More than 20 million acres of Washington — half of the state — is forested, effecting clean air and water and our quality of life. To help forests thrive, the 2020 Washington State Forest Action Plan (Forest Action Plan) provides a comprehensive review of forests across all lands — public, private, rural and urban — and offers solutions to conserve, protect and enhance the trees and forests that people and wildlife depend on.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources publishes an annual, in-depth report highlighting efforts undertaken by DNR and its partners in line with the 23 goals and 159 priority actions established by the Forest Action Plan to guide implementation through June 30, 2025. The most recent report published in February 2024 tracks success stories and important milestones reached since the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and DNR formally adopted the Forest Action Plan on Oct. 26, 2020.
Read the 2023 Forest Action Plan Annual Report below, or download a copy.
The 2020 Washington State Forest Action Plan set new priority actions for the state while incorporating other strategies at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), such as the 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan, the Wildland Fire Protection 10-Year Strategic Plan, and the Plan for Climate Resilience. Congress took action in 2008 to require all states to develop a Forest Action Plan. Washington State first published a Forest Action Plan in 2010. It released a revised version in 2017 prior to adopting the 2020 edition.
Not only do forest action plans set a clear vision for improving forests in each state, they also qualify states for funding from the Forest Service’s state and private forestry programs. During the 2018 fiscal year, these programs provided more than $12.8 million to conserve and protect our state’s forests. In Washington, more than 215,000 small forestland owners collectively manage 6.5 million acres of land. There are 12 million acres of private land under state fire protection, and Washington has 558 rural fire departments. These partners, among others, benefit directly from the Forest Action Plan.
Read the 2020 Washington State Forest Action Plan below or download a copy.
Within the plan, DNR and partners selected priority landscapes in western Washington to focus their forest health and resilience work. Explore the interactive map below to learn more about the watersheds within DNR’s high-priority landscapes for improving forest resilience by clicking on each watershed (you may need to click the circled arrow after selecting a watershed to show more information).
The watersheds layer on the map shows the level of opportunity that exists to improve each forested watershed. Turn layers on and off using the “Layer List” button in the upper right corner, and choose the “Legend” button, also in the upper right corner, to see the legend for each layer. Click the up arrow at the bottom of the map to see the data.