Back in March 2025, Inland FoodWise Online sent out an Action Alert urging subscribers to demand that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) halt its plans to transfer around 200 acres of woodland in western Spokane ("Thorpe Road land") to a developer who wants to build as many as 1,000 homes in what is now rare and ecologically sensitive intact forest within Spokane city limits (text of action alert is below).
At the time, conservationists and citizen's groups who opposed the land swap said they hoped to find an ally in the state’s new Public Lands Commissioner, Dave Upthegrove, who might be able to influence the DNR board at their April 1 meeting to terminate the agreement before an April 6 deadline. As it happened, the Board did not act to terminate the agreement at that time, but opposition to the proposal among the public did not go away.
Then, on July 11, news broke that the Thorpe land swap had been canceled, citing Latah Valley community concerns as the impetus.
KHQ Coverage: Thorpe land swap canceled amid Latah Valley community concerns
SPOKANE, Wash. – The proposed land swap involving state property in Spokane's Latah Valley has been canceled. Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Blue Fern Management agreed to call off the Thorpe land exchange after it evoked a negative response from the surrounding community.
The original proposal aimed to trade the 200-acre Thorpe property with Blue Fern for a property containing a supermarket in Bellingham. This plan raised significant concerns among Latah Valley residents about increased traffic and inadequate fire prevention infrastructure if housing development occurred.
Commissioner Dave Upthegrove released a statement addressing the situation.
"With this development, the community has ample time to find a different use for the property that will also meet the needs of the Trust," Upthegrove said.
For now, Thorpe will continue to be managed by the DNR. Commissioner Upthegrove stated that if a new solution cannot be agreed upon within two years, DNR will seek its own resolution for the property.
Here's the email address for Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove if you want to write him and thank him for his leadership navigating this controversial land deal: cpl@dnr.wa.gov
And there is still work to do.
First the public needs to have a clear understanding of what Commissioner Dave Upthegrove means when he says a solution to property's fate has to "meet the needs of the Trust." Earlier news coverage mentioned "DNR claims revenue from the Thorpe Road land is too low," which apparently makes the land eligible to be transferred out of the Department of Natural Resources’ Common Schools Trust
Second would be to put the Thorpe Road land back on the Trust Land Transfer Program list which makes it potentially eligible for transfer to another government agency, such as Spokane City Parks, at no cost. It was removed from that list in an unprecedented action.
Third is for the community to have the conversation and coalesce around a solution. Would it be so terrible for the land to remain natural and not become Spokane's next big housing development? Wouldn't this be a great opportunity to seek a solution for this land through a deep dive, permaculture design process? One of the permaculture principles is "obtain a yield," meaning that a permaculture plan for the Thorpe Road land would have the potential of satisfying the DNR board's need for the land to generate revenue. The upcoming Spokane Permaculture Symposium would be an excellent venue to start part of this conversation. See spokanepermaculture.org.
Action Alert from March, 2025
Act before March 31! Save a Forest in Spokane.
This action alert is not strictly about food, but it could be. If the City of Spokane was able to add these 200 acres to its parks system, it would open up the possibility for folks in Spokane to organize and convince the city to let part of the property be transformed into a public food forest as well as encouraging the re-establishment and cultivation of indigenous foods and medicines. It's also just about what kind of quality of life residents of Spokane would prefer. Little boxes on the hillside or a rare forested piece of green space that all can enjoy.
The land in question is a small part of the Department of Natural Resources’ Common Schools Trust fund, consisting of 3 million acres of land "managed by the agency to produce nontax revenue that pays for, among other things, building schools. This revenue is typically generated through leases, including leasing woodlands to logging companies" (Spokesman Review, 3/27/2025). DNR claims revenue from the Thorpe Road land is too low.
30 properties are listed on DNR’s "trust land transfer program." That program has the ability to transfer title of selected DNR lands to other government agencies at no cost. The City of Spokane applied for such a transfer that would have had the land transferred to City Parks at no cost to the city except that DNR ranked the land too low and higher-ranked parcels were approved while lower ranked parcels deferred.
But in an unprecedented action for a property identified for the trust land transfer program, DNR removed the Thorpe Road land from the list for sale. Local conservationists Jeff Lambert and Brian Muegge argue it should instead remain on the list like the other parcels that were passed over during the last round of transfers pending future funds earmarked by the state legislature.
The 3/27/2025 article in the Spokesman Review also outlines several other troubling actions on the part of the DNR board that seem to belie malfeasance on its part in its brutal pursuit of cashing in on the deal with the developer including withholding key data from decision-makers about the ecological value of the land resulting in its low ranking. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/mar/27/conservationists-make-another-last-ditch-effort-to/
Conservationists say they hope to find an ally in the state’s new Public Lands Commissioner, Dave Upthegrove, who might be able to influence the DNR board, but there is not much time. They cite a clause that allows the agreement with the developer to be terminated by April 6, and hope to appeal once more to the DNR board during an April 1 meeting, "arguing the process was rushed and the board was provided a flawed review of the ecological value of the property."
Please email Commissioner Upthegrove TODAY!!
Email: cpl@dnr.wa.gov
Photo: Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW