The biggest contrasts in Washington's lands commissioner race
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Democrat Dave Upthegrove (left) and Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals; Photos: Courtesy of campaigns
How to best prevent wildfires and how much forest area should be protected from logging have become flashpoints in the race for Washington state's commissioner of public lands.
Why it matters: The lands commissioner manages nearly 6 million acres and leads the state's wildland firefighting agency — a role that has come under more scrutiny in recent years as wildfires have increasingly blanketed the state in smoke.
Zoom in: Dave Upthegrove, a Democrat, is chair of the King County Council and previously served 12 years in the state Legislature.
- Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler spent 12 years representing Southwest Washington in Congress and before that, served four years in the state Legislature.
- Upthegrove is endorsed by environmental groups and the state labor council, while Herrera Beutler is endorsed by the Washington Farm Bureau and Association of Washington Business.
Here are some of the candidates' biggest areas of disagreement.
Protecting legacy forest lands
Upthegrove has pledged to sign a policy limiting logging in up to 77,000 acres of the state's more mature forests.
- He says these forests "hold an outsized value for helping us battle climate change," given how much carbon from the atmosphere they can trap and store.
- Those forests are among more than 2 million acres of state-owned trust lands that can be harvested for timber sales, generating revenue that goes toward public schools and local governments.
Herrera Beutler has been highly critical of Upthegrove's proposal, saying it would lead to thousands of lost jobs, both in the paper industry and other sectors.
- "Once this workforce is gone, you can't just flip a switch and get it back," she said in a debate last month.
- Herrera Beutler also said Upthegrove's plan would eliminate valuable timber revenue for schools, by reducing the amount of state trust lands open for logging.
- Upthegrove says the state has plenty of younger forests available for logging right now, and can acquire more land later, if needed, to maintain that revenue stream.
Wildfire fighting and prevention
In last month's debate, the candidates agreed on the need to thin and manage the state's forests to help prevent wildfires.
Yes, but: Herrera Beutler argues that Upthegrove's plan to earmark more forest acres for protection would lead to those forests being overgrown and poorly managed, making them more prone to burning.
- She's proposing to keep the amount of state land open for timber harvests unchanged, while increasing forest health and restoration efforts.
- Upthegrove contends that Herrera Beutler's approach would end up removing older, larger trees that are thought to burn more slowly, in effect worsening the state's wildfire problem.
Cap-and-trade initiative
- Upthegrove opposes Initiative 2117, which would repeal Washington's cap-and-trade law. He says the carbon-pricing law should remain in place.
- Herrera Beutler plans to vote yes on I-2117 and criticized Upthegrove for supporting cap-and-trade.
- In an emailed statement to Axios, Herrera Beutler said Upthegrove "wants to lock up our forests through markets that don't actually sequester carbon over the long term but cost Washingtonians."
What's next: Ballots will be mailed to registered voters around the state by Oct. 18.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include how Jaime Herrera Beutler plans to vote on I-2117.