BILL NUMBER: AB 904 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 21, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chesbro
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
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.
An act to 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.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 904, as amended, Chesbro. Nonindustrial timber
management plans: nonindustrial forest landowners.
Forest practices: working forest management plans.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The bill would require the board to adopt regulations needed to
implement the above provisions by January 1, 2016.
Because a violation of these provisions is a crime, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
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.
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.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 7.7 (commencing with Section
4597) is added to Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the
Public Resources Code , to read:
Article 7.7. Working Forest Management Plan
4597. 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.
4597.1. 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.
4597.2. 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.
4597.3. 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.
4597.4. The department shall provide notice of the filing of
working forest management plans to any person who requests in writing
that notification.
4597.5. 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.
4597.6. (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.
4597.7. 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.
4597.8. 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.
4597.9. 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.
4597.10. 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.
4597.11. 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.
4597.12. 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.
4597.13. 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.
4597.14. 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.
4597.15. 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.
4597.16. 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.
4597.17. 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.
4597.18. (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.
4597.19. 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.
4597.20. The board shall adopt the regulations needed to
implement this article by January 1, 2016.
SEC. 2. 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.
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.