King County Rural Forest Commission
King County, Washington
The King County Rural Forest Commission is an advisory group of 13 volunteer members, appointed by the King County Executive, who represent a variety of rural forest interests and advise the County on policies and programs affecting rural forests.
Commissioners represent the diversity of rural forestry interests and geographic regions of rural King County, including: private rural forest landowners; advocates of non-timber values of forest land; affected Indian tribes; consumers or users of local forest products (e.g., mills, lumber suppliers, artisans, florist suppliers, and others); academic or professional foresters or forestry associations; rural cities (including Black Diamond, Carnation, Duvall, Enumclaw, North Bend, Skykomish, and Snoqualmie); and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Commission members must have a working knowledge of King County forestry, a strong commitment to promote forestry in the rural area, the ability to work with differing viewpoints to find solutions to complex problems, and a willingness to commit the time. Commission members are asked to volunteer for a minimum term of three years. Duties include attending bi-monthly meetings on the third Thursday of every other month at the Preston Community Center (usually) and occasional subcommittee meetings. Inquiries from King County residents interested in serving on the Commission are welcome at any time.
Recognizing that conserving healthy forests is essential to protecting and restoring water and air quality, providing recreational opportunities and maintaining a viable forestry industry in King County, the Commission issued the report King County Rural Forest Commission Strategic Priorities Recommendations and Actions for Conservation of Forestland in King County in 2022.
Recruitment
To apply for an appointment, please complete the basic application and either mail it to Wendy Sammarco at King County Water and Land Resources Division, 201 South Jackson Street, Suite 5600, Seattle, WA 98104, or email it as an attachment to Wendy at wsammarco@kingcounty.gov. If you have a resume, please include that with your application. If you are selected for an appointment to the Rural Forest Commission, you will also be asked to complete a King County Board of Ethics financial disclosure form. More information on applying for a King County commission can be found here. For questions about the Rural Forest Commission, contact Wendy at 206-263-6916 or wsammarco@kingcounty.gov.
Meetings
The Commission meets six times a year and meetings are open to the public. Regular meetings will be held from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM in-person or online on the third Thursdays in January, March, May, July, September, and November.
Meeting Agendas:
- September 19, 2024: Meeting Agenda
The Commission also has phone-in meetings tentatively scheduled from 9:00 - 10:00 am on alternating months to address time-sensitive issues that cannot wait until the scheduled regular meeting.
For more information, please contact Wendy Sammarco at wsammarco@kingcounty.gov or 206-263-6916.
Past meeting minutes (Adobe Acrobat PDF format):
Forest Interests Represented
Forest landowners with > 500-acres
Forest landowners with 40 – 500-acres
Residential forest landowners with >20-acres
Advocates of non-timber values of forestland
Washington Department of Natural Resources
Affected Indian Tribes
Consumers of local forest products
Academic forester
Professional forester
Rural cities
King Conservation District ex-officio
USDA Forest Service ex-officio
WSU Extension ex-officio
Commission Staff
Wendy Sammarco
King County Forestry Program
For questions about the Rural Forest Commission, please contact Wendy Sammarco, Forester, at wsammarco@kingcounty.gov or (206) 263-6916.
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