The elected position oversees the Washington Department of Natural Resources, which includes managing 5.6 million acres of state-owned public lands. Herrera Beutler and Upthegrove are competing to replace current commissioner Hilary Franz, who decided not to run for reelection, first declaring for governor, then running an unsuccessful bid for the 6th Congressional District.
Herrera Beutler was the Republican representative in the 3rd Congressional District in southwest Washington, taking office in 2011. She lost her seat in the 2022 primary after Republican Joe Kent challenged her from the right, following her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Upthegrove is the King County Council representative for District 5 in South King County and the current Council chair. He also is a former state legislator. He has been on the King County Council since 2013. Upthegrove also ran for commissioner of public lands in 2016, losing in the primary. After a crowded 2024 primary that included five Democrats and two Republicans, Upthegrove narrowly defeated Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson for second place, with an advantage of 49 votes.
Herrera Beutler and Upthegrove faced off at the Association of Washington Business Policy Summit on Wednesday afternoon at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane. Here are five takeaways from that debate:
Both say they are committed to involving Native nations in DNR decisions.
The candidates both pledged to work with Native nations in developing DNR policies, and agreed that the state could learn from Indigenous nations’ historic practices on land management.
Herrera Beutler said she wants to build on Franz’s creation of a tribal liaison for her department. “A number of them have shared concerns with me with how the state will or won’t just do what it wants,” including energy projects that impact Native cultural land. “I really believe that the government is not here to tell the people of Washington how to live and what to do. The government is there to support and empower the people of Washington.”
Upthegrove said that he was excited to further incorporate working with Native nations in “all the work” in the Department of Natural Resources. “And for me that means early up-front consultation, real joint planning efforts. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s how we avoid entanglements further down the road,” he said.
They didn’t object to carbon sequestration projects – in theory.
The Department of Natural Resources launched a carbon sequestration project two years ago that would use the money paid by industry in the state’s cap-and-invest program to preserve and reforest public land that would have been logged for timber revenue. DNR had a goal of securing carbon reserves on 10,000 acres of public forest land. That project is on hold pending the results of a lawsuit.
Herrera Beutler said she would consider the idea: “I’m very open to new and innovative strategies to help us fight the carbon emissions we have in smart, responsible ways.” She argued that having such a system didn’t preclude harvesting and managing growth, which she says would be healthier for the mature trees but would also allow the timber to be used locally, which she says would be “sequestering the carbon longer than the life of the tree.”
Upthegrove said he is very interested in a carbon sequestration pilot program and setting up a carbon offset program, even if right now the money from the cap-and-invest program won’t totally make up for the lost timber revenue. “We need to be open in new ways to achieve revenue in all the broad values that a healthy forest provides. I am interested in getting a system like that set up administratively, even if it’s pennies on the dollar, to see if a system like that could work.”
They criticized each others’ records – and defended their own.
Upthegrove criticized Herrera Beutler for being a reliable vote for Republicans during her time in Congress, and called her out for votes and public messaging that prioritized the national debt ceiling over getting money to fight wildfires in Washington. She defended her vote, saying that the following year, she voted in favor of more money.
Herrera Beutler questioned why King County has missed its carbon emissions goals while Upthegrove has been on the County Council, and said the state increased the number of species put on endangered lists when he was in the Legislature.
Upthegrove said that in his position he has worked with Native nations, conservationists and industry to find a balance in addressing environmental issues. He emphasized that his experience in the Legislature would help him work closely with lawmakers if elected to head DNR.
They differed over their approach to the Legislature.
Herrera Beutler said the state lands should generate new revenue that could go back into forest management and also into the state forest land trust, which benefits schools. “Part of what I would like to do is reorient this office to not need to go hat in hand to Olympia every year to do the silviculture work we are supposed to be doing.” She said lumber in this state is being imported, and that Washington can address its own needs with increased harvesting.
Upthegrove said that his experience in the state Legislature will help him advocate for the agency and the lands it manages, including asking for funding to increase recreational sites, maintaining forest health and preventing wildfires. “I want to continue to advocate for the resources we need to keep our environment safe and clean.”
They sparred over state trust lands and school revenue.
The revenue generated by logging the Department of Natural Resources’ state trust land partly funds school construction and the school operating budgets of the districts close to the logging sites. Upthegrove has proposed preserving legacy forests in state trust land to address carbon emissions, harvest other state-owned lands and add other timberlands to be the state trust for harvesting and creating revenue.
Herrera Beutler argued that the state’s current backlog in harvesting has hurt school funding; that local districts have put the blame on the lack of logging; and that schools can’t afford to lose more revenue. She said that preserving legacy forests also risks increasing wildfires.
Upthegrove – who also said the Legislature should fully fund schools – argued that his plan would maintain current harvest levels so local schools would continue to benefit, and could potentially create future jobs and increased revenue. He added that the state should “lean into” confronting issues like climate change.
