A first look at timber harvests across Whatcom County: where they are, when they
were approved, and how the process works. From Washington's public records, in plain language.
Each colored shape is an area approved for harvest.
Tap a shape for details and a link to DNR's record.
How a harvest works
Filing. A landowner, or a forester working for them, files a Forest Practices
Application with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). It describes the
area, the harvest method, any new roads, and how streams and steep slopes will be protected.
Review. DNR reviews it. For the permits on this map, approval came about
a month after filing (the typical time). Lower-impact work is a simple notification;
sites with sensitive slopes or habitat get extra environmental review.
The permit window. An approval usually lasts three years.
Cutting can happen any time in that window: all at once, in stages, or sometimes not at all. So a
shape on this map means approved, not necessarily cut yet.
After the harvest. Washington's forest practices rules generally require the
land to be replanted after a harvest.
Regrowth. Forests here grow fast. Many working forests are harvested again
after several decades.
Types of harvest
Even-aged (clearcut-style)
Most trees in the area are removed at once, then the land is replanted. The most common type here.
Uneven-aged (selective)
Selected trees are removed and the forest canopy stays.
Salvage
Removing trees that are dead or damaged, for example by wind, fire or disease.
Road right-of-way
Clearing for a forest road, usually alongside another harvest.
Who owns the land
Types of owner
Washington sorts private forest owners by how much timber they harvest, not
by how much land they own. The line is set in state law (RCW 76.09.450): 2 million board feet a
year. (A board foot is a piece of wood one foot square and one inch thick.)
Small forest owners
Owners who harvested no more than an average of 2 million board feet a year over the
previous three years, and who expect to stay under that average for the next ten. This
is the state's "small forest landowner" category, recorded on each application. It's about
harvest, not land or business size: some are sizable local companies, but most are families and
local owners, often our neighbors. That's why this page doesn't name them. Each harvest on the
map links to DNR's own record, which does.
Large forest owners
Private owners above that line: more than 2 million board feet a year on
average. Mostly timber companies. (The state has no single name for this group; "large forest
owners" is this site's.) The largest here: ….
State land (DNR)
Forest land managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), mostly
state trust land, where timber sales help fund public schools, universities and counties.
Owner not listed
DNR's data has no landowner recorded for these applications.
Largest named owners
Harvest areas, not whole properties. A landowner owns the land;
the timber owner owns the trees (often the same company); the operator does the cutting.
Would you use this?
This is an early first version. If it's useful, or you'd like it to show more about the land
around you (history, rivers and watersheds, trails, protected land), leave your email.