Starwagon Timber Sale Shows How Washington DNR Is Reducing Revenue for Public Schools and Community Services

Agency's Fiscal Crisis Deepens As Campgrounds Close, Public and Private Sector Jobs Put at Risk

For Immediate Release: June 4, 2026
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The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is on track to sell the lowest volume of timber in 26 years, reducing revenue to schools, counties, universities, and other trust beneficiaries while creating serious financial challenges for the agency itself.

In recent media reports focused on the plight of rural school districts and DNR's dwindling operating accounts, Commissioner Dave Upthegrove has claimed his decisions to set aside more state trust lands are not to blame.

These claims don't match clear evidence of unilateral actions by Upthegrove that deliberately devalue state trust timber sales by pulling planned harvest units from sales after years of planning and environmental review, reducing revenue for schools, counties, universities, fire districts, libraries, and other trust beneficiaries.

In practice, that means removing planned harvest units containing valuable timber from sales before auction, reducing sale volume and lowering the revenue generated for trust beneficiaries and the agency.

The Starwagon timber sale in Thurston County provides a clear example of how these decisions reduce the value of trust assets and the revenue they generate for beneficiaries. Publicly available DNR sale documents show the sale was repeatedly reduced between the original 2024 proposal, the revised 2025 proposal, and the final 2026 auction package, significantly lowering both timber volume and projected revenue to beneficiaries and DNR.

The findings come as DNR timber sales have fallen to record lows and as Commissioner Upthegrove continues advancing plans to remove nearly 80,000 acres of state trust lands from working forest status.

Using the final 2026 auction price of $635.89 per thousand board feet, AFRC estimates DNR left approximately $3.8 million in gross sale value unrealized by repeatedly removing planned harvest units from the Starwagon sale.

The reductions hit trust beneficiaries and DNR itself through reduced projected distributions to DNR management accounts. For example, at the final auction value, Washington State University lost an estimated $901,687 in projected timber revenue distributions.

"These are management decisions, not accounting errors or market fluctuations," said AFRC President Travis Joseph. "The Commissioner is stripping value out of timber sales before they ever reach auction, reducing the value of trust assets and cutting revenue to the very beneficiaries these lands are legally required to support."

As DNR closes campgrounds due to lack of funding, management accounts that fund agency operations and forest management activities also suffered over $1 million in losses, including approximately $473,723 to the Forest Development Account and $602,241 to the Resource Management Cost Account.

Because the Starwagon timber sale included county trust lands in Thurston County, local beneficiaries affected by the reduced sale include local schools, fire districts, county roads, Timberland Regional Library, and other public services. Both Thurston County and Timberland Regional Library are already confronting budget shortfalls, making the loss of trust revenue even harder for communities to absorb.

State trust lands are managed to generate revenue for defined beneficiaries, including public schools, counties, universities, fire districts, libraries, and other essential public services. Revenue generated from sustainable timber harvests also funds DNR's own operations, staffing, and forest management activities.

AFRC said the Starwagon sale reflects broader concerns about the direction of DNR trust land management under Commissioner Upthegrove, including efforts to reduce planned harvest levels, delay sales, and remove working forests from active management.

AFRC also pointed to the recently-launched "77,000 Acre Commissioner Order - Community Impact Calculator," an online tool that allows the public to evaluate how Commissioner Upthegrove's proposed set asides of state trust lands affect beneficiaries and local communities across Washington. The calculator, available through the Washington Communities and Schools Network, uses the latest DNR GIS data to identify affected acres by county and trust and estimate impacts to local services and beneficiaries.

"Beneficiaries and the public deserve transparency and accountability," Joseph said. "These trust lands do not exist to satisfy the objectives of politicians. They were established to support schools, local services, and communities across Washington. When DNR removes value from timber sales, schools, counties, and local services lose revenue while the agency itself falls deeper into financial trouble."