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SUBJECTS › ENVIRONMENT › Forest Practices
Reviewed 11/08

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 Chapter 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). 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 web page, “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).

Additional information on forest practices may be obtained by accessing the Department of Natural Resources DNR 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

  • Transfer of Forest Practices Jurisdiction: Class IV-General, Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Snohomish County, June, 2008 – Useful PowerPoint presentation explaining and illustrating SHB 1409.
  • Forest Practices Illustrated, Washington DNR, 2007 – Department of Natural Resources guide designed to help Washington’s small forest landowners, loggers, and natural resource professionals understand the rules governing forest practices. It includes information about revisions to forest practices rules related to the federal listing of salmon, steelhead, and bull trout as threatened and endangered species.
  • Resources and Glossary, excerpted from Forest Practices Illustrated, DNR, 2007 - Comprehensive list of resource agencies, acronyms, and glossary of forest practices terms.
  • Department of Natural Resources Forest Practices Board Manual - A technical guidance to supplement the Forest Practices Rules, Title 222 WAC and Forest Practices Illustrated.
  • Forest and Fish Report.
  • Forest Practices Habitat Conservation Plan.

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:

MRSC Related Links

Links to other Forest Web Sites