BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 904
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 904 (Chesbro)
          As Amended  September 3, 2013
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |71-2 |(May 29, 2013)  |SENATE: |35-1 |(September 6,  |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2013)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    NAT. RES.  

           SUMMARY  :  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.  

           The Senate amendments  :

          1)Clarify that the WFMP is to be implemented in a manner that  
            complies with the applicable provisions of various laws,  
            including the Forest Practice Act, the California  
            Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Porter Cologne Water  
            Quality Control Act, and the California Endangered Species  
            Act.

          2)Establish minimum standards for the WFMP sustained yield  
            requirements.

          3) Specify that the erosion control plan required for a WFMP  
            must disclose active erosion 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.  Require a schedule to  
            implement erosion controls that prioritizes major sources of  
            erosion.

          4)Require a WFMP to maintain late succession forest stands in  
            the plan area under a constraint of no net loss.  Define "late  
            succession forest stands" as 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,  








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            often with multiple canopy layers, and are at least 10 acres  
            in size.  Explain that functional characteristics of late  
            succession forest stands include large decadent trees, snags,  
            and large down logs.

          5)Require a WFMP to disclose state or federally listed  
            threatened, candidate, endangered, or rare plant or animal  
            species located within the biological assessment area, their  
            status and habitats, take avoidance methodologies, enforceable  
            protection measures for species and habitats, and how forest  
            management will maintain these over time.

          6)Require a WFMP to include a description of the 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 of the plan.  Require a description of  
            yarding methods to be used and mapping of the management  
            units.

          7)Require mitigation measures, as specified, for long-term  
            sustained yield projections 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%  
            and less than 25% of a WFMP.

          8)Require the registered professional forester preparing a WFMP  
            to certify 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.

          9)Require plans and notices to be posted to Department of  
            Forestry and Fire Protection's (CALFIRE) Internet Web site.

          10)Extend the review times, both for the public and the  
            agencies, for various stages of the WFMP review process.

          11)Require a working forest harvest notice to comply with the  
            following: 

             a)   Documented occurrences obtained from a review of public  
               and readily available sources of species state or federally  








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               listed as threatened, endangered, candidate, or rare within  
               the biological assessment area and outside the area  
               identified in the working forest harvest notice not  
               addressed in the approved WFMP shall be submitted to  
               CALFIRE as a minor deviation concurrently with the filing  
               of a working forest harvest notice.

             b)   Occurrences of species that are state or federally  
               listed as threatened, endangered, candidate, or rare  
               discovered inside the area identified in the working forest  
               harvest notice not addressed in the approved WFMP shall be  
               submitted to CALFIRE as an amendment to the plan prior to  
               filing a working forest harvest notice. The amendment shall  
               contain take avoidance and mitigation measures if no such  
               information is currently contained within the approved  
               plan.

          12)Require a working forest harvest notice to include an update  
            on erosion control mitigation measures for the harvest area  
            and any appurtenant roads if conditions have changed since the  
            WFMP 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.

          13)Require, for an approved WFMP, CALFIRE to convene a meeting  
            with the interdisciplinary review team every five years to  
            verify that operations have been conducted in accordance with  
            the plan and applicable laws and regulations.  Allow CALFIRE  
            to have a field inspection conducted if at the five year  
            review meeting, a member of the review team determines that a  
            field inspection is necessary.  Require CALFIRE 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.  Require CALFIRE to provide the public, in writing or on  
            its Internet Web site, notice of each five-year review and a  
            copy of the plan summary.  Allow the public to 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.  Do not authorize the  
            public disclosure of proprietary information without first  
            obtaining the landowner's consent.








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          14)Authorize a participating landowner, in conjunction with the  
            preparation of an application for a WFMP, to also seek  
            approval of a safe harbor agreement from the Department of  
            Fish and Wildlife.

          15)Delete the WFMP program designed for landowners with less  
            than 160 or 320 acres depending on location.

          16)Exclude the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast Forest  
            District, as defined in Section 845.1 of Title 14 of the  
            California Code of Regulations, from the WFMP program.

           EXISTING LAW  :  Pursuant to the Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice  
          Act (Forest Practice Act): 

          1)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 a  
            Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan (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.

          2)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.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee:

          1)One-time costs of at least $150,000 from the Timber Regulation  
            and Forest Restoration Fund to the Board of Forestry for the  
            development of regulations as required by this bill.

          2)One-time costs of approximately $75,000 from the Timber  
            Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund to the regional water  
            quality control boards (RWQCBs) for adoption and revision of  
            general waste discharge requirements.









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          3)Assuming five WFMPs are submitted each year, annual costs of  
            approximately $500,000 - $750,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2014-15  
            and growing to $600,000 to $950,000 in FY 2018-19, from the  
            Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund to CALFIRE,  
            Department of Fish and Wildlife, the RWQCBs, and Department of  
            Conservation for the approval, then ongoing review, of WFMPs.   
            This cost will at least be partially offset by a decrease in  
            timber harvest plans (THP) submitted.

           COMMENTS  :  The NTMP (which is what the WFMP is modeled off of)  
          was created by the Legislature in 1989 to allow landowners with  
          less than 2,500 acres to apply for a timber harvesting document  
          that allows for long-term approval if the landowner commits to  
          uneven aged management and 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 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.

          Today, NTMPs cover over 300,000 acres of California forests.   
          Raising the acreage limit to 15,000 acres through the WFMP will  
          make hundreds of thousands of additional timberland acreage  
          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.








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          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.  Some NTMP landowners  
          near the 2,500 acre limit have already indicated that they plan  
          to acquire more timberlands if the WFMP program is enacted.

           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."








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          The 2003 report concluded that "the NTMP program is meeting 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 this recommendation by allowing larger nonindustrial  
          timberland owners to participate in the WFMP program.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)  
          319-2092 


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