Title 76, FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS

(1)(a) Counties planning under RCW 36.70A.040 with a population greater than one hundred thousand, and the cities and towns within those counties, where more than a total of twenty-five Class IV forest practices applications, as defined in RCW 76.09.050(1) Class IV (a) through (d…

The board shall establish a policy for a continuing program of orientation and training to be conducted by the department with relation to forest practices and the regulation thereof pursuant to RCW 76.09.010 through 76.09.280. [ 1974 ex.s. c 137 s 25.]

The department shall represent the state's interest in matters pertaining to forestry and forest practices, including federal matters, and may consult with and cooperate with the federal government and other states, as well as other public agencies, in the study and enhancement o…

The department, along with other affected agencies and institutions, shall annually determine the state's needs for research in forest practices and the impact of such practices on public resources and shall recommend needed projects to the governor and the legislature. [ 1974 ex…

Forestland owners shall permit reasonable access requested by appropriate agencies for removal from streambeds abutting their property of log and debris jams accumulated from upstream ownerships. Any owner of logs in such jams in claiming or removing them shall be required to rem…

The department shall inspect, or cause to be inspected, deforested lands of the state and ascertain if the lands are valuable chiefly for agriculture, timber growing, or other purposes, with a view to reforestation. [ 1986 c 100 s 49.]

(1) Mass earth movements and fluvial processes can endanger public resources and public safety. In some cases, action can be taken which has a probability of reducing the danger to public resources and public safety. In other cases it may be best to take no action. In order to de…

The forest practices board may, upon request of the department or at its own discretion, appoint an advisory committee consisting of not more than five members qualified by appropriate experience and training to review and comment upon such draft hazard reduction plans prepared b…

(1) The department shall send a notice to all forestland owners, both public and private, within the geographic area selected for review, stating that the department intends to study the area as part of the hazard-reduction program. (2) The department shall prepare a proposed pla…

(1) When a forestland owner elects to implement the recommended hazard-reduction measures, the landowner shall notify the department and apply for cost-sharing funds. Upon completion, the department shall inspect the remedial measures undertaken by the forestland owner. If, in th…

(1) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the department shall pay fifty percent of the cost of implementing the hazard-reduction program, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section. (2) In the event department funds described in subsection (1) of this sect…

The legislature hereby finds and declares that riparian ecosystems on forestlands in addition to containing valuable timber resources, provide benefits for wildlife, fish, and water quality. The legislature further finds and declares that leaving riparian areas unharvested and le…

Forest practices consistent with a habitat conservation plan approved prior to March 25, 1996, by the secretary of the interior or commerce under 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq., and the endangered species act of 1973 as amended, are exempt from rules and policies under this chapter,…

The legislature recognizes the importance of providing the greatest diversity of habitats, particularly riparian, wetland, and old growth habitats, and of assuring the greatest diversity of species within those habitats for the survival and reproduction of enough individuals to m…

The department together with the department of fish and wildlife, and the department of ecology relating to water quality protection, shall develop a suitable process to permit landowners to secure all permits required for the conduct of forest practices in a single multiyear per…

The legislature intends that small forestland owners have access to alternate plan processes or alternate harvest restrictions, or both if necessary, that meet the public resource protection standard set forth in RCW 76.09.370(3), but which also lowers the overall cost of regulat…

(1) The legislature finds that the process that produced the forests and fish report was instigated by the forest practices board, the report is the product of considerable negotiations between several diverse interest groups, and the report has the support of key federal agencie…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, prior to the sale or transfer of land or perpetual timber rights subject to continuing forestland obligations under the forest practices rules adopted under RCW 76.09.370, as specifically identified in the forests and fish…

The forest and fish support account is hereby created in the state treasury. Receipts from appropriations, the surcharge imposed under RCW 82.04.261, and other sources must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account shall be used for activities pursuant to the s…

(1) The state may not require a small forestland owner to invest in upgrades, replacements, or other engineering of a forest road, and any fish passage barriers that are a part of the road, that do not threaten public resources or create a barrier to the passage of fish. (2) Part…

(1) The board must amend the forest practices rules relating to road maintenance and abandonment plans that exist on May 14, 2003, to reflect the following: (a) A forestland owner who owns a total of eighty acres or less of forestland in Washington is not required to submit a roa…

RCW 76.13.150 applies to road maintenance and abandonment plans under this chapter. [ 2003 c 311 s 8.] Notes: Findings—Effective date—2003 c 311: See notes following RCW 76.09.020.

