Jennifer Belcher, Washington’s first female public lands commissioner, dies at 78
Jennifer Belcher, the first woman to serve as Washington state’s public lands commissioner, died on Thursday with her family in West Virginia. She was 78.
Barbara Miller, Belcher’s sister, confirmed her death to The Olympian. “She leaves one great legacy of breaking the glass ceiling and helping a lot of younger women break that glass ceiling,” Miller said.
Belcher led the state Department of Natural Resources from 1993 to 2001, administering 5.8 million acres of public land, according to her state biography. She also worked to protect wildlife habitat and hired the state’s first female state forester.
In a statement, current Public Lands Commissioner Hillary Franz called Belcher an inspirational figure with a distinguished and proud legacy.
“As just the second woman to serve in this role, I am forever grateful to Commissioner Belcher for her fearlessness in trailblazing a path that made my service possible,” Franz said. “Her commitment to this agency, care for our natural environment, and deep sense of social justice continue to inspire me and so many others.”
Franz told The Olympian she believes all Washington citizens owe Belcher gratitude and respect for her service. This is especially true for women who have historically been less represented in the DNR.
“It takes an enormous amount of courage to step into a room, step into work, as challenging as this work is, and find yourself to be one of very few like you.” Franz said.
Franz said she thinks Belcher’s longest-lasting legacy is the Habitat Conservation Plan for DNR managed forest lands. In her Legacy Washington biography, Belcher herself called the Habitat Conservation Plan one of the great accomplishments of her tenure.
The plan, created in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is still used today to allow reliable timber harvests while still protecting habitat for threatened and endangered species.
In 1983, Belcher, a Democrat, began a decade of service in the state House of Representatives, representing Legislative District 22, which included most of Thurston County.
Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, who served with Belcher in the state House, said in a statement that he and his wife, Paula Heck, are “deeply saddened” by Belcher’s death.
“Look up ‘trailblazer’ in the dictionary and you’ll find a picture of Jennifer Belcher,” Heck said. “During her decades of public service in the Legislature and as Commissioner of Public Lands, Jennifer forged new paths for women working in state government and environmental conservation. Jennifer’s legacy is a healthier, greener, more equal Washington for all.”
As a representative, Belcher also pushed for subsidized daycare and comparable pay for women employed by the state.
“She was a public servant to the state of Washington for the majority of her adult life. We shared her with the people of Washington, and we intend to bring her ashes back there and scatter them and let her remain forever with you all,” Miller said.
Belcher was born on Jan. 4, 1944 in Beckly, West Virginia. She got her start in politics by working as an aide to Washington state Governors Daniel J. Evans and Dixy Lee Ray from 1973 to 1979.
She declared her candidacy for Commissioner of Public Lands in 1992 as the first woman to even attempt it. She defeated Ann Anderson, a Republican state senator from Whatcom County.
Rather than run a third time, Belcher chose to focus on her family. She eventually returned to West Virginia to work as a founding partner for Legacy Builders, a firm that helps executives shape a community legacy.
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
