clean water, not rolling back standards, where we’re improving habitat, not weakening the Endangered Species Act, and one where we support our climate future, not oppose the Climate Commitment Act. We can get big things done in this state and in order to have good jobs and a strong economy. We need to keep Washington State a great place to live.”