Washington Commissioner of Public Lands
Head of the Washington Department of Natural Resources
Full office description
- The commissioner of public lands oversees the Washington Department of Natural Resources, and is responsible for environmental protection in the state, including terrestrial and aquatic lands.
- The commissioner of public lands oversees regulatory aspects of the timber industry in Washington as it relates to the environment and government land.
- The commissioner of public lands oversees the state’s cap and trade program, which is a market-based approach to reduce emissions that involves limiting the total amount of emissions and then trading permits to emit those emissions.
- The commissioner chairs the state’s Board of Natural Resources and the Forest Practices Board. -T hey are elected to 4-year terms and paid a salary of $153,000.
How this impacts you
Environment — The commissioner of public lands is responsible for developing plans to mitigate and control wildfires and works closely with the state's firefighters and fire chiefs.
