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fore«t Praetieti Board 



The ForeBt Practices Board was formed under The Forest Practices Act of 1974 

 to regulate forest practices on private and state land. The Board has 

 representatives from the Washington Departments of Natural Resources, 

 Agriculture, Trade and Commerce, and Ecology, timber interests, the Tribes, 

 and the counties. 



The Board's rules are adopted following the Washington Administrative 

 Procedures Act, which requires public notice and a hearing (Dan Bigger, WDNR, 

 pers. comm. ) . At the same time, an EIS procedure begins as specified in SEPA 

 and culminates in a 30-day review period, after which the new regulations go 

 into effect (Bigger, WDNR, pers. comm.). The approved rules become a part of 

 the Washington Administrative Code Title 222; and are published, along with 

 explanatory text, in the Forest Practice Rules and Regulations (Washington 

 Forest Practices Board 1988), for use by timber operators. 



Ti.h«r, rish. and Wildlife Process 



WDNR, working with other state agencies, the Northwest Renewable Resources 

 Center, and various Indian tribes, developed a revolutionary process in 1986 

 to facilitate regulation of logging practices on state and private timberlands 

 under jurisdiction of the Forest Practices Act. Under this agreement, a 

 number of government agencies, tribes, and associations suddenly became 

 reviewers of timber practices. TFW participants address the issues of 

 st reams ide buffer zones, accelerated erosion and slope failure from road 

 construction, the value of instream woody debris, and other technical habitat 

 questions. The current trend is toward intensive research to adapt general 

 rules to individual timber sales, and thus to balance profit with 

 environmental safety for fish and wildlife. 



The principal product of TFW negotiations in the mid-1980s was the 1988 

 revision (Washington Forest Practices Board 1988) of the ForeBt Practice Rules 

 and Regulations giving fishery and environmental agencies an avenue for 

 commenting on proposed timber sales and helping design activities to reduce 

 risk to fish. However, several controversies demanded rule revision. 

 (1) Optimum fish habitat protection required exhaustive negotiation between 

 timber operators and state habitat biologists (Randy Carman, WDF, pers. 

 comm.). (2) FEMA considered State timber practices to be causing an 

 unacceptable increase in flood insurance claims (Bigger, WDNR, pers. comm.). 

 (3) A Snohomish County court ruled against the Forest Practices Board for 

 failing to consider cumulative impacts (Bauersfield, WDF, pers. comm.). 



Aquatic Lands Program 



This is a grant program for local entities to improve the quality of state 

 lands for fish and wildlife and public access. 



