DNR looks to cash in on carbon credits

Plus the end game begins and that newspaper tax break has legs

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz is looking to let Washington’s forests cash in on the state’s cap and trade program.

Through that program, the Department of Ecology sells allowances to emit carbon pollution. Some of those allowances are carbon offsets — green projects like reforestation, renewable energy, and waste management. The state raked in nearly $300 million worth from its first auction in February. 

Naturally, Franz wants the agency she leads in on the action. The Department of Natural Resources sells everything from wood to hops on the 5.6 million acres¹ it manages, but not a carbon credit system that would reward the department for planting more trees instead of cutting them down.

Image by Shutterstock

Here’s why you should care about this. Being a green commissioner of public lands has always been a little problematic because the department was essentially created to manage state forests to bring in money for schools and other services.