Washington State Forestland Database

The Washington State Forestland Database

Beginning with the passage of Washington State House Bill 2091, otherwise known as the Salmon Recovery Act (1998), the State has had an interest in quantifying the numbers, acres and other characteristics of small forest landowners (SFLO) and their lands. The Washington State Forestland Database was developed to provide a comprehensive platform for understanding the spatial characteristics of all private forestland ownership in the state, including family forests. The Database is an ArcGIS 9.2 Geodatabase and designed for use in Microsoft Access or any ESRI ArcGIS product.

The Washington State Forestland Database combines land ownership, land use and assessment information with physical characteristics of the land to develop economic, social and environmental metrics about the forest land base. The spatially‐explicit information in the database allows for analysis at the watershed, county and state level. This high‐resolution dataset can produce maps, statistics and models at multiple scales. Over time it will become a comprehensive platform for understanding how forest land ownership and land use is changing, thereby enabling new science and research to inform public policy analysis, debate and action.

Three primary products were developed: the Washington State Forestland Database, statistics on the numbers and acres of forestland parcels and maps of the distribution and extent of private forestlands. Statistics derived from the Database reveal that 215 thousand small forest landowners own 5.7 million acres of forestland, half of the 11.6 million acres of private forestland in the state. Over 89 thousand of those small forest landowners have ownerships greater than 10 acres and 55 thousand own more than 20 acres. The maps of the distribution of forestlands in the State of Washington show that small forest landowner properties, often adjacent to suburban and exurban lands, provide a critical buffer between upland industrial forestlands and lowland residential areas.

For more information, view or download The 2007 Washington State Forestland Database Final Report (PDF).

Washington State Forestland Database: Statistics Tables

The Washington State Forestland Database was created to produce valuable information that can be used to improve decision making. The following matrix provides links to the 13 different statistics tables produced for the Washington Department of Natural Resources Small Forest Landowners Office (SFLO).

Washington State Forestland Database: Data Derived Maps

Statistics tables produced from the Washington State Forestland Database have been spatially represented in several maps. The maps are part of the report submitted to the WADNR Small Forest Landowners Office.They are available to view or copy and save from the Maps Page.

Washington State Forestland Database Downloads

Datasets from the Washington State Forestland Database are available for download. The goal is for the information derived from the database be used to make informed decisions that will better the State and its stakeholders. As new datasets are created and validated, they will be added to the downloads page.

Related Datasets

Datasets developed as part of creating the Washington State Forestland Database, and available for download.

Cooperators

The Rural Technology Initiative

Our mission is to empower the existing infrastructure to use better technology in rural areas for managing forests for increased product and environmental values in support of local communities.

The Rural Technology Initiative (RTI) was established in January 2000 by a federal grant as a pilot project to accelerate the implementation of new technologies in rural forest resource-based communities. Increasing complexity from changing environmental regulations, and the recognition that new research findings are well ahead of implantation suggested the need for more rapid technology transfer. Additionally, efforts to mitigate the substantial widening gap between urban and rural incomes depend on more successful technology transfer. The UW and Washington State University Cooperative Extension developed RTI as a cooperative program with the support of a Rural Advisory Board. http://www.rurraltech.org

The Family Forest Foundation

The Family Forest Foundation is a project organization whose mission is to promote the conservation and sustainable management of family forests. http://www.familyforestfoundation.org

The Washington Farm Forestry Association

The Washington Farm Forestry Association is a membership organization whose mission is to protect the economic viability of the small forest landowner while providing forest resource benefits such as clean water, clean air, and fish and wildlife habitat. http://www.wafarmforestry.com

Project Contact Information

Luke Rogers
206.543.7418
lwrogersu.washington.edu
The Rural Technology Initiative
University of Washington
College of Forest Resources
Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195-2100