The Timber/Fish/Wildlife Cultural Committee, which makes policy recommendations to the Forest Practices Board (the Board), reached agreement on rule language to correct a technical error in the current Class IV Special rule for historic sites. The Class IV Special rule requires additional review by the state agencies and includes an on site field review before being able to obtain a permit. This issue has been on the Board’s work plan for more than three years and they have now initiated rule making on historic sites that are at least 50-years-old.
The proposed solution removes much of the uncertainty regarding historic sites by specifying that sites must meet the standards for eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in order to trigger the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA). Eligible sites are rare on managed forest land. This action by the Forest Practices Board is a success because it cleans up the uncertainty in interpretations of Forest Practices Rules and provides clarity to which sites have historic values.