Amended in Senate August 13, 2013

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 begin insert , and to add Article 7.8 (commencing with Section 4598) to Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4 of, end insert 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 begin insert of at least end insert 90 days from the date of the receipt of the begin delete plan. end delete begin insert plan, as specified. end insert 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 state or federally listed rare, threatened, begin insert candidate, 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 begin insert , plan summary information, as specified, end insert and any other information relevant to begin insert verify that operations have been conducted in accordance with end insert the plan begin insert and applicable laws end insert . The bill would begin delete authorize end delete begin insert require end insert 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.

begin insert

The bill would require a registered professional forester to provide a preoperations notice, with specified information, to any person who owns land that adjoins or includes a watercourse that is 1,000 feet downstream from a proposed timber harvest operation in the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast Forest District.

end insert

The bill would require the board to adopt regulations begin delete that tailor the plan program end delete begin insert to create a management plan end insert for landowners with begin delete 160 or fewer acres or end delete 320 or fewer acres of begin delete timberlands, depending upon the location of the forest district. end delete begin insert timberlands. The bill would require the regulations to include certain provisions, including that harvest in any given area of the property shall not exceed 80 end insert begin insert % of growth since the last harvest. end insert

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.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

begin delete

(a)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  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.

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  There have been 763 nonindustrial timber management plans
approved by the department covering a combined area of begin delete 15,000 end delete
begin insert 315,000 end insert acres.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  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.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  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 begin delete allowing ministerial end delete begin insert authorizing end insert working forest timber
harvest begin delete notices. end delete begin insert notices to be filed ministerially. end insert

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert  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

(b) This article shall be implemented in a manner that complies
with the applicable provisions of this chapter and other laws,
including, but not limited to, the Timberland Productivity Act of
1982 (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 51100) of Division
1 of Title 5 of the Government Code), the California Environmental
Quality Act of 1970 (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000),
the Porter Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Division 7
(commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code)), and the
California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing
with Section 2050) of the Fish and Game Code).

end insert

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 balance between growth and yield.

(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) “Management unit” means a geographically identifiable area
delineated for silviculture or management begin delete purposes . end delete begin insert purposes. end insert A
management unit 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.

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

(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 begin delete an objective end delete begin insert objectives end insert
of maintaining, restoring, or creating uneven aged managed timber
stand begin delete conditions and end delete begin insert conditions, end insert achieving sustained begin delete yield ,
consistent with the requirements of Section 4597.2. end delete begin insert yield, and
promoting forestland stewardship that protects watersheds,
fisheries and wildlife habitats, and other important values. end insert

(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 by the registered begin insert professional end insert 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:

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

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

(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 begin insert active end insert erosion begin delete sites, end delete
begin insert sites from roads, skid trails, crossings, or any other structures or
sites that have the potential to discharge sediment attributable to
timber operations into waters of the state in an amount deleterious
to the beneficial uses of water, an end insert erosion control implementation
begin delete plans, end delete begin insert plan, end insert and begin delete an end delete begin insert a schedule to implement end insert erosion begin delete control
implementation schedule. To avoid duplicative work, this end delete begin insert controls
that prioritizes major sources of erosion. This end insert subdivision begin delete does end delete
begin insert shall end insert not apply to the extent that the begin delete working forest landowner
does both of the following: end delete begin insert registered professional forester
provides documentation to the department that the working forest
management plan is in compliance with similar requirements of
other applicable provisions of law. end insert

begin delete

(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.

end delete

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

(f) A description of the 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.

(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:

(A) Retention measures for existing biological legacies such as
snags, trees with begin delete cavaties end delete begin insert cavities end insert 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 begin insert and wildlife end insert management objectives.

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

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

begin insert

(3) Notwithstanding the definition of late succession forest
stands in Section 895.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of
Regulations, and for the sole purpose of this article, “late
succession forest stands” means stands of dominant and
predominant trees that meet the criteria of the California Wildlife
Habitat Relationships System class 5D, 5M, or 6 with an open,
moderate, or dense canopy closure classification, often with
multiple canopy layers, and are at least 10 acres in size. Functional
characteristics of late succession forest stands include large
decadent trees, snags, and large down logs.

end insert

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

(i)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert A description of the following for each management
unit:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  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.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  Yarding methods to be used.

