Times editorial endorsements

OVERSIGHT of the state's public lands requires environmental sensitivity, political experience and managerial skills to ramrod a cranky agency through changing times. Pierce County Executive Doug Sutherland is strongest in all three areas.

Republican Sutherland is endorsed for state lands commissioner over another well-qualified candidate, former governor and congressman Mike Lowry.

In the past, the choice to head the state Department of Natural Resources has been more stark. This time, both candidates have appealing records of public service.

Lowry worked for years with former Republican Gov. Dan Evans on the bipartisan Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. They raised hundreds of millions of dollars for more than 100,000 acres for parks, trails and wildlife habitat.

Lowry knows how government works and is comfortable with the levers of power. He is knowledgeable about the issues facing DNR, from managing state trust lands to cleaning up the state's aquatic lands. He understands state forests are no longer simply a cash cow for the state treasury, but that timber harvest is being shaped by environmental constraints on logging and by the public's interests in watersheds and recreation.

Sutherland's campaign has attracted the most financial support from timber, marine and real-estate interests, but they are doomed to disappointment if assumptions are made about easy influence over his stewardship of DNR.

The two-term Pierce County executive is a leader in salmon restoration, along with his counterparts in King and Snohomish counties. The three executives filled a leadership vacuum when it became clear the economic health and vitality of their counties would be affected by endangered-species listings and other federal environmental regulations.

Sutherland, who is leaving office due to term limits, is responsible for balancing environmental goals with economic realities within his county. One could not ask for better preparation for guiding the mission of the natural resources department. This is also an agency with 1,300 employees eager for fresh administration.

Sutherland is the best choice for moving resistant employees away from a production mindset into a broader view of public purposes on trust lands.

Sutherland's reputation as a strong, effective manager of people and organizations is a key factor in endorsing him for lands commissioner. His environmental instincts and record are just as sound.