Local advisory committee urges county to press DNR to resume paused timber sales

A local revenue advisory committee asked the Clallam County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 25 to press the state Department of Natural Resources to move forward with several timber sales that the committee says have been paused, delaying funds that local taxing districts budgeted for 2025.
The committee’s chair, identified in the meeting only as a committee commenter, told commissioners the committee voted to send a letter that “respectfully urges the Clowam County Board of Commissioners to move with expediency to, 1, formally request [the Public Lands Commissioner] and DNR to move these sales forward without delay; 2, request a clear and public timeline for offering the sales; and 3, explore legal remedies to defend the county’s rights as a trust beneficiary if DNR continues to delay the sales.”
Why it matters: Committee members said the pause has already delayed roughly $1.25 million budgeted for county roads and nearly $1 million that would have gone to school and fire districts in one area of the county. Committee members said delayed sales affect current-year budgets for small districts, capital projects including a library and local fire districts’ and schools’ capital plans.
What commissioners and staff said: Commissioner Trista French and other commissioners present voiced support for sending a letter and asked staff to be specific about local revenue impacts. A county staff member said regional DNR staff are trying to “juggle” harvests to keep revenue flowing but acknowledged that shifting harvests can disadvantage some eastern taxing districts. Commissioners discussed trying the political route first but left open the option of legal remedies if pauses continue.
Details and context: Meeting comments described DNR’s process for preparing timber sales — forest inventory, riparian and habitat studies, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review, Board of Natural Resources approval and public auction — and emphasized that the recent pauses are occurring late in that process for several parcels. Committee members said DNR is substituting future harvest acres to keep some revenue flowing and that the county has already seen an estimated shortfall from seven paused sales. The speaker asserted the county (as trust beneficiary) is entitled to timely revenue under the trust terms; the transcript uses the phrase “trust” repeatedly but does not cite a specific statute.
Next steps: Commissioners signaled support for drafting and sending a county letter to the Commissioner of Public Lands and the Board of Natural Resources and said staff or a commissioner would draft the letter for board approval. A follow-up meeting between Commissioner Johnson and committee representatives was scheduled for later in the week to discuss the paused sales.
Ending note: Committee members and commissioners emphasized the desire to use political channels first and to seek substitute lands only in a way that does not reduce future county receipts.