Forest practices rule-making

AN ACT Relating to restoring collaboration in the forest 1
practices rule-making process for the benefit of long-term protection 2
of natural resources and the forest products industry; amending RCW 3
76.09.040 and 76.09.370; adding a new section to chapter 76.09 RCW; 4
creating new sections; and declaring an emergency. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) When the legislature enacted the 7
forests and fish law in 1999, it established a balanced, science-8
based approach to forest management. The adaptive management process 9
was central to that design, ensuring that new forest practice rules 10
would be guided by data, peer review, and collaboration among 11
landowners, agencies, tribes, and environmental interests. That 12
process was meant to protect both salmon habitat and the economic 13
stability of working forests. In good faith, landowners and small 14
forest operators have invested billions of dollars to meet those 15
obligations, under the promise that any further changes would follow 16
the same lawful process.17
(2) The legislature finds that the adoption of the western 18
Washington type nonfish bearing stream water buffer rule by the 19
forest practices board on November 12, 2025, has demonstrated a 20
serious substantive and procedural deviation from the policies and 21
H-3028.1
HOUSE BILL 2620
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Dent, Springer, Dufault, Schmick, Scott, and
Lekanoff
Read first time 01/22/26. Referred to Committee on Agriculture &
Natural Resources.
p. 1 HB 2620
intent of the adaptive management process and the state 1
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. 2
(3) The legislature finds that this rule was the result of a 3
process that has distorted the purpose of the adaptive management 4
program by equating the total length of time involved in the rule 5
making with the sufficiency of the process. The adaptive management 6
process was intended to enhance, not evade, the benefits of 7
collaboration, review, and input established under the administrative 8
procedure act. Only one proposal was available for analysis and 9
consideration by the rule-making stage, resulting in a rule making 10
that provided no reasonable alternatives and was ultimately approved 11
by only seven of the forest practices board's 13 members. The 12
scientific studies underlying the sole proposal considered faced 13
significant criticism for the methodologies, scope, and 14
extrapolations on which their conclusions were based. Both major 15
studies were based on short-term monitoring, limited habitats, 16
extreme examples of harvest scenarios, and using a standard of harm 17
that did not establish actual threats to aquatic resources as 18
intended under the adaptive management program's parameters.19
(4) The deficiencies demonstrated from both the process of this 20
rule making and its result will have serious impacts on Washington 21
communities, most acutely on those rural communities whose schools, 22
fire districts, and other essential services are dependent on forest 23
revenue. By removing over 200,000 acres of productive, working forest 24
from use, thousands of family-wage jobs and materials for much needed 25
homes are at risk. 26
(5) The legislature also finds that the forest practices board 27
lacks a measurable standard by which to evaluate the impact of its 28
rules on the viability of the timber industry, as required under the 29
forests and fish law, now codified as RCW 76.09.370. Without a 30
measurable metric, this fundamental pillar of the adaptive management 31
program does not have its intended functional meaning in the rule-32
making process. 33
(6) Therefore, the legislature intends to invalidate the western 34
Washington type nonfish bearing stream water buffer rule as adopted 35
on November 12, 2025, and direct the forest practices board to 36
restart a riparian buffering rule making that aligns with the robust 37
process anticipated under the forests and fish law. The legislature 38
intends to require the development of a measurable standard of 39
economic viability to allow for the evaluation of actual impacts on 40
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the timber industry. The legislature also intends to ensure that 1
future rules regarding riparian buffers follow a rule-making process 2
that includes reasonable alternatives for analysis and results in 3
rules that meet established standards. 4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 76.09 5
RCW to read as follows: 6
(1) By January 1, 2027, the board shall initiate and complete a 7
process to establish a standard for economic viability of the timber 8
industry to ensure that rules developed pursuant to the adaptive 9
management process under RCW 76.09.370 align with the state policy 10
established in the forest and fish report and incorporated under RCW 11
76.09.370 (2) and (7). The standard for economic viability must 12
provide a quantifiable metric for evaluating impacts on the timber 13
industry including, at a minimum, the small forest landowner market 14
share and the amount of timber harvest needed to maintain operational 15
mills in timber-producing regions of the state, to ensure its long-16
