Amended in Assembly April 22, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 904

Introduced by Assembly Member Chesbro

February 22, 2013

begin delete An act to amend Sections 4593.2, 4593.3, 4593.8, 4593.9, 4593.11, 4594, and 4594.7 of, and to add Section 4594.8 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to timber management plans. end delete begin insert An act to end insert begin insert add Article 7.7 (commencing with Section 4597) to Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, relating to forest resources. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 904, as amended, Chesbro. begin delete Nonindustrial timber management plans: nonindustrial forest landowners. end delete begin insert Forest practices: working forest management plans. end insert

begin insert

The Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations on timberland unless a timber harvesting plan has been prepared by a registered professional forester and has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and approved by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection or the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. A violation of the act is a crime.

end insert begin insert

The bill would authorize a person who intends to become a working forest landowner, as defined, to file a working forest management plan with the department, with the long-term objective of an uneven aged timber stand and sustained yield through the implementation of the plan. The bill would require the plan to be prepared by a registered professional forester, be public record, and contain certain information, including the name and address of the timberland owner. The bill would require the department to provide a public comment period 90 days from the date of the receipt of the plan. The bill would require the department to determine if the plan is accurate, complete, and in proper order. The bill would require the director to return the plan if the director determines that the plan is not in conformance, as provided.

end insert begin insert

The bill would require the working forest landowner who owns, leases, or otherwise controls or operates on all or any portion of any timberland within the boundaries of an approved plan and who harvests any of the timber during a given year to file a working forest harvest notice, as defined, with the department in writing. The bill would require the notice to be public record and to include certain information, including a statement that threatened or endangered plant or animal species have not been discovered in the harvest area since the approval of the plan.

end insert begin insert

The bill would require the director to convene an interdisciplinary review team, as described, every 5 years to review an approved plan’s administrative record and any other information relevant to the plan. The bill would authorize the department to cancel a previously approved plan if the department determines that the objectives of uneven aged management and sustained yield are not being met or if there are other persistent violations, as provided.

end insert begin insert

The bill would require the board to adopt regulations that tailor the plan program for landowners with 160 or fewer acres or 320 or fewer acres of timberlands, depending upon the location of the forest district.

end insert begin insert

The bill would require the board to adopt regulations needed to implement the above provisions by January 1, 2016.

end insert begin insert

Because a violation of these provisions is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

end insert begin insert

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end insert begin insert

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end insert begin delete

Existing law prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Forest Practice Act of 1973 provides that the Director of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has the final authority to determine whether a timber harvesting plan conforms with rules and regulations pertaining to timber harvesting. Existing law authorizes a person who intends to become a nonindustrial tree farmer to file a nonindustrial timber management plan with the department with the long-term objective of an uneven aged timber stand and sustained yield through the implementation of a nonindustrial timber management plan, and prescribes procedures for the preparation, filing, and approval of those plans. Existing law, for purposes of provisions governing nonindustrial timber management plans, defines a “nonindustrial tree farmer” to mean an owner of timberland with less than 2,500 acres who has an approved nonindustrial management plan and is not primarily engaged in the manufacture of forest products.

end delete begin delete

This bill would replace references in the Forest Practice Act of 1973 to a “nonindustrial tree farmer” with the term “nonindustrial forest landowner.” The bill would revise the definition of the nonindustrial tree landowner to mean an owner of timberland with no more than 2,500 acres.

end delete begin delete

This bill would require the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to adopt regulations, no later than January 1, 2015, to provide for an appeal procedure in the event the department cancels a previously approved nonindustrial timber management plan.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Article 7.7 (commencing with Section 4597) is
added to Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Article begin insert 7.7. end insert   Working Forest Management Plan

 

begin insert 4597. end insert   

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The nonindustrial timber management plan established
pursuant to Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 4593) has been
successful in meeting the intent of this chapter by encouraging
prudent and responsible forest management and discouraging
accelerated timberland conversion by private nonindustrial forest
landowners.

(b) There have been 693 nonindustrial timber management
plans approved by the department covering a combined area of
283,000 acres.

(c) Building upon the model provided by the nonindustrial
timber management plan, it is the policy of the state to encourage
long-term planning, increased productivity of timberland, and the
conservation of open space on a greater number of nonindustrial
working forest ownerships and acreages.

(d) It is the policy of the state to encourage prudent and
responsible forest resource management of nonindustrial
timberlands by approving working forest management plans in
advance and allowing ministerial working forest timber harvest
notices.

