Washington to conserve 77,000 acres of forests

Washington State Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove signed a commissioner’s order Tuesday that will conserve 77,000 acres of state forests.

The 77,000 protected acres include more than 10,000 acres of older forests, therefore conserving all remaining older forests in Washington, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

DNR teams initially identified 106,000 acres of “structurally complex” and older forests. They then used the data to focus on 77,000 acres.

“DNR identified 77,000 of the best acres for ecological health, habitat connectivity, and diversity of stand types across the landscape to conserve,” the news release stated.

Although Upthegrove previously paused logging sales in older forests, 29,000 acres of the newly conserve