Former state Rep. details faults in state forest lands

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 8, 2026

PORT ANGELES — A legally binding agreement governing county timber lands is being systematically eroded — potentially costing Clallam County well over $100 million in the years ahead, former state Rep. Jim Buck told the Port Angeles Business Association.

Buck, a Republican from Joyce who represented the 24th Legislative District from 1995-2007, said Tuesday at Jazzy Joshua’s that state forest lands held in trust — also known as county trust lands — were created when counties deeded tax-foreclosed lands to the state to be managed for the benefit of local taxing districts.

Over time, the state drifted from that obligation, he said.

“The state started to treat the land more and more like it was their own,” Buck said.

He pointed to a 2025 administrative order by Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove removing about 77,000 acres of state trust forest land from harvest, including about 9,300 acres in Clallam County — a move he said would reduce revenue to local taxing districts an estimated $168 million over 50 years.

Proposed rule changes expanding buffers on non-fish-bearing streams also could take about 200,000 acres of private timberland out of production, including about 9,000 acres in Clallam County, further reducing revenue, he said.

Buck criticized the idea of replacing timber revenue with state grants, saying it overlooks the broader economic impact of logging, including jobs and local tax revenue, and depends on the state Legislature’s ability and willingness to provide funding.

He also pushed back on claims by the Center for Responsible Forestry, an advocacy group that promotes conserving forests on public lands — among them that state trust forests should be managed for “all people.”

“The forest doesn’t belong to all the people — it belongs to the county,” Buck said.

He said he identified two potential violations of the trust: how land transfers are handled and how timber revenues are distributed and taxed, particularly the deduction of school-related property taxes from trust revenues, which he said should instead be returned to local taxing districts.

Elected officials, he said, have a legal obligation to protect trust assets for Clallam County’s local taxing districts: schools, fire and hospital districts, the port, the library, and county parks and roads.

Even so, enforcement has been limited, Buck said.

“The problem that we’ve had is no one’s had the guts to sue them over it yet,” he said.

Buck said he is working to build support among other counties facing similar challenges with their trust lands, and he urged residents to contact state lawmakers, talk to their neighbors and share information about the issue.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.