(e) To ensure long-term benefits such as added carbon
sequestration, local and regional employment and economic
activity, sustainable production of timber and other forest products,
aesthetics, and the maintenance of ecosystem processes and
services, the working forest management plan shall comply with
rigorous timber inventory standards that are subject to periodic
review and verification.

begin insert 4597.1. end insert   

Notwithstanding Section 4521, unless the context
otherwise requires, the following definitions govern construction
of this article:

(a) “Long-term sustained yield” means the average annual
growth sustainable by the inventory predicted at the end of a
100-year planning horizon, or a shorter planning horizon if the
forest encompassed by the working forest management plan has
reached a balanced state.

(b) “Major stand type” means a stand that occupies an area
equal to or greater than 25 percent of a working forest
management plan.

(c) “Planning unit” means a geographically identifiable polygon
delineated for silviculture or management purposes that is
integrated into developing a harvest schedule for the planning
horizon. A planning unit may be as large as a stand or smaller
when necessary to address specific resource sensitivities or to
schedule future harvest activity across the planning horizon for
sustained yield.

(d) “Stand” means a geographically identifiable group of trees
sufficiently uniform in age-class distribution, composition, and
structure and growing on a site of sufficiently uniform quality to
be a distinguishable unit.

(e) “Stand type” means a class of stand defined for silvicultural
or management purposes, usually according to composition,
structure, and age.

(f) “Sustained yield” means the yield of commercial wood that
an area of commercial timberland can produce continuously at a
given intensity of management consistent with required
environmental protection and that is professionally planned to
achieve over time a balance between growth and removal.
Sustained yield management implies continuous production
planned so as to achieve, at the earliest practical time, a balance
between growth and harvest.

(g) “Uneven aged management” means the management of a
specific forest, with the goal of establishing a well-stocked stand
of various age classes, which permits the periodic harvest of
individual or small groups of trees to realize the yield and
continually establish a new crop.

(h) “Working forest harvest notice” means notice of timber
harvest operations, pursuant to an approved working forest
management plan, which meets the requirements of Section
4597.11.

(i) “Working forest landowner” means an owner of timberland
with less than 15,000 acres who has an approved working forest
management plan and is not primarily engaged in the manufacture
of forest products.

(j) “Working forest management plan” means a management
plan for working forest timberlands, with an objective of an uneven
aged managed timber stand and sustained yield for each parcel
or group of contiguous parcels, which meets the requirements of
Section 4597.2.

(k) “Working forest timberlands” means timberland owned by
a working forest landowner.

begin insert 4597.2. end insert   

A working forest management plan may be filed with
the department in writing by a person who intends to become a
working forest landowner with the long-term objective of an uneven
aged timber stand and sustained yield through the implementation
of a working forest management plan. The management plan shall
be prepared by a registered professional forester. It shall be public
record and shall include all of the following information:

(a) The name and address of the timberland owner.

(b) A description of the land on which the plan is proposed to
be implemented, including a United States Geological Survey
quadrangle map or equivalent indicating the location of all
streams, the location of all proposed and existing logging truck
roads, and the boundaries of all site I classification timberlands
to be stocked in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 4561
and any other site classifications if the board establishes specific
minimum stocking standards for other site classifications.

(c) A description of the silviculture methods to be applied and
the type of yarding equipment to be used.

(d) A description and discussion of the methods to be used to
avoid significant sediment discharge to watercourses from timber
operations. This shall include disclosure of erosion sites, erosion
control implementation plans, and an erosion control
implementation schedule. To avoid duplicative work, this
subdivision does not apply to the extent that the working forest
landowner does both of the following:

(1) Is complying with substantially similar requirements in
existing law.

(2) Submits information to the department that details how they
are complying with existing law.

(e) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area within
the boundaries of the proposed working forest management plan.

(f) A description of the existing stand, its current projected
growth, how long-term sustained yield will be achieved, alterations
required to achieve the management objectives, projected timber
volumes and tree sizes to be available for harvest, and projected
frequencies of harvest. This description shall include disclosure
of existing or expected late seral habitat and how it will be
managed sustainably to preserve its late seral characteristics.

(g) A delineation of stand types and planning units. To develop
an adequate estimate of current growth and potential long-term
growth based on the sustained yield policy, major stand types shall
have an inventory precision as measured by the standard error
that is no greater than 15 percent of their respective inventory
estimate. For other stand types that individually represent 10
percent or more of the working forest management plan, the
inventory precision as measured by the standard error shall be no
greater than 25 percent of their respective inventory estimate.

