Forest Commission launches online survey to gauge needs of King County forestland owners

The King County Rural Forest Commission wants to hear from forestland owners as it develops a plan to support landowners in conserving and enhancing forests.

The commission has launched an online survey to gather input from forestland owners on what types of services would be beneficial to them. The survey will available on the Rural Forest Commission Web site through Feb. 28.

Forests provide a host of public benefits, such as recharging groundwater and slowly releasing stormwater, as well as providing habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife species. These benefits are reduced or eliminated as forests are converted by development to other uses, or is degraded by poor stewardship practices.

The county currently provides services such as property tax reductions, low cost forestry training and on site forestry technical assistance to the owners of small forest acreages.

The services are designed to encourage landowners to take steps to keep their trees healthy and to retain their property in forest rather than converting to residential or commercial land use.

The Rural Forest Commission is comprised of private citizens representing various forest-related interests in King County and advises government about programs and policies that affect rural forestlands.

More information is available by contacting Linda Vane, liaison for the Rural Forest Commission, at 206-296-8042; or linda.vane@kingcounty.gov.

Related Information

Rural Forest Commission Survey

Rural Forest Commission

King County Water and Land Resources