The Washington State Board of Natural Resources approved a priority list of six parcels for legislative funding to conserve via the Trust Land Transfer program during its meeting Tuesday, a news release from the board stated.
The Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will submit the prioritized list of properties as part of agency funding requests for the next legislative session. The lands are proposed to be transferred to the Yakama Nation and public agencies, including DNR’s Natural Areas Program and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Legislature must fund the transfers before they can be completed.
The $30 million request, the highest allowed by state law, would fully fund five of the applications and provide partial funding toward the sixth-ranked proposal, the Tract C proposal to the Yakama Nation.
“Trust Land Transfer is a vital tool to respond to community needs and conserve important lands while keeping our schools and counties whole,” Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said in the release. “I am especially proud that these proposals would make a meaningful impact across our state, including transferring land back to the Yakama Nation, protecting a popular community space in Spokane, and adding to a natural area in Jefferson County.”
An 11-member volunteer advisory committee ranked the applications based on five weighted criteria – community involvement and support, ecological values, economic values, public benefits and tribal support – adopted with the help of beneficiaries, tribes, industry and conservation groups. The department considered their recommendations before presenting the final proposal to the board.
The six parcels are located in: Elger Bay, Island County; Dabob Bay A, Jefferson County; Babcock Bench, Grant County; Toutle Ridge Fen, Cowlitz County; Thorpe, Spokane County; and Tract C, Yakima County.
DNR generates more than $250 million each year through the management of trust lands, which are required to generate revenue to support schools, colleges and critical local services across Washington state, the release stated.
The Trust Land Transfer tool is designed to transfer trust lands that produce no or minimal revenue but do provide important ecological values or public benefits. If funded by the Legislature, DNR will transfer these lands to public agencies for conservation or recreation purposes and then replace them with lands better suited to generate money to support school construction and local governments.
The program has existed since 1989 and has conserved more than 130,000 acres of Common School Trust lands that support K-12 school construction statewide. Since 2024, the program has been available for all types of DNR-managed trust lands.
Maps and more information on each proposed Trust Land Transfer parcel are available on the Board of Natural Resources webpage at https://tinyurl.com/mvyaxe7h.
