The 2024 election for Washington Public Lands Commissioner comes down to 80,000 acres, says Republican candidate, Jaime Herrera Beutler, in an interview with KVI host John Carlson.
Herrera Beutler says the purpose of public lands is to generate money for the state which is earmarked for public education and timber is the biggest part, she tells KVI.
To hear the interview, click the play button below.
According to Herrera Beutler, her opponent, Democrat, Dave Upthegrove, wants to conserve 80,000 acres of trust land preventing any logging or forest management to protect salmon habitat.
Upthegrove declined a KVI request for an interview on this election campaign.
Herrera Beutler says schools will lose out on state funding if more trust land in Washington is set aside in conservation.
Herrera Beutler advocates for forest management to keep Western Washington timber healthy, saying “Healthy forests can live through a major fire. But unhealthy forests they go down. So we lose the old growth, we lose the habitat, ya know, we lose all of it. We lose the revenue. So the ‘set aside and walk away’ idea–I’ve seen that from the federal side–that’s what the Feds have done to our national forests…and they are ripe for a forest fire.”
Herrera Beutler and Upthegrove are on the November 5th 2024 election ballot for Washington Commissioner of Public Lands. The current Washington Commissioner of Public Lands is Hillary Franz who is not running for re-election.
