SENATE RESOLUTION
8633
By Senators Chapman, Krishnadasan, Saldaña, Shewmake, Valdez, Warnick, J. Wilson, King, MacEwen, Muzzall, Short, Torres, Schoesler, Boehnke, Harris, Lovelett, Wagoner, Fortunato, and Hasegawa
WHEREAS, Washington's forests are an essential part of the state's history, culture, economy, and environment, covering 22 million acres of the state; and
WHEREAS, Forests purify the air we breathe and provide clean water to our communities by absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, and they provide countless other benefits, including fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, scenic beauty, local renewable energy, and wood, an energy efficient green building material; and
WHEREAS, Forests products play a critical role in combating climate change due to the natural process of photosynthesis where trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, release oxygen into the atmosphere and capture carbon which is stored in wood products for the life of the product; and
WHEREAS, From 2001 to 2021, state and private forest landowners in Washington removed nearly 9,200 fish passage barriers and opened up nearly 6,500 miles of historic fish habitat as part of their commitment to implementing the Forest and Fish Law; and
WHEREAS, The production of wood, paper, and energy products from the forest supports more than 42,000 direct jobs and another 60,000 forest sector related jobs, paying wages of nearly $6 billion each year; which provide family-wage employment opportunities, sustain rural economies, and strengthen local communities; and
WHEREAS, Products harvested from sustainably managed forests are renewable, recyclable, biodegradable, and sustainable, an essential part of our green economy that continues to grow and innovate through a skilled workforce dedicated to responsible forestry practices and advanced manufacturing; and
WHEREAS, In the face of increased threats to our forests including diseases, insects, droughts, and wildfires, we need to increase the resilience and health of our state's forests and preserve their key role in mitigating climate change; and
WHEREAS, Washington's integrated forest products sector and the workers, mills, logging contractors, and forestry professionals are essential to efforts to restore and maintain the health of forests, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, and make forests more resilient to drought and climate change; and
WHEREAS, Washington's pulp and paper mills are state and federally recognized essential businesses that keep vital paper products available in the Pacific Northwest across the United States and globally. Washington's mills provide approximately 7,500 predominantly union-backed, family-wage jobs in some of Washington's more rural, economically distressed communities providing a 3:1 job multiplier. Mills are often the single largest employers and taxpayers in these counties, providing critical tax funding for police, fire, and emergency medical services, as well as funding for local school districts; and