(h) A certification by the registered professional forester
preparing the plan that the forester or a designee has personally
inspected the plan area.

(i) Any other information the board requires by regulation to
meet its rules and the standards of this chapter.

begin insert 4597.3. end insert   

The board shall adopt regulations regarding the notice
of receipt of the proposed working forest management plan. The
notice shall be given within two working days following submission
of the proposed management plan and shall be consistent with all
applicable laws. In adopting the regulations, the board shall take
account of the extent of the administrative burden involved in
giving the notice. The method of notice shall include, but not be
limited to, mailed notice. The regulations may require the person
submitting the working forest management plan to provide to the
department a list of the names and addresses of persons to whom
the notice is to be mailed.

begin insert 4597.4. end insert   

The department shall provide notice of the filing of
working forest management plans to any person who requests in
writing that notification.

begin insert 4597.5. end insert   

Upon receipt of the working forest management plan,
the department shall place the plan, or a true copy of the plan, in
a file available for public inspection in the county in which timber
operations are proposed under the plan. For the purpose of
interdisciplinary review, the department shall also transmit a copy
to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the appropriate California
regional water quality control board, the county planning agency,
and all other agencies having jurisdiction by law over natural
resources affected by the plan. The department shall invite,
consider, and respond in writing to comments received from public
agencies to which the plan has been transmitted and shall consult
with those agencies at their request.

begin insert 4597.6. end insert   

(a) The department shall provide a public comment
period of 90 days from the date of the receipt of a working forest
management plan.

(b) Before a working forest management plan may be approved,
all of the following requirements shall be met:

(1) Within 20 days of the receipt of a working forest management
plan, or within 30 days of the receipt of a plan to which a road
management plan is appended, the department shall determine if
the plan is accurate, complete, and in proper order, and if so, the
plan shall be filed.

(2) The initial inspection shall be conducted within 20 days
from the date of filing of the working forest management plan.

(3) Upon completion of the initial inspection, the department
shall have 30 days to conduct the final interagency review of the
plan.

(4) The public comment period shall end 20 days after the
completion of the final interagency review of the plan.

(5) After the final interagency review and public comment period
has ended, the department shall have up to 30 days to review the
public input, to consider recommendations and mitigation measures
of other agencies, to respond in writing to the issues raised, and
to determine if the plan is in conformance with the applicable rules
adopted by the board.

(c) If the director determines that the plan is not in conformance
with the rules and regulations of the board or this chapter, the
director shall return the plan, stating the reasons for the return
and advising the person submitting the plan of the person’s right
to a hearing before the board.

(d) If the director does not act within the time periods provided
in paragraphs (1) through (5) in subdivision (b), the director and
the working forest landowner submitting the working forest
management plan shall negotiate and mutually agree upon a longer
period for the director to review the plan. If a longer period cannot
be mutually agreed upon, the working forest management plan
shall be deemed denied and returned to the working forest
landowner submitting the plan.

(e) (1) A working forest landowner to whom a plan is returned
may, within 10 days from the receipt of the plan, request the board
for a public hearing before the board. The board shall schedule
a public hearing to review the plan to determine if the plan is in
conformance with the rules and regulations of the board and this
chapter.

(2) Board action shall take place within 30 days from the filing
of the appeal, or a longer period mutually agreed upon by the
board and the person filing the appeal.

(3) If the plan is not approved on appeal to the board, the
director, within 10 days of board action, may determine that the
plan is in conformance if the working forest landowner revises the
plan to bring it into full conformance with the rules and regulations
of the board and this chapter.

begin insert 4597.7. end insert   

The working forest landowner may submit a proposed
amendment to the approved plan and shall not take any action
that substantially deviates, as defined by the board, from the
approved plan until the amendment has been filed with the director
and the director has determined either of the following:

(a) The amendment is in compliance with the current rules and
regulations of the board and the provisions of this chapter.

(b) The amendment is in compliance with the rules and
regulations of the board and the provisions of this chapter that
were in effect at the time the working forest management plan was
approved. The director may only make this determination if the
director finds both of the following:

(1) The adherence to new or modified rules or laws would cause
unreasonable additional expense to the working forest landowner.

