IATC in Olympia: TLT Lobby Day 2025
By Shelby Burgess
On the morning of Wednesday, February 19th, over 20 conservationists, ecologists, activists, tribal representatives, and concerned citizens from 16 organizations gathered in Olympia at the Abigail Stuart House. We were gathered together for a common cause – to advocate for both the protection of ecologically and socially important lands and for the continued success of the DNR trust beneficiaries. To do this, we were asking our legislators to fully fund the DNR budget request for the Trust Land Transfer (TLT) program in the 2025-2027 budget.
So what exactly is the TLT program? The TLT process has been used since the 1980s but was formalized, in part due to advocacy from the IATC, in House Bill 1460 in 2024. The program allows for the transfer of lands that are no longer optimal for revenue generation to local agency management and then provides funding for DNR to purchase new revenue-generating lands for the trust beneficiaries. This year, the TLT board identified 34 qualifying projects and requested $30 million of funding for 8 projects to be transferred in the 2025-2027 budget. We were asking our legislators to fully fund this request in the capital budget.
From L to R: Shelby Burgess, Kira Telgen, John Sherwin, Sen. Bill Ramos, Kelly Jiang, Mark Boyar, Sue Holbink, and Ann Newcomb.
We had a group of five IATC representatives lobbying this year, including past presidents John Sherwin and Anne Newcomb, current president Kelly Jiang, Program and Volunteer Coordinator Kira Telgen, and IATC advocacy committee member Shelby Burgess. Joining us were local advocates and TLT board members, Mark Boyar, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Middle Fork NRCA and the passing of HB 1460, and Sue Holbink, a Falls City Parks Commissioner.
Mark and Shelby kicked off the day by meeting with Shelby’s 12th district representative, Representative Mark Steele. The 12th district was recently redrawn to include North Bend and other parts of the Snoqualmie Valley. Shelby and Mark shared about the TLT program and the two TLT parcels in the 12th district, the Beckler project and the Middle Fork project. These projects highlight the strengths of the TLT program to help conserve culturally and ecologically important lands. The Beckler project is sponsored by the Tulalip Tribes and isolated from other DNR-managed lands, with no potential to generate revenue for the trust. It also hosts important salmon and trout rearing river habitat and a 90-year-old riparian forest. This property also has cultural and ceremonial significance to the Tulalip Tribes. The Middle Fork property is adjacent to the Middle Fork NRCA boundary, and the majority is not available for timber harvest. The property also serves as an important wildlife corridor. Shelby talked about her connection to the other two TLT properties in the 12th district, the Mount Si NRCA and the Middle Fork NRCA, and why the TLT funding is important to her as a constituent. Mark provided the specifics about the TLT project and the past work. We were thrilled to hear about Representative Steele’s past work supporting the TLT program and advancing recreation and conservation in his district.
The IATC and TLT board advocates with Rep. Lisa Callan.
Next, we joined our 5th district colleagues to meet Senator Bill Ramos, Representative Lisa Callan, and Representative Victoria Hunt. The 5th district includes the greater Issaquah area and Issaquah Alps. We shared that while there aren’t any projects in the 5th district in the top 8 to be funded in this round, there are several highly ranked projects in the full list. Continuing to fund the TLT program would help to bolster the program and hopefully, the eventual funding of those projects. We thanked them for their past support of the TLT program and other conservation efforts. We are so appreciative to have such welcoming and concerned representatives to take the time to meet with us and to hear out our requests.
Lastly, we also had the opportunity with the larger advocacy group to meet with our new Public Lands Commissioner, Dave Upthegrove. Dave welcomed us and our 20+ colleagues for a lunch meeting to answer questions about the TLT and his plans for DNR land management. We thanked him for his commitment to sustainable forest management and for his pause on the harvest of structurally complex forests to develop criteria to protect these forests while also allowing sustainable timber harvest, his first action as commissioner. We are excited to see what he does next.
The IATC and TLT board advocates with Rep. Victoria Hunt.
What’s next?
The legislators and capital budget team will be meeting over the next few months to put forth the capital budget. We encourage all of you to call and email your representatives to express your support for the TLT program and to share how you have used these lands.
We are so grateful to Jim Freeburg for helping to push forward this conservation program and for his organizational efforts to advocate for this important work.
The IATC will continue to correspond with our representatives and provide information about the TLT budget request. We will keep our supporters in the loop about any other opportunities to get involved. Please feel free to reach out to Kelly Jiang, IATC Board President, if you are interested in getting involved and learning more.
TLT advocates meeting with Sen. Bill Ramos in the Senate Chambers.
Learn more about the IATC’s long history of advocacy for public lands.