term economic resilience and sustainable returns on investment.17
(2) By April 1, 2027, the board shall initiate a process to 18
restart a rule making to consider changes to the standards for 19
riparian buffers around type nonfish bearing streams in accordance 20
with RCW 76.09.040(5). In this process, the board shall:21
(a) Reevaluate whether the scientific studies used to inform the 22
western Washington type nonfish bearing stream water buffer rule 23
making on November 12, 2025, demonstrated an actual decline in 24
aquatic resources over a monitoring period that reflects real-world 25
long-term landscape cycles; and 26
(b) If consensus is not reached as to (a) of this subsection, 27
conduct additional scientific studies with sufficient monitoring 28
periods, habitat ranges, and established causation mechanisms to 29
demonstrate actual impacts on aquatic resources. 30
(3) In carrying out this section, the board must give significant 31
consideration to any relevant recommendations from the small forest 32
landowner advisory committee created in RCW 76.13.110 and any private 33
organizations that represent the interests of small forest 34
landowners. 35
Sec. 3. RCW 76.09.040 and 2012 1st sp.s. c 1 s 203 are each 36
amended to read as follows: 37
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(1)(a) Where necessary to accomplish the purposes and policies 1
stated in RCW 76.09.010, and to implement the provisions of this 2
chapter, the board shall adopt forest practices rules pursuant to 3
chapter 34.05 RCW and in accordance with the procedures enumerated in 4
this section that: 5
(i) Establish minimum standards for forest practices;6
(ii) Provide procedures for the voluntary development of resource 7
management plans which may be adopted as an alternative to the 8
minimum standards in (a)(i) of this subsection if the plan is 9
consistent with the purposes and policies stated in RCW 76.09.010 and 10
the plan meets or exceeds the objectives of the minimum standards;11
(iii) Set forth necessary administrative provisions;12
(iv) Establish procedures for the collection and administration 13
of forest practice fees as set forth by this chapter; and14
(v) Allow for the development of watershed analyses.15
(b) Forest practices rules pertaining to water quality protection 16
shall be adopted by the board after reaching agreement with the 17
director of the department of ecology or the director's designee on 18
the board with respect to these rules. All other forest practices 19
rules shall be adopted by the board. 20
(c) Forest practices rules shall be administered and enforced by 21
either the department or the local governmental entity as provided in 22
this chapter. Such rules shall be adopted and administered so as to 23
give consideration to all purposes and policies set forth in RCW 24
76.09.010. 25
(2)(a) The board shall prepare proposed forest practices rules 26
consistent with this section and chapter 34.05 RCW. In addition to 27
any forest practices rules relating to water quality protection 28
proposed by the board, the department of ecology may submit to the 29
board proposed forest practices rules relating to water quality 30
protection. 31
(b)(i) The board shall hold one or more hearings on the proposed 32
rules pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW. Any county representative may 33
propose specific forest practices rules relating to problems existing 34
within the county at the hearings. 35
(ii) The board may adopt and the department of ecology may 36
approve such proposals if they find the proposals are consistent with 37
the purposes and policies of this chapter. 38
(3)(a) The board shall incorporate into the forest practices 39
rules those fish protection standards in the rules adopted under 40
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chapter 77.55 RCW, as the rules existed on July 10, 2012, that are 1
applicable to activities regulated under the forest practices rules. 2
If fish protection standards are incorporated by reference, the board 3
shall minimize administrative processes by utilizing the exception 4
from the administrative procedures controlling significant 5
legislative rules under RCW 34.05.328(5)(b)(iii) for the 6
incorporation of rules adopted by other state agencies.7
(b) Thereafter, the board shall incorporate into the forest 8
practices rules any changes to those fish protection standards in the 9
rules adopted under chapter 77.55 RCW that are: (i) Adopted 10
consistent with RCW 77.55.361; and (ii) applicable to activities 11
regulated under the forest practices rules. If fish protection 12
standards are incorporated by reference, the board shall minimize 13
administrative processes by utilizing the exception from the 14
administrative procedures controlling significant legislative rules 15
under RCW 34.05.328(5)(b)(iii) for the incorporation of rules adopted 16
by other state agencies. 17
(c) The board shall establish and maintain technical guidance in 18
the forest practices board manual, as provided under WAC 222 -12-090 19
as it existed on July 10, 2012, to assist with implementation of the 20
standards incorporated into the forest practices rules under this 21
section. The guidance must include best management practices and 22
