BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 744
Page 1
( Without Reference to File )
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 744 (Dahle and Gordon)
As Amended September 12, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 9, 2013) |SENATE: |26-5 |(September 12, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Creates the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project
Exemption (24 Inch Exemption), which is a three-year pilot
project focused on the Sierra Nevada Region that allows the
removal of trees less than 24 inches in stump diameter, with
specific limitations designed to reduce fire risk and protect
natural and archeological resources.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Create the 24 Inch Exemption if all of the following
conditions are met:
a) Only trees less than 24 inches in stump diameter,
measured at eight inches above ground level, may be
removed. A fuel reduction effort shall not violate the
canopy closure regulations adopted by the Board of Forestry
and Fire Protection on June 10, 2004, and as those
regulations may be amended;
b) The tree harvesting will decrease fuel continuity and
increase the quadratic mean diameter of the stand, and the
tree harvesting area will not exceed 300 acres;
c) A registered professional forester prepares the notice
of exemption and submits it to the Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection (CALFIRE), and includes a map of the
area of timber operations as specified;
d) The registered professional forester who submits the
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notice includes selection criteria for the trees to be
harvested or the trees to be retained. In the development
of fuel reduction prescriptions, the registered
professional forester should consider retaining habitat
elements, where feasible, including, but not limited to,
ground level cover necessary for the long-term management
of local wildlife populations;
e) The registered professional forester submitting the
notice, upon submission of the notice, provides a
confidential archaeology letter as specified;
f) The timber operations comply with regulations regarding
the harvesting of dead, dying or diseased trees of any
size, fuelwood, or split products;
g) The registered professional forester who submits the
notice of exemption shall include a description of the
preharvest stand structure and a statement of the
postharvest stand stocking levels. The level of residual
stocking shall be consistent with maximum sustained
production of high-quality timber products. The residual
stand shall consist primarily of healthy and vigorous
dominant and codominant trees from the preharvest stand.
Where present prior to operations, the overstory canopy
closure for trees greater than 12 inches in diameter at
breast height shall not be reduced below 50%. Stocking
shall be met with the largest trees available prior to
harvest and shall not be reduced below the standards as
specified;
h) The activities conducted pursuant to this paragraph
occur in the Sierra Nevada Region, in Modoc, Siskiyou, or
Trinity Counties, or in any combination of these areas; and
i) All activities conducted pursuant to this paragraph
occur within the most recent version of CALFIRE's Fire
Hazard Severity Zone Map in the moderate, high, and very
high fire threat zones.
2)Sunset the 24 Inch Exemption three years after the effective
date of the regulations.
3)Require CALFIRE to maintain records regarding the use of the
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24 Inch Exemption in order to evaluate the impact of the
exemption on fuel reduction and the resource.
EXISTING LAW : Pursuant to the Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice
Act (FPA):
1)Prohibits, generally, any person from conducting timber
operations unless a timber harvest plan (THP) has been
prepared by a registered professional forester and approved by
CALFIRE.
2)Requires CALFIRE to establish interdisciplinary review teams
to review a THP to assist in the evaluation of the plan and
its impacts on the environment.
3)Establishes the Forest Fire Prevention Exemption (18 Inch
Exemption) for tree harvesting that meets specific conditions,
including the following:
a) Only trees less than 18 inches in stump diameter,
measured at eight inches above ground level, may be
removed. However, within 500 feet of a legally permitted
structure, or in an area prioritized as a shaded fuel break
in a community wildfire protection plan approved by a
public fire agency, if the goal of fuel reduction cannot be
achieved by removing trees less than 18 inches in stump
diameter, trees less than 24 inches in stump diameter may
be removed if that removal is necessary to achieve the goal
of fuel reduction.
b) The harvesting must occur on parcels of 300 acres or
less;
c) The harvesting must decrease fuel continuity (both
vertically and horizontally);
d) The harvesting must result in making the average
diameter of the trees that remain in the stand larger than
the average diameter of the trees in the stand prior to the
fuel reduction activities;
e) A registered professional forester must prepare the
notice of exemption;
f) The level of residual stocking must be consistent with
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maximum sustained production of high-quality timber
products; and
g) The activities must comply with the regulations that
protect archaeological sites.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time costs of up to $70,000, from the State Responsibility
Area Fire Prevention Fund (special fund), to the Board of
Forestry in FY 2013-14 for the development of regulations.
2)Unknown, but likely absorbable, increased inspection costs
from the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund for
timber operations under the 24 Inch Exemption in FY 2013-14,
likely though FY 2016-17 or at inoperative date.
COMMENTS : According to CALFIRE, since 2004, the 18 Inch
Exemption has been used to achieve fuel hazard reduction on
8,408 acres in the state. This exemption has been mostly
utilized in San Bernardino, Plumas, and Placer Counties, where,
as of last year, 2,092, 1,913, and 1,305 acres have been
harvested, respectively, over the life of the program.
Many have asserted that the 18 Inch Exemption is not successful
in reaching its goal of forest fire prevention because of the
relatively low amount of acreage that has been affected by the
exemption. By creating a forest fire prevention exemption that
increases the stump diameter to 24 inches, this bill creates a
bigger economic incentivize-since larger trees are more
valuable-for forest landowners to perform mechanical thinning on
their property. Deliberate mechanical thinning is generally
considered one of a few techniques a landowner can utilize to
reduce the risk of catastrophic forest fires.
The 24 Inch Exemption is a three-year pilot project focused on
the Sierra Nevada Region and in areas that CALFIRE considers
moderate, high, and very high fire threat zones. As explained
in the intent section of the bill, the purpose of making this a
pilot project is to access whether increasing the diameter of
trees that may be removed pursuant to a forest fire exemption
can reduce the risk of catastrophic fires.
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Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0002869