The department shall not disapprove a forest practices application filed by a small forestland owner on the basis that fish passage barriers have not been removed or replaced if the small forestland owner filing the application has committed to participate in the program establis…

For the purposes of this chapter and RCW 76.13.150 and 77.12.755, "small forestland owner" means an owner of forestland who, at the time of submission of required documentation to the department, has harvested from his or her own lands in this state no more than an average timber…

If a county, city, town, or regional governmental entity receives a notice of conversion to nonforestry use by the department under RCW 76.09.060, then the county, city, town, or regional governmental entity must deny all applications for permits or approvals, including building …

(1) If a landowner who did not state an intent to convert his or her land to a nonforestry use decides to convert his or her land to a nonforestry use within six years of receiving an approved forest practices application or notification under this chapter, the landowner must: (a…

The department and, when appropriate, the small forestland owner office established in RCW 76.13.110 must assist in identifying potential projects that can be used for the mitigation of infrastructure and noninfrastructure development, as those terms are defined in RCW 90.74.010,…

(1) The department may request information and technical assistance from the department of fish and wildlife regarding any forest practices hydraulic project regulated under this chapter. (2) A concurrence review process is established for certain forest practices hydraulic proje…

(1) The legislature finds that the federal government has established programs under the endangered species act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1539(a)(1)(A), that seek to provide regulatory incentives for private and other nonfederal property owners to recruit, enhance, or maintain habitats for…

Sections 1 through 28 of this 1974 act shall be known and may be cited as the "Forest Practices Act of 1974". [ 1974 ex.s. c 137 s 29.]

Nothing in RCW 76.09.010 through 76.09.280 or 90.48.420 shall modify chapter 70A.15 RCW or any other provision of law relating to the control of air pollution. [ 2021 c 65 s 80; 1974 ex.s. c 137 s 31.] Notes: Explanatory statement—2021 c 65: See note following RCW 53.54.030.

Nothing in RCW 76.09.010 through 76.09.280 as now or hereafter amended shall modify any requirements to comply with the Shoreline Management Act of 1971 except as limited by RCW 76.09.240 as now or hereafter amended, or the hydraulics act (*RCW 77.55.100), other state statutes in…

(1) The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed: (a) Section 2, chapter 193, Laws of 1945, section 1, chapter 218, Laws of 1947, section 1, chapter 44, Laws of 1953, section 1, chapter 79, Laws of 1957, section 10, chapter 207, Laws of 1971 ex. sess. and RCW 76.08.010; …

Permits issued by the department under the provisions of RCW 76.08.030 during 1974 shall be effective until April 1, 1975 if an application has been submitted under the provisions of RCW 76.09.050 prior to January 1, 1975. [ 1974 ex.s. c 137 s 35.]

RCW 76.09.030, 76.09.040, 76.09.050, 76.09.060, 76.09.200, 90.48.420, and 76.09.935 are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately. RC…

If any provision of this 1974 act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. [ 1974 ex.s. c 137 s 36.]

The legislature hereby finds and declares that: (1) Over half of the private forest and woodland acreage in Washington is owned by landowners with less than five thousand acres who are not in the business of industrial handling or processing of timber products. (2) Nonindustrial …

The purpose of this chapter is to: (1) Promote the coordination and delivery of services with federal, state, and local agencies, colleges and universities, landowner assistance organizations, consultants, forest resource-related industries and environmental organizations to noni…

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply to RCW 76.13.005, 76.13.007, 76.13.020, and 76.13.030. (1) "Cooperating organization" means federal, state, and local agencies, colleges and universities, landowner assistance organizations, cons…

In order to accomplish the purposes stated in RCW 76.13.007, the department may: (1) Establish and maintain a nonindustrial forest and woodland owner assistance program, and through such a program, assist nonindustrial forest and woodland owners in meeting their stewardship objec…

The department may: (1) Receive and disburse any and all moneys contributed, allotted, or paid by the United States under authority of any act of congress for the purposes of this chapter. (2) Receive such gifts, grants, bequests, and endowments and donations of moneys, labor, ma…

(1) The legislature finds that increasing regulatory requirements continue to diminish the economic viability of small forestland owners. The concerns set forth in RCW 77.85.180 about the importance of sustaining forestry as a viable land use are particularly applicable to small …

(1) The department of natural resources shall establish and maintain a small forestland owner office. The small forestland owner office shall be a resource and focal point for small forestland owner concerns and policies, and shall have significant expertise regarding the managem…

(1) The legislature finds that the state should acquire easements primarily along riparian and other sensitive aquatic areas from qualifying small forestland owners willing to sell or donate easements to the state provided that the state will not be required to acquire the easeme…

On parcels of twenty contiguous acres or less, landowners with a total parcel ownership of less than eighty acres shall not be required to leave riparian buffers adjacent to streams according to forest practices rules adopted under the forests and fish report as defined in RCW 76…

In order to assist small forestland owners to remain economically viable, the legislature intends that the qualifying small forestland owners be able to net 90 percent of the value of the trees left in the buffer areas. The small forestland owner office may utilize landowners' ac…