(1) The department may:
(a) Inquire into the production, quality, and quantity of second growth timber to ascertain conditions for reforestation; and
(b) Publish information pertaining to forestry and forest products which it considers of benefit to the people of the state.
(2) The department shall:
(a) Collect information through investigation by its employees, on forestlands owned by the state, including:
(i) Condition of the lands;
(ii) Forest fire damage;
(iii) Illegal cutting, trespassing, or thefts; and
(iv) The number of acres and the value of the timber that is cut and removed each year, to determine which state lands are valuable chiefly for growing timber;
(b) Prepare maps of each timbered county showing state land therein; and
(c) Protect forested public land, as defined in RCW 79.02.010, as much as is practical and feasible from fire, trespass, theft, and the illegal cutting of timber.
(3) When the department considers it to be in the best interest of the state, it may cooperate with any agency of another state, the United States or any agency thereof, the Dominion of Canada or any agency or province thereof, and any county, town, corporation, individual, or Indian tribe within the state of Washington in:
(a) Forest surveys;
(b) Forest studies;
(c) Forest products studies; and
(d) Preparation of plans for the protection, management, and replacement of trees, wood lots, and timber tracts.