BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 904
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 904 (Chesbro) - As Amended: April 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Forest practices: working forest management plans
SUMMARY : (1) Creates the Working Forest Management Plan (WFMP)
program, which is a long-term forest management plan for
nonindustrial landowners with less than 15,000 acres of
timberlands if the landowner commits to uneven aged management
and sustained yield; (2) creates a modified WFMP for very small
nonindustrial landowners; and (3) expands opportunities for a
person with a WFMP or a Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan
(NTMP) to apply for restoration grant funding.
EXISTING LAW : Pursuant to the Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice
Act (Forest Practice Act):
1)Establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CALFIRE), which is responsible for the fire protection, fire
prevention, maintenance, and enhancement of the state's
forest, range, and brushland resources, contract fire
protection, associated emergency services, and assistance in
civil disasters and other nonfire emergencies.
2)Establishes within CALFIRE the Board of Forestry (Board),
which consists of nine members appointed by the Governor. The
Board is required to protect the state's interest in forest
resources on private lands, which includes establishing
adequate forest policy and determining general policies for
CALFIRE.
3)Authorizes a nonindustrial tree farmer (an owner of timberland
with less than 2,500 acres) with the long-term objective of an
uneven aged timber stand and sustained yield to file an NTMP
with CALFIRE. An NTMP shall be prepared by a registered
professional forester and is considered to be the functional
equivalent of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the
purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
4)Requires CALFIRE, within 45 days from the completion of the
preharvest inspection, to review the NTMP to determine if the
plan is in conformance with the Forest Practice Act and Forest
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Practice Rules. If CALFIRE determines that the plan is not in
conformance with the Forest Practice Act and Forest Practice
Rules, CALFIRE shall return the plan, stating its reasons and
advising the plan submitter of the person's right to a hearing
before the Board.
5)Requires a nonindustrial tree farmer with an NTMP to file a
nonindustrial timber harvest notice with CALFIRE when he or
she plans to harvest timber. The notice shall be effective
for a maximum of one year and include information that
indicates whether the harvesting complies with the Forest
Practice Act and Forest Practice Rules and conforms to the
approved NTMP.
THIS BILL :
1)WFMP.
a) The WFMP Program. Creates the "WFMP," which is a
management plan for nonindustrial timberland owners with
less than 15,000 acres that commit to uneven aged managed
and sustained yield.
i) Defines "uneven aged management" as 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.
ii) Defines "sustained yield" as 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.
b) Objectives and Plan Requirements. Requires a WFMP that
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is filed with CALFIRE to be prepared by a registered
professional forester. The WFMP shall be public record and
shall include all of the following information:
i) The name and address of the timberland owner;
ii) A description of the land on which the plan is
proposed to be implemented, as specified;
iii) A description of the silviculture methods to be
applied and the type of yarding equipment to be used;
iv) 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) Comply with substantially similar requirements
in existing law; and
(2) Submit information to CALFIRE that details how
they are complying with existing law.
v) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique
area within the boundaries of the proposed working forest
management plan;
vi) 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;
vii) 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
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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;
viii) A certification by the registered professional
forester preparing the plan that the forester or a
designee has personally inspected the plan area; and
ix) Any other information the Board requires by
regulation to meet applicable rules and standards.
c) Notice of Receipt. Requires the Board to adopt
regulations regarding the notice of receipt of the proposed
WFMP. 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 WFMP to provide to CALFIRE a list of the
names and addresses of persons to whom the notice is to be
mailed.
d) Notice of the Filing. Requires CALFIRE to provide
notice of the filing of WFMPs to any person who requests in
writing that notification.
e) Public Inspection and Interdisciplinary Review. Upon
receipt of the WFMP, requires CALFIRE to 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, CALFIRE 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. CALFIRE shall invite, consider, and respond
in writing to comments received from public agencies to
which the plan has been transmitted and shall consult with
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those agencies at their request.
f) Review Time and Public Comment.
i) Requires CALFIRE to provide a public comment period
of 90 days from the date of the receipt of a WFMP.
