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Belcher first won election to the House in the 1982 election, taking her seat in 1983. Her leadership positions included stints as chair of the State
Government Committee (1985–1986), Natural Resources (later Natural Resources and Parks) committee (1989–1992), and vice-chair of the Labor Committee
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After a long illness, Belcher died on March 31, 2022, at the age of 78. One obituary described
Belcher's leadership of the DNR as "transformational", both in who was hired and in the department's policies. Leading forest ecologist Jerry Franklin called her "a revolutionary" for changing the DNR's
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In this role, Belcher hired the state's first female state forester, Kaleen
Cottingham. The change Belcher brought and embodied was not always welcome. For example, Cottingham recalled seeing a sign taped up in a DNR men's bathroom: "Will the last white man leaving the natural resources building
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from 1983 to 1993. Her major legislative achievements include subsidizing childcare for state employees and furthering equal pay for women in state government. As commissioner of public lands, she oriented the
369:, overseeing over five million acres of state-owned lands and shorelands, as well as various scientific, land management, and environmental restoration programs and related law enforcement functions.
238:; January 4, 1944 – March 31, 2022) was an American politician who was the first woman to serve as Washington commissioner of public lands from 1993 to 2001. Belcher previously represented the
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Her major legislative achievements include subsidizing childcare for state employees and furthering equal pay for women in state government. She also worked on bills related to
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In 2000, Belcher decided not to run for a third term so that she could return to West
Virginia to care for her parents, who had health issues. Belcher endorsed former Governor
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in his bid to succeed her in the 2000 election. Despite his wide name recognition, solid environmental record, and
Belcher's endorsement, Lowry lost to Republican
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to become the first woman to hold that office. She swept into office as part of an unprecedented wave of women winning office in
Washington, including
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Regardless, Belcher instituted significant changes in her time at DNR. Perhaps her "crowning achievement" was finalization in 1997 of a 50-year
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and worked as a state employee and as president of
Management Dynamics, which advised growing businesses.
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In 1992, Belcher ran successfully for commissioner of public lands, defeating
Republican
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direction with respect to ecological conservation and species protection.
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Democratic Party members of the
Washington House of Representatives
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Belcher was born
Jennifer Emerson Marion on January 4, 1944 in
520:"Jennifer Belcher, WA's first woman lands commissioner, dies"
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Belcher started in politics as a political aide to Governors
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91:Washington House of Representatives
758:Women state legislators in Washington (state)
729:, Washington Department of Natural Resources.
35:Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands
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110:January 10, 1983 – January 11, 1993
47:January 13, 1993 – January 10, 2001
609:"Lowry, Michael Edward "Mike" (1939-2017)"
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727:Habitat Conservation on State Trust Lands
358:, and Washington's first female senator,
326:, minimum pay and farm labor standards,
773:Politicians from Beckley, West Virginia
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778:Bethany College (West Virginia) alumni
580:"Sommers, Helen Elizabeth (1932-2017)"
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518:Mapes, Linda V. (April 7, 2022).
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373:please put down the toilet lid.”
365:As commissioner, Belcher ran the
578:Caldbick, John (June 24, 2015),
558:Secretary of State of Washington
768:People from Olympia, Washington
607:Chesley, Frank (May 13, 2008),
16:American politician (1944–2022)
314:State House of Representatives
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645:Washington State Legislature
471:Washington State Legislature
338:Commissioner of public lands
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714:Ray Moore: An Oral History
680:Seattle Post-Intelligencer
279:. Both were Democrats and
378:Habitat Conservation Plan
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467:Women in the Legislature
259:Early life and education
232:Jennifer Emerson Belcher
406:Career outside politics
397:Pierce County Executive
150:Jennifer Emerson Marion
120:W. H. “Bill” Garson Jr.
617:, Seattle: History Ink
588:, Seattle: History Ink
382:Endangered Species Act
292:Bethany, West Virginia
265:Beckley, West Virginia
163:Beckley, West Virginia
220:Management consultant
271:and a member of the
683:, October 29, 1992.
412:Olympia, Washington
310:from 1973 to 1979.
180:Olympia, Washington
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637:"Jennifer Belcher"
550:"Jennifer Belcher"
460:"Jennifer Belcher"
380:under the federal
348:Christine Gregoire
554:Legacy Washington
525:The Seattle Times
410:Belcher lived in
386:state trust lands
332:growth management
286:Belcher attended
281:environmentalists
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360:Patty Murray
352:Deborah Senn
344:Ann Anderson
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330:, and urban
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308:Dixy Lee Ray
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253:conservation
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175:(2022-03-31)
126:Succeeded by
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77:Succeeded by
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748:2022 deaths
743:1944 births
614:HistoryLink
585:HistoryLink
328:child abuse
131:Cathy Wolfe
116:Preceded by
71:Brian Boyle
67:Preceded by
737:Categories
439:References
393:Mike Lowry
216:Occupation
211:(attended)
191:Democratic
156:1944-01-04
60:Gary Locke
56:Mike Lowry
650:April 12,
621:April 12,
592:April 12,
563:April 12,
531:April 12,
476:April 12,
304:Dan Evans
277:recycling
273:Teamsters
205:Education
106:In office
95:from the
43:In office
427:See also
99:district
52:Governor
251:toward
242:in the
298:Career
269:Kroger
236:Marion
197:Spouse
182:, U.S.
165:, U.S.
463:(PDF)
234:(née
33:13th
652:2022
623:2022
594:2022
565:2022
533:2022
478:2022
306:and
170:Died
146:Born
97:22nd
290:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.