(2) Compliance with the rules and regulations of the board and
the provisions of this chapter that were in effect at the time the
working forest management plan was approved will not result in
any significant degradation to the beneficial uses of water, soil
stability, forest productivity, or wildlife.

begin insert 4597.8. end insert   

The working forest landowner may take actions that
do not substantially deviate from the approved plan without the
submission of an amendment, but those actions shall be
subsequently reported to the department. The board shall specify,
by regulation, those nonsubstantial deviations that may be taken.
The board shall specify the requirements for reporting those
deviations.

begin insert 4597.9. end insert   

In the event of a change of ownership of the land
described in the working forest management plan, the plan shall
expire 180 days from the date of change of ownership unless the
new timberland owner notifies the department in writing of the
change of ownership and his or her assumption of the plan.

begin insert 4597.10. end insert   

The working forest landowner may cancel the working
forest management plan by submitting a written notice to the
department. Once timber operations have commenced pursuant
to a working forest harvest notice, cancellation is not effective on
land covered by the notice until a report of satisfactory completion
has been issued pursuant to Sections 4585, 4586, and 4587.

begin insert 4597.11. end insert   

The working forest landowner who owns, leases, or
otherwise controls or operates on all or any portion of any
timberland within the boundaries of an approved working forest
management plan, and who plans to harvest any of the timber
during a given year, shall file a working forest harvest notice with
the department in writing. A notice shall be filed prior to the
harvesting of any timber and shall be effective for a maximum of
one year from the date of filing. If the person who files the notice
is not the owner of the timberland, the person filing the notice
shall notify the timberland owner by certified mail that the notice
has been submitted and shall certify that mailing to the department.
The notice shall be a public record and shall include all of the
following information:

(a) The name and address of the timber owner.

(b) The name and address of the timber operator.

(c) The name and address of the registered professional forester
preparing the working forest management plan.

(d) A description of the land on which the work is proposed to
be done.

(e) A statement that no archeological sites have been discovered
in the harvest area since the approval of the working forest
management plan.

(f) A statement that rare, threatened, or endangered plant or
animal species have not been discovered in the harvest area since
the approval of the working forest management plan. Prior to
submitting the notice, a review for any species listed as threatened,
endangered, or rare, or species that meet the criteria of endangered
or rare as provided in Section 15380 of Title 14 of the California
Code of Regulations, shall be conducted after the initial year after
the plan is approved. Any changes to the working forest
management plan’s species, species status, habitats, or protection
measures for species or habitats shall be submitted to the
department as an amendment to the plan before commencing
operations.

(g) A statement that there are no physical environmental
changes in the harvest area that are so significant as to require
any amendment of the working forest management plan.

(h) A certification by the registered professional forester that
states either of the following:

(1) The notice as carried out will implement best management
practices for protection of the beneficial uses of water, soil
stability, forest productivity, and wildlife as required by the current
operational rules of the board.

(2) Compliance with the rules and regulations of the board and
the provisions of this chapter that were in effect at the time the
working forest management plan was approved will not result in
any significant degradation to the beneficial uses of water, soil
stability, forest productivity, or wildlife. This paragraph shall only
apply if the forester certifies that adherence to current or modified
rules or laws would cause unreasonable additional expense to the
working forest landowner.

(i) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area within
the area of timber operations.

(j) The expected dates of commencement and completion of
timber operations during the year.

(k) A statement that the harvesting notice conforms to the
provisions of the approved management plan. If any aspects of the
proposed operation are less protective than the current forest
practices rules, an explanation of the deviation and how resource
values will be adequately protected.

(l) Any other information the board provides by regulation to
meet its rules and the standards of this chapter.

begin insert 4597.12. end insert   

For an approved working forest management plan,
the director shall convene a meeting with the interdisciplinary
review team, as that term is used in Section 1037.5 of Title 14 of
the California Code of Regulations, every five years to review the
plan’s administrative record and any other information relevant
to the plan. If at this meeting a member of the review team
determines that a field review is necessary to verify the plan’s
compliance with the appropriate rules and regulations, then a
field review may be conducted.

begin insert 4597.13. end insert   

The registered professional forester who prepares
the working forest management plan or prepares the notice of
harvest, or any other registered professional forester who is
employed by the owner or operator, shall report to the owner or
operator if there are deviations from the plan that, in the forester’s
judgment, threaten the attainment of the resource conservation
standards of the plan.

begin insert 4597.14. end insert   

If the board finds that a registered professional
forester has made any material misstatement in a working forest
harvest notice, working forest management plan, or report pursuant
to this chapter, the board shall take disciplinary action against
the forester as provided pursuant to Section 775.

