Clallam County and Department of Natural Resources officials told the Crescent Community Advisory Council on Sept. 3 that most timber sales paused earlier by the state have been released and that the state Commissioner of Public Lands is proposing to conserve another roughly 77,000 acres of forestland. County staff said some sales remain on hold while legal and legislative processes play out.

The county will consider a draft letter to the Commissioner of Public Lands and discussed asking junior taxing districts and the County Revenue Advisory Committee to weigh in, county staff said. “We actually will be considering at least a draft of a response letter,” a county staff member said during the DNR update.

Why it matters: timber sales on DNR-managed lands generate revenue distributed to counties and junior taxing districts for services such as fire protection and schools. Local officials said delays in sales this year have tightened budgets for taxing districts that had counted timber revenue in current budgets.

County staff described the current state of play: the Commissioner of Public Lands has moved to release most paused sales after environmental review steps including SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) and forest-practices review, but two or three sales in the Elwha area remain held because of an injunction and a legislative study request. County staff said some sales will be reintroduced slowly and that revenue from resumed sales is expected next year, not this year.

County commissioners and staff discussed whether the county should formally oppose additional set‑asides on county trust lands, noting legal limits on county authority. One county official reminded the group that “the specific mandate for those county trust lands is revenue for governments, for junior taxing districts,” and said litigation is an available option but not one they wanted to lead with.

Officials also said the county is working with DNR on non‑timber matters, including planning for conversion of road-building associated with some harvests into trail segments for the Olympic Discovery Trail. “If they build roads that can be then converted into trails permanently, that’s something that’s a really positive thing for our community,” a county staff member said.

Next steps: County staff said the Board of County Commissioners will discuss a draft response letter at an upcoming work session and that the county’s Revenue Advisory Committee (which represents junior taxing districts) has already sent a letter with suggested actions. No formal county vote or regulatory change was reported at the Sept. 3 meeting.

(Reporting note: the council discussion included county staff remarks and references to the Commissioner of Public Lands, the Board of Natural Resources and SEPA. The article does not assert outcomes beyond those described by county staff.)