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert  Management units shall be mapped.

begin insert

(2) (A) For long-term sustained yield projections, pursuant to
subdivision (c), that project a reduction in quadratic mean diameter
of trees greater than 12 inches in diameter or a reduced level of
inventory for a major stand type or for a stand or strata that make
up greater than 10 percent and less than 25 percent of the working
forest management plan area, an assessment shall be included
that does all of the following:

end insert begin insert

(i) Addresses candidate, threatened, endangered, and sensitive
species, and other fish and wildlife species that timber operations
could adversely impact by potential changes to habitat.

end insert begin insert

(ii) Addresses species habitat needs utilizing the “WHR system”
described in “A Guide to the California Wildlife Habitat
Relationships System,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife,
1988, or comparable typing system.

end insert begin insert

(iii) Addresses constraints to timber management, the impact
of the availability and distribution of habitats on the ownership
and within the cumulative impacts assessment area identified in
the plan in relation to the harvest schedule, and the impacts of the
planned management activities utilizing the existing habitat as the
baseline for comparison.

end insert begin insert

(iv) Discusses and includes feasible measures planned to avoid
or mitigate potentially significant adverse impacts on fish or
wildlife, which can include, but is not limited to, recruitment or
retention of large down logs greater than 16 inches in diameter
and 20 feet in length, retention of trees with structural features
such as basal hollows, cavities, large limbs, or broken tops,
retention of hardwoods, and retention or recruitment of snags
greater than 24 inches in diameter and 16 feet in height.

end insert

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

begin insert

(k) A certification by the registered professional forester
preparing the plan that the forester or a designee has clearly
explained to the working forest landowner that the plan is a
long-term commitment that may require ongoing investments,
including inventory sampling and road maintenance, for the
purpose of managing the plan.

end insert begin delete

(k)

end delete

begin insert (l) 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
begin delete submission end delete begin insert receipt end insert of the proposed management plan and shall be
consistent with all applicable laws. begin delete In adopting the regulations,
the board shall take account of the extent of the administrative
burden involved in giving the notice. end delete The method of notice shall
include, but not be limited to, mailed begin delete notice. end delete begin insert notice and
Internet-based notice. end insert 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 , the proposed plans, end insert and working
forest harvest notices begin insert on its Internet Web site, and end insert to any person
who requests, in writing, that notification.

4597.5.  

Upon receipt of the begin insert proposed end insert working forest
management plan, the department shall place the begin insert proposed end insert plan,
or a true copy of the begin insert proposed end insert plan, in a begin delete file end delete begin insert location or on an
Internet Web site end insert 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 begin insert Department of Conservation, the end insert 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 begin insert time period for end insert
public begin delete comment period of 90 days end delete begin insert comment, starting end insert from the date
of the receipt of a working forest management begin delete plan. end delete begin insert plan, as
follows: end insert

begin insert

(1) Ninety days for a working forest management plan for less
than 5,000 acres.

end insert begin insert

(2) One hundred ten days for a working forest management
plan for between 5,000 and 9,999 acres.

end insert begin insert

(3) One hundred thirty days for a working forest management
plan for between 10,000 and 14,999 acres.

end insert

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

(1) Within 30 working days of the receipt of a working forest
management plan, or within 40 working 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. begin insert An unfiled plan shall be
returned to the applicant with an explanation that includes
provisions for resubmitting the plan. end insert

(2) The initial inspection shall be initiated within 20 working
days from the date of filing of the working forest management
plan, and completed no more than 30 working days from the date
of filing.

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

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

(5) After the final interagency review and public comment
period has ended, the department shall have up to 30 working 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 begin insert and other applicable
provisions of law end insert .

(c) If after final interagency review the director determines that
the plan is not in conformance with the rules and regulations of
the board or this chapter, the director shall deny and return the
plan, stating the reasons for the denial 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 denied
pursuant to subdivision (c) or (d) begin delete may, end delete begin insert may request, end insert within 30
working days from the receipt of the plan, begin delete request the board for end delete 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 working 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 director’s decision to deny the plan is overturned by
the board, the board shall prepare findings begin insert and its rationale for
overturning the decision, end insert and return the plan to the department for
begin delete preparation of response to public comments and end delete approval by the
director. begin delete 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 delete

(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 begin delete to the plan to determine
that the plan is in conformance end delete begin insert that would achieve compliance
with this chapter and other applicable provisions of the law end insert . 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 begin insert of end insert the information requested of the plan
submitter, the department shall recirculate the plan and reopen the
public comment period for 30 working days. begin delete The end delete begin insert Prior to
determining whether to approve the proposed revised plan, the end insert
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.

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 begin insert , after completion of the interagency review
and public comment period, end insert 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 insert registered end insert professional forester begin insert explains, justifies, and end insert certifies
both of the following:

(1) The adherence to new or modified rules begin delete or laws end delete begin insert and
regulations of the board end insert 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.

(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.

