The Washington State Association of Counties is pleased to announce the selection of Clallam County Commissioner Bill Peach to represent Washington State’s forest counties on the Washington State Board of Natural Resources.
Commissioner Peach will replace outgoing Clallam County Commissioner Jim McEntire as the County Representative on the Board of Natural Resources.
Commissioner Peach will serve as the Counties’ representative on the Board of Natural Resources through Dec. 31, 2019, unless he leaves office prior to that.
The 6 member Board of Natural Resources (BNR) is comprised of the following:
·The Governor or designee;
·The Superintendent of Public Instruction;
·The Commissioner of Public Lands;
·The Director of the University of Washington School of Forest Resources;
·The Dean of the Washington State University college of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences; and
·A member of a county legislative authority that represents counties that contain state forest lands acquired or transferred under RCW 79.22.010, 79.22.040, and 79.22.020.
The BNR sets policies to guide how the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages the state’s lands and resources. The board was formed when DNR was created in 1957.
The BNR is a significant group which has policy authority over the State Forest Lands held in trust for counties and taxing districts. Income flowing from these lands is distributed to the counties based on various formulas and results collectively in millions of dollars to support county programs and services.
The BNR has the following responsibilities:
Approve trust land timber sales
Approve sales, exchanges, or purchases of trust lands
Establish the sustainable harvest level for forested trust land
Harbor Line Commission — Establishes or relocates harbor lines to define boundaries for commerce and navigation in the state’s navigable waters.
Board of Appraisers — Carries out the Washington State Constitution’s requirement that no lands granted to the state for educational purposes be sold except to the highest bidder at public action unless improvements have been established by a Board of Appraisers.
Board on Geographic Names — Hears and considers recommendations from the Committee on Geographic Names for naming lakes, mountains, streams, places, towns and other geographic features within the state.
