PORT ANGELES — The state Natural Resources Board came to timber country Thursday.
And the panelists heard several pleas from timber interests and recipient agencies for boosting annual harvest levels on state Department of Natural Resources lands to garner more revenue for schools, hospitals and other local services.
“My community supports the 636 million board-feet annual harvest,” said Forks City Attorney Rod Fleck during the board’s meeting at the Port Angeles CrabHouse banquet room.
“It meets our goals better than the 597 million board-feet annual harvest.”
DNR has released an environmental-impact statement for its proposed 10-year sustainable harvest calculation on its trust lands.
The staff report favors the “innovative silvicultural management” alternative that calls for the 597 million board-feet harvest.
The “preferred alternative” liked by Fleck and other North Olympic Peninsula citizens who testified before the board Thursday would result in an annual average harvest of 636 million board-feet.
It’s up to the Natural Resources Board to decide which harvest level to adopt.