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 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.

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 state or federally listed rare, threatened,
begin insert candidate, end insert 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
of the California Natural Diversity Database or other public
databases for any species listed as threatened, endangered,
begin insert candidate, end insert 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 begin delete intial end delete begin insert initial end insert year
after the plan is approved. When a notice of operations is filed
after the begin delete intial end delete begin insert initial end insert year the plan is approved, it shall comply
with the following:

(1) Documented occurrences obtained from a review of public
and readily available sources of species state or federally listed as
threatened, endangered, begin insert candidate, end insert 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.

(2) Occurrences of species begin insert that are end insert state or federally listed as
threatened, endangered, begin insert candidate, end insert 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 begin delete protection end delete begin insert take avoidance
and mitigation end insert measures if no such information is currently
contained within the approved plan.

(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 begin delete implement best management
practices for protection of end delete begin insert protect end insert the beneficial uses of water, soil
stability, forest productivity, and wildlife begin delete as required by the current
operational rules of the board. end delete begin insert as provided by the rules and
regulations of the board and other applicable provisions of law. end insert

(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 begin delete or laws end delete begin insert and regulations of the board end insert would cause
unreasonable additional expense to the working forest landowner.

(i) Special begin delete provisions, if any, end delete begin insert provisions end insert to protect begin delete any end delete unique
begin delete area end delete begin insert areas, if any, end insert 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.

begin insert

(l) An update on erosion control mitigation measures for the
harvest area and any appurtenant roads if conditions have changed
since the working forest management plan was approved and a
certification from the registered professional forester that no
additional listings of water bodies to the Section 303(d) of the
Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1313(d)) list have occurred on
the lands of the plan.

end insert begin delete

(l)

end delete

begin insert (m) end insert  Any other information the board provides by regulation to
meet its rules and the standards of this begin delete chapter. end delete begin insert chapter and other
applicable provisions of law. end insert

begin insert

begin insert 4597.11.1. end insert   

(a) At least 10 days prior to submitting to the
department a working forest harvest notice that proposes timber
harvest operations in the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast Forest
District, as defined in Section 895.1 of Title 14 of the California
Code of Regulations, the registered professional forester shall
provide a preoperations notice to any person who owns land that
adjoins or includes a Class I, II, or IV watercourse that is 1,000
feet downstream from the proposed harvest area. The
preoperations notice shall include both of the following:

(1) Information about the proposed timber harvest operations,
including the location of the harvest area and identification of
watercourses that the operations may affect.

(2) A request that the notice recipient provide information on
any of his or her legal domestic surface water intake systems
located within 1,000 feet downstream from the proposed harvest
area.

(b) A working forest harvest notice for which a preoperations
notice is required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not be submitted
to the department until the preoperations notice period has expired.
The working forest harvest notice shall include a certification by
the registered professional forester that the forester has complied
with subdivision (a). If the registered professional forester receives
information pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the
forester shall certify either of the following:

(1) (A) Based on the information received in response to the
preoperations notice, a deviation is required to the working forest
management plan to protect legal surface domestic water intake
systems. This deviation includes a description of the legal domestic
surface water intake systems and protection measures to be
approved pursuant to Section 4597.7 or 4597.8 prior to the
commencement of operations.

(B) For the purpose of paragraph (1), if a deviation requires
an amendment pursuant to Section 4597.7, timber operations under
the working forest harvest notice may still occur while the
department processes the amendment; however, only log hauling
on existing roads may be conducted within 300 feet of the new
legal surface domestic water intake systems. All other operations
within 300 feet of the new legal domestic surface water intake
system shall not commence until the amendment has been
processed by the department.

(2) Based on the information received in response to the
preoperations notice, no deviation is required from the working
forest management plan because the plan identifies all known legal
surface domestic water intake systems and includes measures that
provide adequate protection.

(c) The preoperations notice may be mailed or personally
delivered to each person required to receive notice pursuant to
subdivision (a).

end insert

4597.12.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   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 begin insert subdivision (a) of end insert Section
1037.5 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, every
five years to review the plan’s administrative record begin insert , information
obtained pursuant to subdivision (b), end insert and any other information
relevant to begin insert verify that operations have been conducted in
accordance with end insert the plan begin insert and applicable laws and regulations end insert .
Participation by review team agencies shall be at the discretion of
each agency. If at this meeting a member of the review team
determines that a field inspection is necessary to verify begin delete the plan’s
compliance with the appropriate rules and regulations end delete begin insert that
operations have been conducted in accordance with the plan and
applicable laws and regulations end insert , then a field inspection may be
conducted.

