Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Department overview
Formed1957; 67 years ago (1957)[1]
Preceding agencies
  • Washington State Division of Forestry
  • Washington State Department of Conservation and Development
  • Washington State Land Department
TypeEnvironmental agency
JurisdictionState of Washington
HeadquartersNatural Resources Building
1111 Washington Street SE
Olympia, Washington
47°02′14″N 122°53′52″W / 47.0373103°N 122.8977029°W / 47.0373103; -122.8977029
Department executive
Websitewww.dnr.wa.gov

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of forest, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington. The DNR also manages 2,600,000 acres (11,000 km2) of aquatic areas which include shorelines, tidelands, lands under Puget Sound and the coast, and navigable lakes and rivers. Part of the DNR's management responsibility includes monitoring of mining cleanup, environmental restoration, providing scientific information about earthquakes, landslides, and ecologically sensitive areas. DNR also works towards conservation, in the form of Aquatic Reserves such as Maury Island and in the form of Natural Area Preserves like Mima Mounds or Natural Resource Conservation Areas like Woodard Bay Natural Resource Conservation Area.

The Department was created in 1957 to manage state trust lands for the people of Washington. DNR management of state-owned forests, farms, rangeland, aquatic, and commercial lands generates more than $200 million in annual revenue for public schools, state institutions, and county services.[2] DNR is also Washington's largest firefighting force, with more than 1,500 firefighters who control wildland fires for more than 13 million acres of private and state-owned forest lands.[3]

The main sources of funds for the department's activities are forestry and geoduck harvesting, rather than taxes. In addition, the State uses revenue generated from DNR-managed lands to fund the construction of public schools, colleges, universities, and other government institutions, and county and state services.

  1. ^ Wilma, David (February 25, 2003). "Washington legislature creates the Department of Natural Resources in 1957". HistoryLink. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  2. ^ "About the Washington Department of Natural Resources". Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "Wildfire Resources". Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 28, 2018.