Managing State Trust Lands Fiduciary Duty in the Changing West

Washington Trust Land

click map to enlarge	Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 47001 Olympia, WA 98504-7001 360-902-1004 Doug Sutherland, Commissioner of Public Lands
Of Interest	Washington Trust Lands and Education Funding
State Resources	Washington State Department of Natural Resources 2005 Annual Report Trust Land Management in Washington Washington FY 2005 Revenues
Current Land Holdings	2.3 million surface acres (96 percent of original land grant of more than 3 million acres)
Uses	agriculture, timber, mining of minerals, and commercial leases and development
Primary Revenue Source	timber
Trust Requirements	Lands are held in trust pursuant to the state enabling act and state constitution that require revenues from the sale of lands be placed in a permanent fund and that school lands cannot be sold for less than fair market value, at public auction, and to the highest bidder. Washington’s state law requires its agencies to adhere to the State Environmental Policy Act and prepare an environmental impact statement for all management decisions, including those for trust lands. Lands are managed by the Department of Natural Resources, which consists of a stakeholder Board of Natural Resources, a commissioner of public lands who is elected by the state, and a supervisor who is appointed by the commissioner and serves at the commissioner’s pleasure.
Beneficiaries	common schools agricultural colleges a scientific school normal school public buildings university purposes charitable, education, penal, and reformatory institutions