Amended in Senate June 19, 2013

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

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. 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 begin insert state or federally listed rare, end insert threatened begin insert , end insert 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.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: 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 begin delete 693 end delete begin insert 763 end insert nonindustrial timber management
plans approved by the department covering a combined area of
begin delete 283,000 end delete begin insert 15,000 end insert 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 begin delete balanced state end delete begin insert balance between growth and yield end insert .

(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)  begin delete “Planning unit” end delete begin insert “Management unit” end insert means a geographically
identifiable begin delete polygon end delete begin insert area end insert delineated for silviculture or
management purposes begin delete that is integrated into developing a harvest
schedule for the planning horizon end delete . A begin delete planning end delete begin insert management end insert unit
begin delete 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 end delete begin delete sustained yield end delete begin insert is intended to reflect
an area scheduled for harvest under the plan in any given year,
but may also be designated to address specific resource
sensitivities end insert .

(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)  begin delete “Stand type” means a class of stand defined for silvicultural
or management purposes, end delete begin insert “Strata” means a grouping of similar
stand defined for silvicultural or management purposes, end insert usually
according to begin insert similarities in stand end insert 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 begin delete the end delete begin insert forest end insert management
begin delete of a specific forest, end delete 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 begin delete realize the yield and
continually establish a new crop end delete begin insert achieve sustained yield objectives
of the working forest management plan, and provide for
regeneration of trees and maintenance of age class structure end insert .

(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 begin delete an end delete
begin insert maintaining, restoring, or creating end insert uneven aged managed timber
stand begin delete and end delete begin insert conditions and achieving end insert sustained yield begin delete for each parcel
or group of contiguous parcels, which meets end delete begin insert , consistent with end insert 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 begin delete of the silviculture methods to be applied and
the type of yarding equipment to be used. end delete begin insert by the registered forester
of the inventory design and timber stand stratification criteria that
demonstrates that the inventory supporting the growth and yield
calculations used to determine long-term sustained yield for the
working forest management plans meets the following minimum
standards: end insert

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert For major stand or strata, the inventory estimate shall be
within 15 percent of the mean at one standard error. end insert

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert For stand or strata that make up greater than 10 percent
and less than 25 percent of the working forest management plan
area, the estimate shall be no greater than 25 percent of the mean
at one standard error. end insert

begin insert (3) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Inventory estimates and growth and yield shall be projected
for the purposes of determining long-term sustained yield and
volumes available for harvest by stand or strata and aggregated
for the area covered by the working forest management plan to
develop the long-term sustained yield estimate. Long-term
sustained yield estimates shall reasonably reflect constraints
applicable to the working forest timberlands on forest management
activities. end insert

(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 begin delete 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 end delete begin insert property and
planned activities including acres and projected growth, existing
stand types, major stand types or strata, its current projected
growth by strata, silvicultural applications to be applied to strata
to achieve long-term sustained yield, projected timber volumes
and tree sizes to be available for harvest, and projected frequencies
of harvest end insert .

begin delete

(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.

end delete begin insert

(g) (1) A description of late succession forest stands in the plan
area and how the total acreage of this type of habitat will be
maintained across the plan area under a constraint of no net loss.
Nothing in this requirement shall be interpreted to preclude active
management on any given acre of an approved plan if the
management is conducted in a manner that maintains or enhances
the overall acreage of late succession forest stands that existed in
the plan area upon initial plan approval. An exception to the no
net loss constraint may be granted in the event of a catastrophic
loss due to emergency factors such as wildfire, insect, and disease
activity. The description shall include the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) Retention measures for existing biological legacies such as
snags, trees with cavaties or basal hollows, and down logs, and
address how those legacies shall be managed over time appropriate
with the forest type, climate, and landowner’s forest fire fuels
management objectives.

end insert begin insert

(B) Hardwood forest tree species and how they will be managed
over time.

end insert begin insert

(2) Late succession forest stand types or strata shall be mapped.

end insert begin insert

(h) Disclosure of state or federally listed threatened,
endangered, or rare plant or animal species located within the
biological assessment area, their status and habitats, take
avoidance demonstration methodologies, enforceable protection
measures for species and habitats, and how forest management
will maintain these over time.

end insert begin insert

(i) A description of the following for each management unit:

end insert begin insert

(1) Acres by stand or strata and estimated growth and yield for
each planned harvest entry covering the period of time the
long-term sustained yield plan establishes as necessary to meet
growth and yield objectives. The growth and yield estimates may
be based on weighted average of yield for the stand types or strata
within the area included in the management unit.

end insert begin insert

(2) Yarding methods to be used.

end insert begin insert

(3) Management units shall be mapped.

end insert begin delete

(h)

end delete

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

begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert (k) end insert  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 begin insert and working forest harvest
notices end insert to any person who requests begin insert , end insert in writing begin insert , end insert 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 begin delete 20 end delete begin insert 30 end insert begin insert working end insert days of the receipt of a working forest
management plan, or within begin delete 30 end delete begin insert 40 working end insert 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 begin delete conducted end delete begin insert initiated end insert within 20
begin insert working end insert days from the date of filing of the working forest
management plan begin insert , and completed no more than 30 working days
from the date of filing end insert .

