PACKET: BoCC Special Meeting - Beaver Valley Sorts Timber Sale at Tue, May 31, 09:00 AM

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Beaver Valley Sorts Timber Sale and DNR Carbon Project

Topic Summary

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners (BCC) held a continued workshop to discuss the Beaver Valley Sorts (BV Sorts) Timber Sale and the possibility of requesting inclusion in Phase II of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Carbon Project. The BCC had previously requested deferral of the BV Sorts sale, which the Board of Natural Resources (BNR) granted, postponing the auction until July 2022. The Commissioners discussed the potential for reconveyance of State Forest Transfer (SFT) lands containing older forests and ultimately approved sending a letter to the BNR supporting forest conservation and requesting inclusion in the DNR Carbon Project Phase II.

Key Points

  • The BCC previously sent a letter on April 4, 2022, asking the BNR to defer the Beaver Valley Sorts Timber Sale, which was deferred to the July 2022 auction.
  • BV Sorts is a three-unit, 66-acre timber sale located in District 3, generally southwest of Teal Lake in Port Ludlow.
  • All 66 acres of the BV Sorts sale are State Forest Transfer (SFT) trust lands and are categorized as 76+ Years old age class, according to DNR's "Harvest Unit Adjacency map."
  • Reconveyance is noted as an option for these SFT trust lands.
  • There are nearly 15,000 acres of SFT trust lands in Jefferson County, with estimated 1,400 acres characterized as older forests.
  • The Commissioners considered the possibility of having older forests in East Jefferson County included in Phase II of DNR’s Carbon Project.
  • The Pennywise Timber Sale was also mentioned by interested residents as deserving a "second look," and the Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Philip Hunsucker, advised that the Commissioners could decide to include Pennywise in the final letter because it was mentioned in the Agenda Request, providing sufficient public knowledge.
  • The final letter (approved by a 2-1 vote) advocates for the inclusion of older forests in East Jefferson County in Phase II of the DNR Carbon Project and generally supports forest conservation, requesting the continuation of the review and update of the Older Forests policy (Policy on General Silvicultural Strategy and Policy of Sustainable Forests).
  • The Commissioners recognize that the DNR has tools like the Trust Land Transfer program (TLT) and the selling or leasing of carbon credits for land management innovation.
  • Commissioner Eisenhour has conducted initial outreach to DNR staff, junior taxing districts (JTDs), and interested residents regarding the implications of the sale, reconveyance, and revenue generation options.
  • The letter indicates support for current work with DNR on three TLT lease projects in partnership with Jefferson Land Trust in the Quimper Wildlife Corridor and on the Toandos Peninsula, the TLT work group, and the boundary expansion of the Dabob Bay Natural Area.

Financials

  • The Agenda Request states the Fiscal Impact is "TBD" (To Be Determined).
  • The discussion includes studying the implications of the Beaver Valley Sorts sale on junior taxing districts (JTDs) and potential options for generating revenue from SFT lands, such as selling carbon credits.

Alternatives

  • The primary alternative discussed for SFT lands is requesting reconveyance of some lands containing older forests, as compared to the current harvest plan.
  • Exploring the carbon market as a viable pathway for generating revenue instead of timber harvest was analyzed.

Community Input

  • Interested Jefferson County residents contacted the Commissioners about additional forests/timber sales deserving a second look, specifically mentioning the Pennywise TS.
  • JTDs that would be impacted by changes to the Pennywise timber sale provided input on May 23rd.
  • The agenda included an extensive public comment period at the beginning of the meeting (14 identified comments between 09:05:19 AM and 09:46:15 AM) and a second public comment period later in the discussion (9 identified comments between 11:51:22 AM to 12:09:03 PM).
  • No specific content of the public comments is included in the source document.

Timeline

  • April 4, 2022: Jefferson County Commissioners sent a letter to BNR asking them to defer the Beaver Valley Sorts Timber Sale.
  • April 5, 2022: BNR deferred the auction of BV Sorts to the July 2022 auction.
  • April 6, 2022: DNR Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz announced the first-in-the-nation Carbon Project.
  • May 16, 2022: Commissioners reviewed information on the fiscal impact of BV Sorts, options like reconveyance, and viability of the carbon market.
  • May 23, 2022: Commissioners heard from JTDs and diverse stakeholders and reviewed a drafted letter but decided to defer sending it.
  • May 31, 2022: Special Meeting held; the Board voted to approve the redrafted letter.
  • July 2022: BV Sorts auction is currently scheduled.
  • 2020: Boundary expansion of the Dabob Bay Natural Area was first proposed by a coalition of shellfish growers, Tribes, and conservation groups.

Next Steps

  1. The Board approved a motion (2-1 vote) to approve the final letter, as presented, to be signed by the Chair.
  2. The letter is to be sent to the Board of Natural Resources.
  3. A copy ("cc") of the letter is to be sent to the State Legislative Delegation.

Sources

  • Mark McCauley - County Administrator
  • Heidi Eisenhour - Commissioner / Chair
  • Philip Hunsucker - Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
  • Hilary Franz - DNR Public Lands Commissioner
  • Board of Natural Resources (BNR)
  • Olympic Region (DNR)

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