PORT LUDLOW — While some environmental interests conclude that state Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark will recommend against a major East Jefferson County land exchange between the state Department of Natural Resources and timber titan Pope Resources, an agency spokesman said Goldmark has yet to come up with a recommendation.

“Commissioner Goldmark is still reviewing the issues that have been raised and other facts about the proposed land exchange,” Bob Redling, Department of Natural Resources spokesman, said Friday.

Pope is offering a trade of 4,420 acres to DNR for 2,970 acres of state land, an arrangement that requires an equal value exchange under state law.

The impetus for the swap is to trade out lands that are intermingled, allowing for more financially responsible management of state lands.

The exchange would consolidate DNR land near the Olympic National Forest with Pope Resources land near Dabob Bay and Port Ludlow.

As it stands, ownership of the land is a patchwork throughout the south part of East Jefferson County.

The exchange involves three state trusts: Common School, for building public schools statewide; University Original, benefiting University of Washington; and State Forest Transfer lands, revenues of which support county services such as fire districts.

Opposition, supporters

While the county commissioners have written a letter to Goldmark stating they will not support the proposal without certain guarantees, the Port Ludlow Village Council has come out in favor of the land swap.

Members of Olympic Forest Coalition, which opposes the exchange, recently circulated an e-mail that said: “During a public meeting on May 4, 2009, Peter Goldmark stated that he will not be supporting the land exchange as currently proposed because Pope Resources had failed to convince the Jefferson County commissioners that this is a good deal for the county.

“Whether this means that the doors are left open to initiate another version of the proposal remains to be seen.”

The coalition, which fears the trade would result in habitat and environmental degradation of public lands, said that it saw the development as an “interim victory.”

Redling last week said Goldmark and his staff have reviewed comments made by the public, including the adjacent Port Ludlow community and the Jefferson County commissioners, but no recommendation was made to the board of DNR, which would have the final say.

Julie Armbruster, DNR transactions project manager working on the East Jefferson exchange, said the agency was still negotiating with Pope, and a recommendation was not likely before the June meeting of the board.

Armbruster said 43 public comments have been registered with DNR regarding the proposal. Thirty-two opposed it. Five favored it. Six just expressed concerns.

Connie Gallant, a Quilcene resident and Olympic Forest Coalition member said, “I got the feeling that Goldmark was leaving the door open for a slightly revised plan from Pope.

“It’s quite unfortunate. I am hoping that it takes into consideration not only the county commissioners’ letter but also everyone else’s.”

Gallant mentioned opposition from such environmental groups as Hood Canal Coalition, Olympic Environmental Coalition and the Hood Canal Environmental Council.

“That’s a pretty good body of people,” Gallant said. “I just hope he takes everyone’s concerns into consideration.”

In their March 23 letter to Goldmark, the county commissioners said that their constituents voiced “strong opposition” to the proposal.

The commissioners asked for a legally binding document from Pope that would guarantee no land conversion to residential or mining uses for 50 years.

They also asked that Pope guarantee that it will engage in the same forest practices followed by DNR, such as preserving large trees after a harvest, attending to habitat preservation and a having protracted timber harvest.

And commissioners want a guarantee that Pope would allow public access and hunting equal to DNR forest lands, and that well-water would be protected and adequate land set aside for an on-site septic system for the Paradise Bay community.

“Bottom line, I still don’t want the trade to take place,” said county Commissioner John Austin, who discussed the issue with Goldmark in Olympia in February.

“DNR must maintain habitat and recreation for people,” Austin said, explaining his objection to the proposed trade. “Pope’s mission is different. It’s to earn revenue for its stockholders.”

Promises

While it would be illegal to regulate what Pope would do with the lands after the swap, Pope officials said they would be willing to put a few promises in writing.

Pope spokesman John Shea said the company would not rezone certain lands next to Port Ludlow for the next 20 years.

The company also said it would never open the parcel of land closest to the community to mining.

Pope Resources has been a land and timber owner in the Pacific Northwest for more than 150 years.

The company owns 115,000 acres of productive timberland and nearly 3,000 acres of development property, most of which is within a 50-mile radius of Seattle.

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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.