public lands

(Runtime 1:00)Jaelle Downs was a wilderness ranger for the Cle Elum Ranger District in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. Being out amongst the towering…

On Monday, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) decided to pause an auction of 102 acres of public, forested lands to harvest for timber in King County that had been scheduled for Tuesday.King County council members wrote a letter to Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and the Board of Natural Resources last week, urging them to defer the auction.

At a Supreme Court hearing, conservation groups argued Washington forest managers should log fewer trees.

On Thursday, the Washington State Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in a case being brought against Washington’s commissioner of public lands, Hilary Franz, the Department of Natural Resources and the Board of Natural Resources, that may clarify how the state manages public lands.

The Senate voted 51-40 Monday to confirm the Democratic Congresswoman to lead the Interior Department, an agency that will play a crucial role in the Biden administration's ambitious efforts to combat climate change and conserve nature.

The ruling blocks William Perry Pendley from continuing as the temporary head of the Bureau of Land Management, a post he has held for more than a year without being confirmed by the Senate.

The nominee, William Perry Pendley, has been leading the agency since last August through a series of controversial continued appointment extensions. Prior to coming to Washington D.C., the Wyoming native had spent much of his career at the conservative Mountain States Legal Foundation challenging the very agency he now leads.

On those trails, state officials are asking that you take precautions: stay six feet away from people, wear masks if you can’t meet that guideline, bring hand sanitizer, water and soap. You should also pack out what you pack in.

There is growing economic pressure to reopen national parks and ease travel restrictions even as many states are still seeing a rise in coronavirus cases.

More than 100 Washington state parks made the cut to reopen for day use beginning Tuesday, but aficionados of Pacific Coast and Columbia River Gorge getaways will have to wait a while longer.