On December 6, 1999 the Vice-President released information on the loss of forest, open space and farmlands in the United States. The large figures seem hard to digest and understand. For example here are the figures for the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
| 1992-1997 Rank | State | 1992-1997 Change in Total Land Developed (Acres) | 1992-1997 Average Annual Conversion Rate (Acres) | 1982-1992 Rank | 1982-1992 Change in Total Land Developed (Acres) | 1982-1992 Average Annual Conversion Rate (Acres) |
| 15 | Washington | 350,000 | 70,000 | 17 | 288,300 | 28,830 |
| 34 | Oregon | 150,400 | 30,080 | 27 | 164,500 | 16,450 |
| 36 | Idaho | 120,800 | 24,160 | 39 | 85,900 | 8,590 |
Without question there is more land loss in Washington than in the two adjoining states. But how much is 350,000 acres?
To put it in perspective:
the 5-year 350,000 acre loss is the same as losing 21% of all the land in the Chehalis watershed! (The Chehalis watershed is 2,600 square miles in size, or 1,664,000 acres).
the 5 year 350,000 acre loss is the same as losing an area over 4 times as large as the Capitol State Forest (The Capitol State Forest is 84,000 acres in size).
the 5 year 350,000 acre loss is the same as losing 200% of all the farmlands in the Chehalis watershed
every 2.3 years, in this state, we lose land equivalent to all of the Chehalis farmland
Source: Chehalis River Basin Action Plan, 1992
The Chehalis River Basin is the second largest river basin in the state of Washington outside the Columbia River Basin. The total drainage area of the Chehalis River Basin is 2,660 square miles of which approximately 85% is forest lands. Approximately 257 square miles (164,000 acres), or 9.7% of the basin is agricultural land.
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