Before a WFMP may be approved, all of the following
requirements shall be met:
(1) Within 20 days of the receipt of a WFMP, or within
30 days of the receipt of a plan to which a road
management plan is appended, CALFIRE 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 WFMP;
(3) Upon completion of the initial inspection, CALFIRE
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, CALFIRE 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;
ii) If CALFIRE determines that the plan is not in
conformance with the rules and regulations of the Board
or the Forest Practice Act, requires CALFIRE to 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;
iii) If CALFIRE does not act within the time periods
specified, requires CALFIRE and the working forest
landowner submitting the working forest management plan
to negotiate and mutually agree upon a longer period for
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CALFIRE to review the plan. If a longer period cannot be
mutually agreed upon, the WFMP shall be deemed denied and
returned to the working forest landowner submitting the
plan.
iv) Authorizes a working forest landowner to whom a plan
is returned, 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
Forest Practice Act and Forest Practice Rules.
v) Requires Board action to 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.
vi) If the plan is not approved on appeal to the Board,
authorizes CALFIRE, within 10 days of Board action, to
determine that the plan is in conformance if the working
forest landowner revises the plan to bring it into full
conformance with the Forest Practice Act and Forest
Practice Rules.
g) Plan Amendments. Authorizes the working forest
landowner to submit a proposed amendment to the approved
plan and requires the landowner not to take any action that
substantially deviates, as defined by the Board, from the
approved plan until the amendment has been filed with
CALFIRE and CALFIRE has determined either of the following:
i) The amendment is in compliance with the current
Forest Practice Act and Forest Practice Rules; or
ii) The amendment is in compliance with the Forest
Practice Act and Forest Practice Rules that were in
effect at the time the WFMP was approved. CALFIRE may
only make this determination if it 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; and
(2) Compliance with the Forest Practice Act and Forest
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Practice Rules that were in effect at the time the
WFMP was approved will not result in any significant
degradation to the beneficial uses of water, soil
stability, forest productivity, or wildlife.
h) Nonsubstantial Deviations. Authorizes the working
forest landowner to 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 CALFIRE. The Board shall specify, by regulation, those
nonsubstantial deviations that may be taken. The Board
shall specify the requirements for reporting those
deviations.
i) Change of Ownership. In the event of a change of
ownership of the land described in the WFMP, requires the
plan to expire 180 days from the date of change of
ownership unless the new timberland owner notifies CALFIRE
in writing of the change of ownership and his or her
assumption of the plan.
j) The Landowner's Cancellation of a Plan. Authorizes the
working forest landowner to cancel the WFMP by submitting a
written notice to CALFIRE. 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.
aa) Working Forest Harvest Notice. Requires 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 WFMP, and who plans to harvest
any of the timber during a given year, to file a working
forest harvest notice with CALFIRE 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
CALFIRE. The notice shall be a public record and shall
include all of the following information:
i) The name and address of the timber owner;
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ii) The name and address of the timber operator;
iii) The name and address of the registered professional
forester preparing the working forest management plan;
iv) A description of the land on which the work is
proposed to be done;
v) A statement that no archeological sites have been
discovered in the harvest area since the approval of the
WFMP;
vi) A statement that rare, threatened, or endangered plant
or animal species have not been discovered in the harvest
area since the approval of the WFMP. 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 state
regulations, shall be conducted after the initial year
after the plan is approved. Any changes to the plan's
species, species status, habitats, or protection measures
for species or habitats shall be submitted to CALFIRE as
an amendment to the plan before commencing operations;
vii) A statement that there are no physical environmental
changes in the harvest area that are so significant as to
require any amendment of the WFMP;
viii)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 Forest Practice Act and Forest Practice
Rules; or
(2) Compliance with the Forest Practice Act and Forest
Practice Rules that were in effect at the time the
WFMP was approved will not result in any significant
degradation to the beneficial uses of water, soil
stability, forest productivity, or wildlife. This
shall only apply if the forester certifies that
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adherence to current or modified rules or laws would
cause unreasonable additional expense to the working
forest landowner.
