Student suing state
Lands Commissioner:
Last-minute Belcher 'legacy' could cost state
millions
FORKS ,WA- Lame duck Lands Commissioner
Jennifer Belcher isn't following
accepted policies when it comes to calculating how much
timber can be
harvested on state trust lands - and her actions could cost
literally
hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 10 years. A lawsuit filed today in the name of a young student, her
parents and a
small Olympic Peninsula school district levels those charges
against
outgoing commissioner Belcher and the state Department of
Natural Resources.
The student, Anastasia Elizabeth Fleck, is a kindergartner
in Forks.
Joining the youngster in the lawsuit is the Mary M. Knight
School District,
which serves the community of Matlock and surrounding areas
in rural Mason
and Grays Harbor counties.
"What Jennifer Belcher is doing could cost this state's
schools and
taxpayers tens of millions of dollars," said Rod Fleck,
father of Anastasia
and a Forks attorney. "It could also mean thousands of
jobs lost each year
in rural Washington."
"In Belcher's last few weeks in office, she wants to
reduce how much timber
can be harvested on state trust lands over the next 10
years. This is a
huge public policy decision that is being done as she leaves
office. She
hasn't followed procedures adopted by the Board of Natural
Resources. She
has not done this in a scientifically reasonable manner; and
she certainly
isn't seeking the public's input in this process."
"In other words, Jennifer Belcher is breaching her
responsibility to support
our schools through her mismanagement of state trust
lands."
Fleck continued, "That isn't right. Our family
agreed to be part of this
lawsuit because we live in a small community whose schools
have benefited
greatly from money generated by state trust lands.
We're very concerned
that Belcher's actions will significantly reduce an
important source of
funding used to build schools in this state."
The lawsuit, filed in Thurston County Superior Court,
contends that in
Belcher's final days she is seeking to reduce the timber
harvest level on
state trust lands. The harvest level is set by a
sustained yield
calculation. The calculation is based on a variety of
factors, including
forest practice regulations, Habitat Conservation Plans and
environmental
protection standards.
The lawsuit asks that:
Belcher and the Department of Natural Resources perform a
sustainable yield
calculation in full accord with adopted Board of Natural
Resources policies
and not based on interpretations of those policies by the
lands
commissioner;
The court declare that Belcher's current calculations of the
sustained
harvest level are not reasonable and breach DNR's trust
responsibilities;
The court rule that failure to harvest state trust lands at
or near the
sustainable harvest level is a breach of trust duties; and,
Belcher correct a shortfall in timber sales from state trust
lands during
the past three years.
The last time the sustained yield was recalculated was 1996,
when DNR
entered into a statewide Habit Conservation Plan.
Generally, DNR
recalculates the sustained yield every decade following
revisions to
policies and plans approved by the Board of Natural
Resources. Belcher, who
leaves office on January 15, is seeking a last-minute,
mid-course revision
that does not include a proper baseline analysis of timber
on state trust
lands or key practices that might constrain harvesting,
according to the
lawsuit.
"The sustained yield calculation is conceptually
simple, but technically
rigorous and complex," said Jim Johnston, the attorney
who filed the action.
"Diverging from the
proper process creates a calculation with very little
scientific credibility
or usefulness. That's what we have going on in the
lands commissioner's
final days."
And the cost to the state could be staggering.
State trust lands produce $200 million to $400 million per
year, some of
which is used to fund the DNR's management of those same
trust lands. Based
on preliminary reviews of Belcher's sustained yield
calculation, that figure
could drop to as low as $70 million. At a time
when the state's next
budget could be as much as $1.2 billion over voter-mandated
spending caps,
there is likely to be no surplus to replace revenue lost by
reduced trust
lands sales.
"My daughter's schools were built with timber money
from state trust lands,"
Fleck said. "If Belcher isn't challenged, we
could end up with results that
harm our public schools, our colleges and universities,
taxpayers, people
who buy and manufacture the timber sold from state lands and
even DNR
itself.
"Wouldn't it be simpler if she simply left the
recalculation of the
sustained yield figure to the next lands commissioner,
working with the
Board of Natural Resources, who ought to have the time to
run an open,
public process that is truly based on science?"
For additional information, please contact:
Rod Fleck
360/374-9234 (h)
360/640-0524 (cell)
or Jim Johnston 1 (206) 583-8626
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