Doug Sutherland: Biography in Short....

DOUG SUTHERLAND
Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands

As the elected Commissioner of Public Lands, Doug Sutherland manages the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and administers a $625 million, two-year budget.

Doug chairs the state Board of Natural Resources, which sets policy for the management of state trust lands. These lands include some 3 million acres of publicly owned forests, agricultural and grazing lands, and commercial properties.

State lands raise millions of dollars each year to fund the construction of public schools, colleges, universities, and other government institutions, as well as county and state services. In fiscal year 2007 alone, the lands managed by DNR produced more than $209 million in revenue for trust beneficiaries.

The Department of Natural Resources also manages approximately 2.6 million acres of aquatic lands, which include shorelines, tidelands, lands under Puget Sound and the coast, and navigable lakes and rivers and natural lakes, generating nearly $35 million per biennium.

Doug oversees the largest fire department in the state, protecting 12.7 million acres of non-federal land including private, state-owned, and tribal land from wildfires. He chairs the state Forest Practices Board, which sets regulations concerning private timber harvests, forest road building, and other forest operations.

DNR monitors cleanup and restoration efforts from mining operations, and assists communities by providing scientific information about earthquakes, landslides, and ecologically sensitive areas.

Doug Sutherland is the 12th Commissioner of Public Lands since statehood in 1889, and the fourth Commissioner to manage the Department of Natural Resources which was created in 1957. Doug began his first four-year term in January 2001 and was reelected to a second four-year term January 2004.

Background

Pierce County Executive
Doug Sutherland was Pierce County Executive from January 1993 to December 2000. As the county’s chief executive officer, he administered the day-to-day functions of 17 executive branch departments and was responsible for a $625 million annual budget.

In May 1999, Doug received the prestigious James R. Ellis Award in recognition of his regional leadership on key issues such as transportation, economic development, and salmon recovery.

Doug served as vice-president of Sound Transit and co-chair of the Tri-County Endangered Species Act (ESA) Task Force that responded to the ESA listing of salmon. He also has served on the boards of Pierce Transit, Puget Sound Regional Council, Washington State Association of Counties, Washington State Association of Counties Urban Caucus, American Heart Association - Pierce County Chapter, Tacoma Youth Symphony, Werlin Reading Teams, and the Tacoma Urban League. He served as the secretary of the Tacoma/Pierce County Economic Development Board of Directors.

City Manager
As the first City Manager for the City of SeaTac-from 1989 to 1992-Doug was responsible for the creation, staffing, and development of municipal services for the newly formed city. He also was responsible for developing the city’s strategic long-term plan. He helped lead SeaTac through pre-incorporation operations to its establishment as a fully functioning city in February 1990.

Mayor
From 1982 to 1989, Doug served as the elected Mayor of the City of Tacoma where he oversaw an annual budget of $450 million and more than 2,200 employees.

As Mayor, Doug tackled important environmental issues. First, he worked to clean up Tacoma’s air and bring it to federal standards. Second, when Commencement Bay in Tacoma was named as a Superfund cleanup site, Doug brought all parties together to craft a solution, which avoided lengthy and costly lawsuits and began the cleanup process quickly.

Doug also undertook the nation’s first community assessment to determine the quality of the environment in Tacoma, as requested by then U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus. Doug was instrumental in the historic Puyallup land claims settlement, restoration of downtown Tacoma’s Union Station and Pantages Theatre, construction of the Tacoma Dome, plus hotels and office towers. He helped initiate the University of Washington–Tacoma, and the new Washington State Historical Museum in downtown Tacoma.

City Council Member
Before becoming Mayor, Doug served on the Tacoma City Council from 1980 to 1981.

Owner/Chief Executive Officer
In 1971, Doug purchased Tacoma Tent and Awning Company, a small canvas company which at the time had four employees. Broad product diversification, market penetration, customer satisfaction, and employee teamwork led to company growth. The CEO and owner of the company is now Doug’s son, Scott.

The Boeing Company
While at the Boeing Company’s Renton Airplane Division from 1960 to 1971, Doug performed analytical studies of airplane development in the division’s Industrial Engineering section. He was promoted to program management in 1965, where he coordinated all phases of division activity including sales, contracting, engineering, and manufacturing.

Personal
Doug was born in Helena, Montana. He lived briefly in Vancouver, Washington, while his father served in the U.S. Navy. The family moved to Spokane in 1946.

Doug attended Central Washington University (CWU) in Ellensburg, graduating in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. In October 2001, CWU honored Doug with its “Distinguished Alumni Award for College of Arts and Humanities.”

The University of Washington College of Forest Resources recognized Doug in 2007 with an Honorary Alumnus Award. 

He is married to Grace, and they have six grown children and seven grandchildren. The Sutherlands live in Lacey.