begin insert 4597.15. end insert   

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter,
if a registered professional forester certifies by written declaration,
on behalf of the timber owner or operator, that the working forest
harvest notice conforms to and meets the requirements of the
approved working forest management plan under which it is filed,
timber operations may commence immediately. If the notice has
been filed by mailing, operations may commence three days after
the notice has been mailed.

begin insert 4597.16. end insert   

If the department determines that the objectives of
uneven aged management and sustained yield are not being met
by a working forest landowner, or there are other persistent
violations detected that are not being corrected, the department
shall cancel a previously approved working forest management
plan and any further timber operations under the plan shall be
terminated. In making a determination to cancel a plan, the
department may cite the findings of a review conducted pursuant
to Section 4597.12.

begin insert 4597.17. end insert   

If a landowner with a nonindustrial timber
management plan or a working forest management plan with less
than 2,500 acres expands his or her total timberland ownership
to 2,500 or more acres, the landowner may transition into a
working forest management plan for more than 2,500 acres through
an amendment to the plan. The board shall adopt regulations that
establish this amendment process.

begin insert 4597.18. end insert   

(a) To encourage smaller landowners to engage in
long-term, sustainable forest management, the board shall adopt
regulations that tailor the working forest management plan
program for landowners with 160 or fewer acres of timberlands
in the Coast Forest District and landowners with 320 or fewer
acres of timberlands in the Northern Forest District or Southern
Forest District. These regulations shall establish rebuttable
presumptions, including presumptions related to sustained yield
and cumulative effects, that err on the side of conservation but
provide the cost savings to incentivize small landowners to develop
modified small working forest management plans.

(b) The board shall adopt these regulations that are necessary
to support the rebuttable presumptions regarding cumulative effects
and sustained yield. At a minimum, the regulations shall include
the following provisions:

(1) Harvest shall not exceed 80 percent of growth over any
10-year period, nor exceed 20 percent of harvestable inventory,
whichever is less.

(2) Harvesting operations shall result in the full range of age
classes and species of trees appropriate to the location, well
distributed across the ownership. Retention of trees should
prioritize those with significant value to wildlife.

(3) Any road construction or reconstruction on slopes over 50
percent shall include consultation by a registered engineering
geologist.

begin insert 4597.19. end insert   

Notwithstanding any other law, if a person with a
working forest management plan or a nonindustrial timber
management plan applies for state restoration grant funding for
a restoration project that has a significant public benefit, the
application shall not be summarily denied on the basis that the
project is a required condition of the harvesting plan.

begin insert 4597.20. end insert   

The board shall adopt the regulations needed to
implement this article by January 1, 2016.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert begin insert

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 4593.2 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.2.  

Notwithstanding Section 4521, unless the context
otherwise requires, the following definitions govern construction
of this article:

(a) “Nonindustrial timberlands” means timberland owned by a
nonindustrial forest landowner.

(b) “Nonindustrial forest landowner” means an owner of
timberland with no more than 2,500 acres who has an approved
nonindustrial management plan and is not primarily engaged in
the manufacture of forest products.

(c) “Uneven aged management” means the management of a
specific forest, with the goal of establishing a well stocked stand
of various age classes and that permits the periodic harvest of
individual or small groups of trees to realize the yield and
continually establish a new crop.

(d) “Sustained yield” means the yield of commercial wood that
an area of commercial timberland can produce continuously at a
given intensity of management consistent with required
environmental protection and that is professionally planned to
achieve over time a balance between growth and removal.

(e) “Nonindustrial timber management plan” means a
management plan for nonindustrial timberlands with an objective
of an uneven aged managed timber stand and sustained yield for
each parcel or group of contiguous parcels meeting the
requirements of Section 4593.3.

(f) “Nonindustrial timber harvest notice” means notice of timber
harvest operations pursuant to an approved nonindustrial timber
management plan and meeting the requirements of Section 4594.

SEC. 2.  

Section 4593.3 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.3.  

A nonindustrial timber management plan may be filed
with the department in writing by a person who intends to become
a nonindustrial forest landowner with the long-term objective of
an uneven aged timber stand and sustained yield through the
implementation of a nonindustrial timber management plan. The
management plan shall be prepared by a registered professional
forester. It shall be a public record and shall include all of the
following information:

(a) The name and address of the timberland owner.

