The state is doing a good job of managing its forest lands in Eastern Washington and has earned a "green" certification from a national group, Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland says.
State forest lands in Western Washington were certified as green last year, and were recertified this year, said Sutherland, who runs the Department of Natural Resources.
"This affirms the careful, sustainable management practices that DNR uses for all forested state trust lands in Washington," Sutherland said Wednesday.
Money generated by the 2.1 million acres of trust lands is used to build schools and other facilities in the state.
But Shawn Cantrell of Seattle Audubon said certification by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program is nothing to brag about.
"We feel very strongly that SFI certification is a very hollow statement," Cantrell said.
The group, promoted by the forest products industry, has low standards and even those are not independently verified, he said.
A rival group, the Forest Stewardship Council, provides a stronger certification, he said.
There is plenty of room for improvement in state management of forests, to provide both jobs, school revenues and environmental protection, he said.
"We are still not harvesting in a sustainable way," Cantrell contended.
The state announced the certification at a Wednesday news conference in Spokane.
Sutherland said DNR forest practices often exceed SFI standards, and balanced maintaining healthy forest ecosystems with generating trust revenue, supporting local communities and other public benefits.
The certification means increased revenues for all the trusts, said Ted Anderson, Skagit County commissioner and Board of Natural Resources member.
"It also insures vibrant forests that will continue to produce revenue, while at the same time, protect water quality, conserve wildlife and provide biological diversity for future generations," he said.
The certification highlighted department actions in the Klickitat area to protect northern spotted owl habitat and deal with forest-health issues.
After visiting two cultural sites that have been protected from logging, the auditors said DNR "protects all cultural sites associated with the local history and culture of the communities in the regions."
More than 150 million acres of U.S. forests are third-party-certified under the SFI, making it the dominant certification standard in the nation.
The DNR manages about 3 million acres of state-owned trust forest, agricultural and range lands and commercial properties that earn income to build schools, universities and other state institutions, and to help fund local services in many counties.Seattle Post-Intelligencer
