.png)
OLYMPIA — Rep. Hunter Abell, R-Inchelium, recently criticized the Washington Forest Practices Board’s decision to increase riparian buffer zones along fishless streams.
Abell said the decision will remove millions of dollars’ worth of harvestable timber from production, placing additional burdens on rural economies that depend on the state’s natural resources, according to a Washington State House Republicans news release. He represents the 7th District, which is the largest and most rural legislative district in the state and includes Pend Oreille County.
“The Forest Practices Board’s vote is deeply irresponsible, politically driven, and completely disconnected from the realities of rural Washington,” Abell wrote in a statement issued in response to the decision.
The state’s Forests and Fish law, enacted more than 25 years ago, established a collaborative process for landowners, tribes, local governments and various stakeholders to provide input balancing environmental concerns with the protection of sustainable forestry practices, according to the news release. Now, the board’s decision has put this partnership at risk.
In his statement, Abell wrote that the decision will take funding from rural schools, diminish job opportunities in small towns, sideline small forest landowners and “[weaken] the economic backbone of the region.” He called on the board to reconsider.
“For more than two decades, the Forests and Fish framework has shown that collaborative, science-driven management can protect streams while still sustaining rural economies,” Abell wrote.
“Instead of honoring that balance, the board cast it aside.”