(b) A description of the land on which the plan is proposed to
be implemented, including a United States Geological Survey
quadrangle map or equivalent indicating the location of all streams,
the location of all proposed and existing logging truck roads, and
indicating boundaries of all site I classification timberlands to be
stocked in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 4561 and
any other site classifications if the board establishes specific
minimum stocking standards for other site classifications.

(c) A description of the silviculture methods to be applied and
the type of yarding equipment to be used.

(d) An outline of the methods to be used to avoid excessive
accelerated erosion from timber operations to be conducted within
the proximity of a stream.

(e) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area within
the boundaries of the proposed nonindustrial timber management
plan.

(f) A description of the existing stand, its current projected
growth, alterations required to achieve the management objectives,
the projected timber volumes and tree sizes to be available for
harvest, and projected frequencies of harvest.

(g) A certification by the registered professional forester
preparing the plan that he or she or a designee has personally
inspected the plan area.

(h) Any other information the board provides by regulation to
meet its rules and the standards of this chapter.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4593.8 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.8.  

The nonindustrial forest landowner may submit a
proposed amendment to the approved plan and may not take any
action that substantially deviates, as defined by the board, from
the approved plan until the amendment has been filed with the
director and the director has determined that the amendment is in
compliance with the rules and regulations of the board and this
chapter that were in effect at the time the nonindustrial timber
management plan was approved, in accordance with the same
procedures specified in Section 4593.7.

SEC. 4.  

Section 4593.9 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.9.  

The nonindustrial forest landowner may take actions
that do not substantially deviate from the approved plan without
the submittal of an amendment, but those actions shall be
subsequently reported to the department. The board shall specify,
by regulation, those nonsubstantial deviations that may be taken.
The board shall specify the requirements for reporting those
deviations.

SEC. 5.  

Section 4593.11 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.11.  

The nonindustrial forest landowner may cancel the
nonindustrial timber management plan by submitting a written
notice to the department. Once timber operations have commenced
pursuant to a nonindustrial timber harvest notice, cancellation is
not effective on land covered by the notice until a report of
satisfactory completion has been issued pursuant to Sections 4585,
4586, and 4587.

SEC. 6.  

Section 4594 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4594.  

The nonindustrial forest landowner who owns, leases,
or otherwise controls or operates on all or any portion of any
timberland within the boundaries of an approved nonindustrial
timber management plan, and who plans to harvest any of the
timber thereon during a given year, shall file a nonindustrial timber
harvest notice with the department in writing. A notice shall be
filed prior to the harvesting of any timber and shall be effective
for a maximum of one year from the date of filing. If the person
who files the notice is not the owner of the timberland, the person
filing the notice shall notify the timberland owner by certified mail
that the notice has been submitted, and shall certify that mailing
to the department. The notice shall be a public record and shall
include all of the following information:

(a) The name and address of the timber owner.

(b) The name and address of the timber operator.

(c) The name and address of the registered professional forester
preparing the nonindustrial timber harvest notice.

(d) A description of the land on which the work is proposed to
be done.

(e) A statement that no archeological sites have been discovered
in the harvest area since the approval of the nonindustrial timber
management plan.

(f) A statement that no rare, threatened, or endangered plant or
animal species has been discovered in the harvest area since the
approval of the nonindustrial timber management plan.

(g) A statement that there have been no physical environmental
changes in the harvest area that are so significant as to require any
amendment of the nonindustrial timber management plan.

(h) A certification by the registered professional forester that
the notice as carried out will implement best management practices
for protection of the beneficial uses of water, soil stability, forest
productivity, and wildlife as required by the current rules of the
board, or a certification that practices consistent with the original
plan will not result in any significant degradation to the beneficial
uses of water, soil stability, forest productivity, or wildlife.

(i) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area within
the area of timber operations.

(j) The expected dates of commencement and completion of
timber operations during the year.

(k) A statement that the harvesting notice conforms to the
provisions of the approved management plan.

(l) Any other information the board provides by regulation to
meet its rules and the standards of this chapter.

SEC. 7.  

Section 4594.7 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4594.7.  

If it is determined that the objectives of uneven aged
management and sustained yield are not being met by a
nonindustrial forest landowner, or there are other persistent
violations detected that are not being corrected, a previously
approved nonindustrial timber management plan shall be canceled
by the department and any further timber operations under the plan
shall be terminated.

SEC. 8.  

Section 4594.8 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

4594.8.  

The board shall adopt regulations, no later than January
1, 2015, to provide for an appeal procedure in the event that the
department cancels a previously approved nonindustrial timber
management plan.

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