standard techniques to ensure fish protection. 23
(d) The board must complete the requirements of (a) of this 24
subsection and establish initial technical guidance under (c) of this 25
subsection by December 31, 2013. 26
(4)(a) The board shall establish by rule a program for the 27
acquisition of riparian open space and critical habitat for 28
threatened or endangered species as designated by the board. 29
Acquisition must be a conservation easement. Lands eligible for 30
acquisition are forestlands within unconfined channel migration zones 31
or forestlands containing critical habitat for threatened or 32
endangered species as designated by the board. Once acquired, these 33
lands may be held and managed by the department, transferred to 34
another state agency, transferred to an appropriate local government 35
agency, or transferred to a private nonprofit nature conservancy 36
corporation, as defined in RCW 64.04.130, in fee or transfer of 37
management obligation. The board shall adopt rules governing the 38
acquisition by the state or donation to the state of such interest in 39
lands including the right of refusal if the lands are subject to 40
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unacceptable liabilities. The rules shall include definitions of 1
qualifying lands, priorities for acquisition, and provide for the 2
opportunity to transfer such lands with limited warranties and with a 3
description of boundaries that does not require full surveys where 4
the cost of securing the surveys would be unreasonable in relation to 5
the value of the lands conveyed. The rules shall provide for the 6
management of the lands for ecological protection or fisheries 7
enhancement. For the purposes of conservation easements entered into 8
under this section, the following apply: 9
(i) For conveyances of a conservation easement in which the 10
landowner conveys an interest in the trees only, the compensation 11
must include the timber value component, as determined by the cruised 12
volume of any timber located within the channel migration zone or 13
critical habitat for threatened or endangered species as designated 14
by the board, multiplied by the appropriate quality code stumpage 15
value for timber of the same species shown on the appropriate table 16
used for timber harvest excise tax purposes under RCW 84.33.091;17
(ii) For conveyances of a conservation easement in which the 18
landowner conveys interests in both land and trees, the compensation 19
must include the timber value component in (a)(i) of this subsection 20
plus such portion of the land value component as determined just and 21
equitable by the department. The land value component must be the 22
acreage of qualifying channel migration zone or critical habitat for 23
threatened or endangered species as determined by the board, to be 24
conveyed, multiplied by the average per acre value of all commercial 25
forestland in western Washington or the average for eastern 26
Washington, whichever average is applicable to the qualifying lands. 27
The department must determine the western and eastern Washington 28
averages based on the land value tables established by RCW 84.33.140 29
and revised annually by the department of revenue.30
(b) Subject to appropriations sufficient to cover the cost of 31
such an acquisition program and the related costs of administering 32
the program, the department must establish a conservation easement in 33
land that an owner tenders for purchase; provided that such lands 34
have been taxed as forestlands and are located within an unconfined 35
channel migration zone or contain critical habitat for threatened or 36
endangered species as designated by the board. Lands acquired under 37
this section shall become riparian or habitat open space. These 38
acquisitions shall not be deemed to trigger the compensating tax of 39
chapters 84.33 and 84.34 RCW. 40
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(c) Instead of offering to sell interests in qualifying lands, 1
owners may elect to donate the interests to the state.2
(d) Any acquired interest in qualifying lands by the state under 3
this section shall be managed as riparian open space or critical 4
habitat. 5
(5)(a) Any rule making initiated under this chapter that creates 6
or modifies standards for riparian buffers must:7
(i) In the absence of full consensus at the development and 8
recommendation stage, propose and analyze a range of reasonable 9
alternatives in the formal rule-making process under RCW 34.05.328, 10
including at least one no action alternative as a baseline for 11
comparison; and12
(ii) Consider and analyze the proposed rule, including any 13
alternatives under this subsection (5)(a), against the standard for 14
economic viability of the timber industry developed under section 2 15
of this act.16
(b) A dispute resolution process that does not result in a range 17
of reasonable alternatives for consideration under (a)(i) of this 18
subsection may not be used in the absence of full consensus for a 19
rule making under this subsection. If a dispute resolution process is 20
used, the minority report or reports must be considered in the range 21
of alternatives.22
(c) Any rule adopted under this chapter that creates or modifies 23
