Washington’s working forests are a vital part of protecting salmon, streams, and rural communities. Under today’s science-based forest practices, timber harvests maintain cool, clean water for fish — and now, landowners are proposing smart updates to make the rules even stronger.
🌲 5 Things You Should Know
- Current forest rules work. Stream temperatures stay well below the salmon protection threshold of 16°C (60.8°F).
- Temporary warming is small. After harvest, streams may warm slightly (0.5–1°C) but recover naturally as trees regrow.
- Landowners want stronger protections. Proposals would double streamside buffers where fish need it most.
- Ecology’s plan is extreme. Their proposal aims to eliminate even natural background changes, going far beyond science.
- Federal science backs a balanced approach. Studies and agency reviews confirm that managed forests can protect salmon while supporting rural jobs.
🛡 Current Forest Rules Already Protect Streams
Washington’s existing forest practices require:
- A 30-foot Equipment Limitation Zone on all non-fish-bearing (Np) streams.
- 50-foot no-cut buffers along at least half of the stream’s length.
- Extra safeguards at fish junctions, seeps, and unstable slopes.
Field studies show 65–70% of Np streams have buffers — even beyond what the rules require — keeping streams shaded and cool.
🔬 The Science Behind the Buffers
Extensive research (the Hardrock and Softrock studies) shows:
- Timber harvests cause only small, temporary increases in stream temperature.
- Streams naturally recover within a few years as vegetation regrows.
- 100% of studied streams stayed below 16°C, protecting salmon even immediately after harvest.
🌱 Landowners’ Proposal: Smarter, Targeted Protection
When larger areas (>30 acres) are harvested:
- 75-foot buffers would be required along the entire Np stream.
At sensitive fish junction areas:
- First 500 feet: 75-foot buffers
- Next 500 feet: 50-foot buffers
Small landowners would have a flexible option:
- 50-foot buffers with limited management in the outer 25 feet.
This approach targets protection where it matters most — without unnecessary impacts on working forests.
⚖ Why Ecology’s Proposal Goes Too Far
The Department of Ecology wants to limit any stream temperature change to less than 0.3°C — even though that’s smaller than natural daily or seasonal changes.
Their plan would:
- Require 140% more trees to be left standing statewide.
- Double buffer areas — even where current science shows streams are already protected.
- Cause serious economic harm to small forest landowners and rural communities — with no clear added benefit to fish.
Worse, Ecology’s extreme standard conflicts with the EPA-approved antidegradation policy, which allows necessary, socially important changes when protections are still met.
📚 Legal and Policy Facts
- Antidegradation policy protects water uses but allows limited, justified impacts.
- The Forests & Fish Agreement legally recognizes forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) as a certified Water Pollution Control Program.
- Federal Biological Opinions (BiOps) acknowledge that small, temporary increases in stream temperature after harvest are natural — and that streams recover over time.
✅ Science, Not Fear: Protecting Fish and Rural Jobs
Washington’s landowners are stepping up with practical, science-based improvements to forest practices.
We can protect fish and clean water and sustain the working forests that rural Washington depends on.
Smart forest policy must be built on science, not fear — for the sake of our environment, our economy, and our future.