HB 1546 — Concerning the proposed department of natural resources' marbled murrelet long-term conservation strategy.

H-1708.3SUBSTITUTEH-0860.1HOUSE HOUSE BILL 1546State of Washington66th Legislature2019 Regular SessionByHouseSessionByRepresentatives RuralBlake, Development,Walsh, Agriculture,Chapman, &Kretz, NaturalOrcutt, ResourcesShewmake, (originallyand sponsoredTharingerRead byfirst Representativestime Blake,01/24/19.Referred Walsh,to Chapman,Committee Kretz,on Orcutt,Rural Shewmake,Development, andAgriculture, Tharinger)READ& FIRSTNatural TIMEResources.AN 02/22/19.AN ACT Relating to the proposed department of natural resources' marbled murrelet long-term conservation strategy;

(1) The departmentjoint oflegislative naturalaudit resourcesand review committee must analyze the harvest volume and revenue impacts of the department of natural resources' preferred alternative, alternative H, for the long-term conservation strategy to all department of natural resources' trust beneficiaries, including local governments and junior taxing districts.

and(d) Acres deferred by age class.(4) The departmentjoint oflegislative naturaland resourcesaudit review committee must consult with representatives of trust beneficiaries to seek input and guidance on the method of analysis, type of data, and sources of data needed for the analysis.NEWanalysis.(5) The joint legislative and audit review committee must compile the results of the analysis by December 31, 2019.NEW SECTION.  Sec.

A new section is added to chapter 43.30 RCW to read as follows:(1) The board may not adopt a marbled murrelet long-term conservation strategy until the analysis required under section 2 of this act has been finalized and:(a)and Mademade available for public reviewreview.(2) andLands commentidentified for atpotential leastset-aside thirtyfrom days,timber includingmanagement aunder publicthe hearingmarbled murrelet long-term conservation strategy alternatives F and G that are not included within alternatives A, B, C, D, E, or H are not subject to receiveany inputlimitation on action pursuant to WAC 197-11-070 or a successor rule prior to adoption of a final marbled murrelet long-term conservation strategy by the analysis;board.--- END ---

and(b) Transmitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature along with a summary of the comments received under (a) of this subsection.(2) Lands identified for potential set-aside from timber management under the marbled murrelet long-term conservation strategy alternatives that are not included within the department's preferred alternative are not subject to any limitation on management activities relating to marbled murrelet conservation following the issuance of a final environmental impact statement by the department.(3) The legislature recognizes that forested stands that are set aside for marbled murrelet conservation can benefit from active management to enhance the development of murrelet habitat.

Accordingly, when evaluating whether lands should be set aside, the department should work with the federal government to preserve, to the maximum extent possible, the department's ability to conduct active forest management on such lands.--- END ---