Over 700 individuals and organizations, representing thousands of foresters, farmers, landowners, businesses, civic leaders, elected officials, forestry workers, and citizens across Washington, signed the letter urging state officials to reject the proposed Type Np rule.

Dear Governor Ferguson and Directors Nguyen, Sandison, Sixkiller, Susewind, and Commissioner Upthegrove:

We represent counties, farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, businesses, workers, rural community leaders, and citizens across Washington. While we support the long-standing Adaptive Management framework, which ensures forest practice rules are based on sound science and fair process, we are united in our concern over the Type Np buffer rule scheduled for consideration by the Forest Practices Board at its November 12th meeting. As currently proposed, this rule would remove more than 200,000 acres of private working forest from production, impose billions of dollars in economic losses, and undermine the livelihoods of rural communities—without demonstrating measurable improvements to salmon recovery or water quality. The proposed rule is inequitable, unsustainable, and contrary to the collaborative spirit of forest policy known as the “Washington Way.”

As currently proposed, this rule would:

• Remove more than 200,000 acres of private working forest, resulting in $5–8 billion impact on distressed rural economies.
• Reduce revenues for schools, fire districts, hospitals, and rural roads.
• Threaten mill closures and union jobs by shrinking the timber supply.
• Set a costly precedent for agriculture, undermining voluntary watershed-based approaches.
• Reject a lower-cost Adaptive Management alternative, undermining fairness and transparency.
• Accelerate conversion of working forests to development, weakening rural economies, and reducing habitat.