standards for riparian buffers must meet the least burdensome 24
alternative standard under RCW 34.05.328(1)(e) and the standard for 25
economic viability of the timber industry developed under section 2 26
of this act.27
Sec. 4. RCW 76.09.370 and 1999 sp.s. c 4 s 204 are each amended 28
to read as follows: 29
(1) The legislature finds that the process that produced the 30
forests and fish report was instigated by the forest practices board, 31
the report is the product of considerable negotiations between 32
several diverse interest groups, and the report has the support of 33
key federal agencies. When adopting permanent rules under this 34
section, the forest practices board is strongly encouraged to follow 35
the recommendations of the forests and fish report, but may include 36
other alternatives for protection of aquatic resources. If the forest 37
practices board chooses to adopt rules under this section that are 38
not consistent with the recommendations contained in the forests and 39
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fish report, the board must notify the appropriate legislative 1
committees of the proposed deviations, the reasons for the proposed 2
deviations, and whether the parties to the forests and fish report 3
still support the agreement. The board shall defer final adoption of 4
such rules for ((sixty)) 60 days of the legislative session to allow 5
for the opportunity for additional public involvement and legislative 6
oversight. 7
(2) The forest practices board shall follow the regular rules 8
adoption process contained in the administrative procedure act, 9
chapter 34.05 RCW, when adopting permanent rules pertaining to forest 10
practices and the protection of aquatic resources except as limited 11
by subsection (1) of this section. The permanent rules must 12
accomplish the policies stated in RCW 76.09.010 without jeopardizing 13
the economic viability of the forest products industry.14
(3) The rules adopted under this section should be as specific as 15
reasonably possible while also allowing an applicant to propose 16
alternate plans in response to site-specific physical features. 17
Alternate plans should provide protection to public resources at 18
least equal in overall effectiveness by alternate means.19
(4) Rule making under subsection (2) of this section shall be 20
completed by June 30, 2001. 21
(5) The board should consider coordinating any environmental 22
review process under chapter 43.21C RCW relating to the adoption of 23
rules under subsection (2) of this section with any review of a 24
related proposal under the national environmental policy act (42 25
U.S.C. Sec. 4321, et seq.). 26
(6) After the board has adopted permanent rules under subsection 27
(2) of this section, changes to those rules and any new rules 28
covering aquatic resources may be adopted by the board but only if 29
the changes or new rules are consistent with recommendations 30
resulting from the scientifically based adaptive management process 31
established by a rule of the board , and for rules regarding riparian 32
buffers, RCW 76.09.040(5). Any new rules or changes under this 33
subsection need not be based upon the recommendations of the adaptive 34
management process if: (a) The board is required to adopt or modify 35
rules by the final order of any court having jurisdiction thereof; or 36
(b) future state legislation directs the board to adopt or modify the 37
rules. 38
(7) In adopting permanent rules, the board shall incorporate the 39
scientific-based adaptive management process described in the forests 40
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and fish report which will be used to determine the effectiveness of 1
the new forest practices rules in aiding the state's salmon recovery 2
effort. The purpose of an adaptive management process is to make 3
adjustments as quickly as possible to forest practices that are not 4
achieving the resource objectives. The adaptive management process 5
shall incorporate the best available science and information, include 6
protocols and standards, regular monitoring, a scientific and peer 7
review process, and provide recommendations to the board on proposed 8
changes to forest practices rules to meet timber industry viability , 9
as that standard is established by the board under section 2 (1) of 10
this act, and salmon recovery. 11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The forest practices board shall 12
repeal the rule, western Washington type nonfish bearing stream water 13
buffer rule making, which was adopted on November 12, 2025.14
(2) The forest practices board may not adopt a rule substantially 15
the same as the rule described in subsection (1) of this section, or 16
any other rule amending chapter 222-30 WAC or otherwise modifying the 17
standards for riparian buffers, until the process under section 2 (1) 18
of this act is complete, and unless the rule is in accordance with 19
RCW 76.09.040(5) and section 2 (2) and (3) of this act.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act is necessary for the immediate 21
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of 22
the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes 23
effect immediately.24
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