begin insert

(b) For the purposes of subdivision (a), the board, in
consultation with the review team agencies, shall adopt regulations
that require the department to develop a plan summary before
each five-year review that allows the review team to analyze
information including, but not limited to, the number of notices of
timber operations, the acreage operated under each notice, the
violations received, and the volume harvested in relation to
projections of harvest in the plan. If the department or a review
team agency does not have direct access to information needed
for the plan summary, the department may require the landowner
to provide this information.

end insert begin insert

(c) For the purpose of allowing the public to monitor a working
forest management plan, the department shall provide the public,
in writing or on its Internet Web site, notice of each five-year
review and a copy of the plan summary. The public may submit to
the review team additional information relevant to the purpose of
the five-year review and the review team may consider this
information when conducting its review.

end insert begin insert

(d) This section does not authorize the public disclosure of
proprietary information without first obtaining the landowner’s
consent.

end insert

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. 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.

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.

begin delete

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 inventory design, 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 inventory design,
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 40 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.

end delete begin insert

begin insert 4597.18. end insert   

A participating landowner, in conjunction with the
preparation of an application for a working forest management
plan filed with the department, may also seek approval of a safe
harbor agreement from the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, pursuant to Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 2089.2)
of Chapter 1.5, of Division 3, of the Fish and Game Code. All
review costs associated with the safe harbor agreement approval
process incurred by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
pursuant to this section shall be paid from the fund created in
Section 4629.3.

end insert

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.

begin insert

begin insert 4597.21. end insert   

This article does not affect the applicability of county
rules adopted pursuant to Section 4516.5 nor any court decision
made by a court of competent jurisdiction.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Article 7.8 (commencing with Section 4598) 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 7.8. end insert   Small Forest Unevenaged Management Plan

 

begin insert 4598. end insert   

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) Small nonindustrial landowners own approximately
one-fourth of the timberland in California, and often have different
economic pressures and management goals than owners of lands
managed for timber production.

(b) These smaller landowners often want to manage their forest
for multiple uses, which include residential and recreation uses,
wildlife habitat, and water resources in large part so that their
ranch and forest properties can be passed on intact to the next
generation. However, scale and timber value make this
economically difficult, which increases the possibility of these
lands being sold and subdivided, resulting in loss of open space,
fish and wildlife habitat, and other important public trust values.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to create a streamlined
discretionary permit, subject to multiagency and public review,
that facilitates long-term stewardship of the property with a high
level of conservation. Once the permit is approved, it is the intent
of the Legislature to allow the small nonindustrial landowner to
file ministerial timber harvest notices that are in compliance with
the permit.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Board of Forestry
promulgate the regulations necessary to implement this article,
using the general framework of the Nonindustrial Timber
Management Plan, combined with the permit streamlining
approach reflected in the Modified Timber Harvest Plan.

begin insert 4598.1. end insert   

(a) The Board of Forestry, in consultation with the
entities identified in subdivision (a) of Section 1037.5 of Title 14
of the California Code of Regulations, shall adopt regulations
creating a Small Forest Unevenaged Management Plan. The
regulations shall follow the general structure of the Nonindustrial
Timber Management Plan, pursuant to Article 7.7 (commencing
with Section 4597) and include all of the following provisions:

(1) The plan shall be applicable to lands of 320 acres and less.

(2) (A) Harvest in any given area of the property shall not
exceed 80 percent of growth since the last harvest, nor shall it
exceed 40 percent of harvestable inventory.

(B) When the property reaches a fully regulated condition the
landowner may update the forest inventory and thereafter harvest
100 percent of growth.

(3) 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.

(4) Any road construction or reconstruction on slopes over 50
percent shall include consultation by a professional geologist
licensed in the State of California.

(5) Harvest units shall not be reentered more frequently than
every 10 years, with exception in the conduct of sanitation or
salvage operations, timber stand or habitat improvement, or
operations necessary to promote a fire safe condition.

(b) Recognizing that this section requires increasing inventory,
the board may develop initial inventory requirements that are less
rigorous than used in other plans, with the provision that the
inventory be updated to a level of appropriate statistical
significance if the landowner intends to exercise the option in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(c) A plan submitter who is in compliance with the regulations
adopted pursuant to this section shall not be required to prepare
a cumulative impact assessment unless a fair argument based on
substantial evidence, as that term is used in Section 15384 of Title
14 of the California Code of Regulations, is raised that such an
assessment is required.

(d) For the purpose of this section, “fully regulated condition”
means the technical, in contrast to the administrative and business,
aspects of controlling stocking, harvests, growth, and yields to
meet management objectives including sustained yield.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end 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.