Forest Landowners Appeal Np Buffer Rule

State's own record shows limited fish benefits, real impacts to working forests

OLYMPIA, Wash., Aug. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) and Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA) will appeal a Thurston County Superior Court decision upholding the state's expanded buffer rule for non-fish bearing (Np) streams.

The appeal will ask whether forest-practices rules can be changed without first showing that existing protections are failing to protect fish and water quality.

WFPA and WFFA said the state's own record shows expected downstream benefits to fish are negligible to minor, and Ecology acknowledged the expanded rule may still allow temperature changes in non-fish streams.

"This is not a conservation win if the state's own record shows limited fish benefits, and immense harm to working forests and rural communities," said Jason Spadaro, Executive Director of the Washington Forest Protection Association.

For more than two decades, forest landowners have implemented the Forests & Fish Agreement on the ground - protecting streams, upgrading roads, fixing fish barriers and setting aside productive forestland. WFPA and WFFA said the ruling creates new uncertainty for working forests, small forest landowners, rural communities, counties and mills that depend on a stable timber supply.

The impacts are immediate and practical: reduced harvestable acreage, stranded timber, increased road and planning costs, lower land value and new pressure on families and businesses that depend on forestry.

"For small forest landowners, this rule is not just a line on a map," said Elaine Oneil, Executive Director of the Washington Farm Forestry Association. "Many families have spent decades growing trees as a retirement investment, safety net, or legacy for the next generation. If a rule strands harvestable timber or makes a parcel uneconomical to manage, that harm cannot be fixed later. The appeal gives courts a chance to review the rule before families are forced to make irreversible decisions."

Sixteen public and rural community institutions - including counties, ports, school districts, fire and emergency service districts, and local business organizations - supported WFPA and WFFA's challenge through a joint amicus brief. Their participation underscored that the rule's impacts extend beyond forest landowners to schools, roads, emergency services, ports, local jobs, local tax revenues and working-forest communities.

The American Forest Resource Council filed separately to underscore the supply-chain risk: Washington forest-products manufacturers rely on private forests for roughly 73 percent of their timber, and further reductions would ripple through mills, workers, local businesses and timber-dependent rural communities, and increase fire risk as these no-touch buffers accumulate wildfire fuel.

In 1999, Washington created something truly unique: the Forests & Fish Agreement. Landowners, tribes, agencies, counties, and environmental organizations came to the table and built a balanced, science-based framework covering 9 million acres of forestland and 60,000 miles of streams. It became the national standard - the first program to satisfy both the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act while keeping forestry economically viable so working lands stayed working.

Landowners have held up their commitment. They reserved 764,000 acres of productive forestland at a cost of more than $2.3 billion and fixed thousands of culverts to open 6,500 miles of fish habitat. In return, the Forests & Fish framework promised regulatory stability, with future rule changes guided by science and tied to resource objectives.

The court has ruled, but the policy question remains: how does Washington protect aquatic habitat and clean water while keeping the Forests & Fish grounded in science and keeping working forests working? Protecting aquatic habitat, clean water, and working forests were never intended to be competing goals. Washington's landmark agreement was built to achieve all of them. WFPA and WFFA will continue working to defend that balance on appeal.

About the Washington Forest Protection Association

The Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) represents private forest landowners growing and harvesting trees on about 4 million acres in Washington State. Members of the 117-year-old association are large and small companies, individuals, and families who practice sustainable forestry in Washington's private forests. For more information, go to www.wfpa.org.

About the Washington Farm Forestry Association

Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA) is an organization of, and for, forest landowners in Washington State. Members own from a few acres to a few thousand acres and manage them for timber, other forest products, wildlife, fish, recreation, and aesthetics. Forestry professionals and interested individuals who do not own forestland are welcome to join as associate members. For more information, go to www.wafarmforestry.com.

SOURCE Washington Forest Protection Association