All timber sold in the state generates funds to be used by local, county and state government.
These monies are basically used to fund roads and schools in our state. Section 316 guarantees payments to states of not less than 90 percent of the five year average from years 1986 to 1990 on those forests affected by the spotted owl. Guarantee payments will expire in 2002. The land preserved equals 14 percent of the state's land base, an area larger than the state of Massachusetts, and does not include additional Spotted Owl habitat conservation areas which could add more than 1 million acres to the reserves. There are more than 2.8 million acres of old-growth on federal lands in Washington State, of which 1.5 million acres is preserved forever.