(3) Upon completion of the initial inspection, the department
shall have begin delete 30 end delete begin insert up to 45 working end insert days to conduct the final
interagency review of the plan.

(4) The public comment period shall end 20 begin insert working end insert days after
the completion of the final interagency review of the plan begin insert or until
the requirement in subdivision (a) is met, whichever is greater end insert .

(5) After the final interagency review and public comment
period has ended, the department shall have up to 30 begin insert working end insert 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 begin insert after final interagency review end insert the director determines that
the plan is not in conformance with the rules and regulations of
the board or this chapter, the director shall begin insert deny and end insert return the
plan, stating the reasons for the begin delete return end delete begin insert denial end insert 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 begin delete returned end delete
begin insert denied pursuant to subdivision (c) or (d) end insert may, within begin delete 10 end delete begin insert 30
working end insert 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 begin insert working end insert days from
the filing of the appeal, or a longer period mutually agreed upon
by the board and the person filing the appeal.

begin delete

(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.

end delete begin insert

(3) If the director’s decision to deny the plan is overturned by
the board, the board shall prepare findings and return the plan to
the department for preparation of response to public comments
and approval by the director. The director shall have 30 working
days to prepare the response to comments unless a mutually
agreeable date extending the 30-day period is agreed to by the
plan submitter.

end insert begin insert

(4) If the plan is not approved on appeal to the board, the
director, within 10 working days of board action, shall advise the
plan submitter regarding changes needed to the plan to determine
that the plan is in conformance. The plan submitter shall have 45
working days from the date of the notification letter, or longer, if
mutually agreeable to the department and the plan submitter to
revise the plan to bring it into full conformance with the rules and
regulations of the board and this chapter. Upon receipt the
information requested of the plan submitter, the department shall
recirculate the plan and reopen the public comment period for 30
working days. The director shall have 30 working days to review
public input and consider recommendations and mitigation
measures of other agencies, and to respond in writing to issues
raised.

end insert

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
begin delete director finds end delete begin insert professional forester certifies end insert 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

(c) Review timelines for substantial deviations of working forest
management plans shall conform to the direction provided in
Section 4582.7, except for amendments that add acreage covered
by the original working forest management plan that exceeds 10
percent or 500 acres, whichever is greater. Amendments that add
acreage in excess of 10 percent or 500 acres shall be reviewed
pursuant to the procedures specified in Section 4597.6.

end insert

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, begin delete 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 end delete begin insert the
working forest landowner shall notify the new landowner of the
existence of the plan and the need to notify the department of the
new landowner’s intent regarding assumption of the plan.
Notification shall be in writing with a copy to the department of
the new landowner’s intent regarding assumption of the plan. The
new landowner shall have one year from the date of the receipt of
the notification by the department to notify the department in
writing of his or her assumption of the plan. If the department does
not receive notification within this period, the plan shall expire
one year from the date the new landowner is advised by the
department of the necessity to assume the plan end insert .

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 archaeological sites have been discovered
in the harvest area since the approval of the working forest
management plan.

(f) A statement that begin insert state or federally listed end insert 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 begin delete 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. end delete begin insert of the California Natural Diversity
Database or other public databases 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
intial year after the plan is approved. When a notice of operations
is filed after the intial year the plan is approved, it shall comply
with the following: end insert

begin insert

(1) Documented occurrences obtained from a review of public
and readily available sources of species state or federally listed
as threatened, endangered, or rare within the biological assessment
area and outside the area identified in the working forest harvest
notice not addressed in the approved plan shall be submitted to
the director as a minor deviation concurrently with the filing of a
working forest harvest notice.

end insert begin insert

(2) Occurrences of species state or federally listed as threatened,
endangered, or rare discovered inside the area identified in the
working forest harvest notice not addressed in the approved plan
shall be submitted to the director as an amendment to the plan
prior to filing a working forest harvest notice. The amendment
shall contain protection measures if no such information is
currently contained within the approved plan.

end insert

(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. begin insert Participation by review team agencies shall be at the
discretion of each agency. end insert If at this meeting a member of the
review team determines that a field begin delete review end delete begin insert inspection end insert is necessary
to verify the plan’s compliance with the appropriate rules and
regulations, then a field begin delete review end delete begin insert inspection end insert 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. begin insert Cancellation of the plan may be
appealed by the plan submitter or landowner utilizing the process
prescribed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 4597.6. end insert

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 begin insert inventory design, end insert 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 begin insert inventory design, end insert
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 begin delete 20 end delete begin insert 40 end insert 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.