ix) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area
within the area of timber operations;
x) The expected dates of commencement and completion of
timber operations during the year;
xi) 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 Practice Act or Forest Practice
Rules, an explanation of the deviation and how resource
values will be adequately protected; and
xii) Any other information the Board provides by regulation
to meet Forest Practice Act and Forest Practice Rules.
bb) Periodic Monitoring. For an approved working forest
management plan, requires CALFIRE to convene a meeting with
the interdisciplinary review team 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.
cc) Reporting Deviations that Threaten the Plan's Resource
Conservation Standards. Requires the registered
professional forester who prepares the WFMP or prepares the
notice of harvest, or any other registered professional
forester who is employed by the owner or operator, to
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.
dd) Forester Misstatements. 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,
requires the Board to take disciplinary action against the
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forester.
ee) When Harvesting Can Commence. Allows timber
operations to commence immediately 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 WFMP under which it is filed.
If the notice has been filed by mailing, operations may
commence three days after the notice has been mailed.
ff) The State's Cancellation of a Plan. If CALFIRE
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, requires CALFIRE to
cancel a previously approved WFMP and any further timber
operations under the plan shall be terminated.
gg) Transition from NTMP to WFMP. If a landowner with an
NTMP wishes to expand his or her total timberland ownership
to 2,500 or more acres, authorizes the landowner to
transition into a WFMP for more than 2,500 acres through an
amendment to the plan. The Board shall adopt regulations
that establish this amendment process.
2)Modified Small WFMP .
a) To encourage smaller landowners to engage in long-term,
sustainable forest management, requires the Board to adopt
regulations that tailor the WFMP 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) Requires the board to adopt 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:
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i) Harvest shall not exceed 80 percent of growth over
any 10-year period, nor exceed 20 percent of harvestable
inventory, whichever is less;
ii)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; and
iii)Any road construction or reconstruction on slopes over
50 percent shall include consultation with a registered
engineering geologist.
3)Grant Programs. If a person with a WFMP or an NTMP applies
for state restoration grant funding for a restoration project
that has a significant public benefit, precludes the
application from being summarily denied on the basis that the
project is a required condition of the harvesting plan.
4)Regulations. Requires the Board to adopt the regulations
needed to implement this bill by January 1, 2016
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)A Multi-Stakeholder Process. In December 2011, a
multi-stakeholder timber harvest working group was convened to
discuss various ways to address timber harvesting issues in
the state. The author of this bill co-chaired the working
group. The working group has held 18 meetings, seven of these
meetings, including a two-day workshop in the North Coast,
focused solely on improving the NTMP program. This bill is a
product of these working group meetings. The bill includes
provisions that were suggested by landowners, foresters,
agency staff, and members of the environmental community. The
working group will continue to meet this year to discuss this
bill.
2)NTMPS and WFMPs. The NTMP (which is what the WFMP is modeled
off of) was created by the Legislature in 1990 to allow
landowners with no more than 2,500 acres to apply for a timber
harvesting document that would allow for long-term approval
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with certain conditions under a known set of forest practice
rules. The program requires the use of uneven aged forest
management and proof that operations provide for sustained
yield. Through an NTMP, a nonindustrial timberland owner
first prepares a management plan that is subject to a
multi-agency review process and acts as the functional
equivalent of an EIR under CEQA. The cost of preparing this
management plan is about 25 to 50% more than a typical timber
harvest plan (THP), much of which comes from the required
sustained yield analysis. However, unlike a THP, which is
good for no more than seven years, an NTMP lasts in perpetuity
and the additional cost is recaptured over time because
subsequent NTMP harvest entries can be conducted under a much
simpler notice to CALFIRE that is tiered off of the NTMP.
