The Washington State Senate unanimously adopted Senate Resolution 8633, recognizing the profound impact of the state’s forestry sector and tens of thousands of workers who sustain it. As part of Washington Forest Products Day at the Legislature, the resolution offered a timely and meaningful tribute to an industry that is simultaneously rooted in tradition and continues to embrace innovation as it actively plays a vital role in shaping a more sustainable future.

Senator Mike Chapman with guests – April 9, 2025

The Forest Products Day celebration provided legislators, staff, policy makers, and the public an opportunity to see firsthand the breadth and depth of Washington’s innovative and historic forest products sector. The forestry products sector supports more than 102,000 workers and generates $6 billion in wages annually.

The working forests that support the state’s forest products sector span millions of acres both sides of the Cascades. They are a renewable, carbon-friendly resource that enhance our quality of life by purifying the air, filtering fresh water, providing habitat for wildlife and plants, and offering recreational space for outdoor enthusiasts. In total, Washington’s forests and wood products offset 35% of our state’s carbon emissions, in addition to protecting cool, clean water that flows through 60,000 miles of forested streams benefiting fish.

The day began with the Senate floor reading of SR 8633 and resolution sponsor State Sen. Mike Chapman (D-Port Angeles) providing comments in support of working forests. In addition, the public and lawmakers had an opportunity to taste Washington-harvested maple syrup from the Bigleaf Maple Syrup, go home with a free baby tree, and take with them a coaster made with seed paper to plant. In total, the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) gave away 700 trees and 750 coasters – symbolizing Washington’s forestry sector’s commitment to renewal, regeneration, climate resilience, and sustainability.

As climate pressures and wildfire risks mount, the resolution also underscores the importance of active forest management and critical role the forest products sector plays in maintaining healthy, resilient forests. Washington’s integrated forest products sector – which includes its private forest landowners, skilled workforce, mills, logging contractors, and public working forest lands – will remain essential to these efforts. The Senate resolution affirms what many in Washington state already know: Washington’s forestry sector and forest products industry is not only a part of the state’s past, but a vital part of its future.

Thank you to the WFPA members and wide array of organizations that showcased the many dimensions of Washington’s forestry economy and demonstrated how working forests are leading the way in stewardship, forest health, environmental education and fish habitat restoration. Participants included:

• American Forest & Paper Association
• American Forest Resource Council
• Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers
• Bigleaf Maple Syrup Association
• Centralia College Simulator
• Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC)
• Green Diamond Resource Company
• Hampton Lumber
• Manulife Investment Management
• Mercer Mass Timber
• NW Pulp & Paper Association
• Pacific Education Institute
• Port Blakey
• Sustainable Northwest
• The Nature Conservancy
• UW Center for International Trade in Forest Products
• WA Department of Commerce
• WA Department of Natural Resources
• WA Farm Forestry Association
• WA Forest Protection Association
• WA Hardwoods Commission
• WA Mass Timber Accelerator
• WA State University Extension Forestry
• WA State University Composite Materials and Engineering Center (CMEC)
• WA Sustainable Forestry Initiative – SIC
• Weyerhaeuser Company
• Yakama Forest Products