The DNR's Peninsula 2 Land Exchange threatens lowland legacy forest
- Legacy Forest Defense Coalition
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
The DNR's Peninsula 2 Land Exchange threatens to transfer the last remaining lowland legacy forest in the Pysht River Watershed to a timber company
Towering Sitka spruce in Pysht River legacy forest, Photo by Scott McGee / Forest 2 Sea Photography. See more.
On September 1, the Washington State Board of Natural Resources is scheduled to vote on the proposed Peninsula 2 Land Exchange. Under this proposal, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would exchange 2,105.78 acres of publicly owned DNR trust lands with Merrill & Ring for up to 2,293.3 acres of Merrill & Ring-owned property. Merrill & Ring is a major industrial landowner in Clallam County with approximately 70,000 acres under their ownership, primarily concentrated around the Pysht River.
The goal of the land exchange is to create larger, more contiguous blocks of DNR ownership, simplifying land management. However, the proposal has generated significant concern among communities in Clallam County, who could lose access to important public lands in the Pysht River watershed.
Pysht River Parcel and industrial land owners. See our industrial timberlands maps.
Most notably, the exchange would transfer a 552.8-acre parcel (Clallam County Parcel Number 113116220000) just off Highway 112 along the Pysht River to Merrill & Ring. This parcel, which was originally transferred to the common school trust at statehood, is one of the few remaining areas of public land in the watershed and contains the watershed's last remaining low-elevation legacy forest.
Within this parcel is a remarkable 60-acre stand of towering Sitka spruce, which was identified for conservation as part of Commissioner Upthegrove's 2025 commissioner's order. The forest resembles the nearby Doc Holiday legacy forest, a massively controversial timber sale that targeted some of the best remaining legacy forests on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula.
Now, DNR is proposing to transfer this grove to a private logging company as part of the land exchange. Once this legacy forest is transferred, the promised protections will disappear, and it will be clear-cut with bare-minimum logging practices, fewer leave trees, and smaller stream-side buffers.
Towering Sitka spruce trees in Pysht River legacy forest, Photo by Scott McGee / Forest 2 Sea Photography
On July 13, DNR held a public hearing on the proposed land exchange at the Port Angeles Library. Every member of the public who testified expressed concern about transferring the Pysht River parcel to Merrill & Ring, highlighting the strong community interest in keeping this parcel in public ownership.
Luckily, the DNR is not required to complete this land exchange as currently configured. The agency has options, and we are calling on the Board of Natural Resources to direct the agency to remove parcel 113116220000 from this land exchange.
The DNR currently has approximately $26 million available from the Trust Land Transfer and Natural Climate Solutions programs to acquire replacement trust lands. The DNR could utilize these funds to remove the Pysht River parcel from this proposed exchange and compensate Merrill & Ring by adding a cash component to the land exchange. Doing so would preserve public access in the Pysht River and help ensure the Pysht River legacy forest remains protected from clearcutting, while allowing DNR to continue future timber harvests on the other 500 acres of this property.
The Board of Natural Resources needs to hear from YOU.
Please write a personalized letter to the Board of Natural Resources (BNR) requesting that Clallam County Parcel Number 113116220000 be removed from the Peninsula 2 Land Exchange to preserve public access to the Pysht River watershed and to protect the structurally complex forest on this parcel. Please request that a cash component be added to the transaction so the property can remain in public ownership while allowing DNR to complete the exchange of the remaining parcels.
If you live in Clallam County, please also contact Commissioner Johnson (Randy.Johnson@clallamcountywa.gov), who serves on the Board of Natural Resources, and share your concerns about maintaining public access and conserving this important forestland.
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