By relieving these landowners of some of the costs and burdens
of meeting the regulatory requirements designed for industrial
timber companies, NTMPs help keep ranches and other
non-industrial forest properties economically viable and make
them less likely to be subdivided for housing or converted
into golf courses or vineyards. By prohibiting large
clear-cuts and requiring a long-term, conservation approach to
logging, NTMPs help preserve scenic values, protect water
quality, and preserve habitat for fish and wildlife.
According to 2003 figures, of the 7.4 million acres of private
forestlands in California, nonindustrial timberland owners
(generally defined as owners who do not own a sawmill)
collectively own about 3.2 million acres (41%), with the
remainder being held by industrial owners (and non-industrials
with more than 5,000 acres). Today, NTMPs cover approximately
333,512 acres of California forests. Raising the acreage
limit to 15,000 acres through the WFMP will make hundreds of
thousands of acres of additional timberlands eligible for
long-term, sustainable management. A preliminary review of
timberland ownership shows that there are at least 81
landowners who would qualify under the new WFMP program. Of
these 81, at least 60 used even aged management (i.e. clear
cutting) at some point. These landowners would have an
incentive to commit to long-term uneven aged management under
the WFMP.
Additionally, NTMP landowners who are close to the NTMP's
2,500 acreage limit will have an incentive to purchase
additional timberlands by transferring to the WFMP. Several
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NTMP landowners near the 2,500 acre limit have indicated that
they plan to acquire more timberlands if the WFMP program is
enacted.
3)Benefits to the State. In 2003, CALFIRE issued a report on
the NTMP program. The report explained that the NTMP program
provides significant benefits to the state in terms of
regulatory cost savings and societal and economic benefits.
The report states that "[a]lthough more time may be invested
by the agencies in the up-front review of the NTMP, this is
soon offset by not having to process individual THPs each time
the property is entered. The inspections and enforcement of
timber operations do not differ however, and are triggered
each time a Notice of Operation is filed."
As for societal benefits, the report states that "[r]etaining
our non-industrial private forest lands in forest use provides
tremendous?benefits, including retention of open space,
protection of watersheds, water quality and forest soils,
maintenance of diverse habitat for fish and wildlife,
preservation of important cultural and historical sites, and
promotion of recreational opportunities."
The "[e]conomic benefits include wood products from
sustainable sources, income for timber owners, and jobs for
employees and contractors working to harvest, transport, and
process forest products. Sales by local businesses of
equipment used for the management of forest lands; and the
profits of manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of forest
products - which are then converted into houses, commercial
buildings and consumer products - generate much additional
economic activity."
"These benefits are all enhanced by the commitment of forest
landowners to the long term stewardship and sustainable
production requirements of a NTMP. On the broad statewide
scale, the overarching public benefit is in encouraging owners
of these small wooded parcels to take advantage of their rich
forest soils, to enrich and improve their timber stands, to
manage them sustainably into the future, and cumulatively
retain that part of the state's rural, working landscape that
characterizes California's private timberlands."
The 2003 report concluded that "the NTMP program is meeting
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the uneven-aged management requirement of the Forest Practice
Act?[and given] sufficient time to implement current NTMP
management prescriptions, landowners will also be able to show
that they are meeting the sustained yield requirement.
Therefore, [CALFIRE] has determined that the NTMP program is
improving California's timberlands and recommends that the
program be continued." Additionally, the report recommended
that the NTMP acreage limit be increased to bring more
timberlands into the program. "This change would benefit both
landowners and the state by providing an opportunity for these
additional timberlands to be placed into a sustained yield and
uneven-aged management regime."
This bill essentially implements the advice of this report by
allowing larger nonindustrial timberland owners to participate
in the WFMP program, which is modeled off of the NTMP program
but includes additional requirements to ensure environmental
protection.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Big Creek Lumber Company
Brian C. Dietterick, Director, Swanton Pacific Ranch, CAL POLY
State University
California Council of Land Trusts
Central Coast Forest Association
Pacific Forest Trust
Redtree Properties, L.P.
Redwood Empire
The Buckeye
The Nature Conservancy
4 Individuals
Opposition
Forest Products Industry National Labor Management Committee
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
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