The Farming Show

The Farming Show


State Wants Farm Forestry Buffers On Streams Without Fish

August 11, 2025

State leaders are going back on decades-old agreements with farm foresters with a troubling new plan that would force larger forest buffers on streams without fish.

The proposal has farmers worried they could be targeted with similar stringent rules, forcing massive amounts of farmland out of production statewide.

Tom Westergreen, a small family forest owner in Whatcom County, along with Washington Farm Forestry Association Executive Director Elaine Oneil join Dillon with details on the scientifically-unsupported plan and the devastating blow it would deal to family foresters.