BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1958
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Date of Hearing: April 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1958
(Wood) - As Amended March 29, 2016
SUBJECT: Forest practices: oak woodlands
SUMMARY: Exempts the removal of trees, including commercial
harvest, to restore and conserve California black or Oregon
white oak woodlands and associated grasslands. Clarifies that
restoration and conservation forest management activities do not
require a timber conversion permit.
EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act
(FPA):
1)Prohibits timber operations unless a timber harvest plan (THP)
has been prepared by a registered professional forester
(Forester) and approved by the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CAL FIRE).
2)Considers a THP the functional equivalent of an environmental
impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA).
3)Requires a THP to contain a description of the location of the
planned harvest, the harvest method, measures to avoid
excessive erosion, timeframe of operations, and other
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information required by forest practice rules (FPR) adopted by
the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board).
4)Authorizes the Board to develop alternative stocking standards
for the average point count method and the average residual
basal area of stocking if those standards address the
variables in forest characteristics and achieve suitable
resource conservation.
5)Requires any person who owns timberlands that are to be
devoted to uses other than the growing of timber to file a
timberland conversion permit with the Board. Prohibits the
Board from approving a timberland conversion permit unless the
Board makes written findings.
6)Exempts various tree removal activities from THP's, including
Christmas tree farms, right-of-ways for utility lines,
conversions of less than three acres, fire prevention,
defensible space, and dead, dying and diseased trees.
Requires ministerial permits for certain exemptions, called a
notice of exemption (NOE), and subjects projects to inspection
by CAL FIRE.
THIS BILL:
1)Exempts the removal of trees, including commercial harvest, to
restore and conserve California black or Oregon white oak
woodlands and associated grasslands.
2)Requires a Forester to prepare a NOE and submit the NOE to the
Director of CAL FIRE. Requires the NOE to include all of the
following:
a) A map of the areas of timber operations that identifies
the area where trees will be removed, stored, and any areas
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where watercourses and erosion hazards occur;
b) Certification by a Forester that the timber operation is
designed to restore and conserve California black and
Oregon white oak woodlands and associated grasslands;
c) A description of the preharvest stand structure and
postharvest stocking levels;
d) A prohibition on removing trees older than 75 years;
e) Requirements on percentage of conifer and oak that may
be cut;
f) An evaluation of archaeological or historical sites;
g) Requirements that the timber operation removes a
specified amount of slash;
h) Requirements that equipment and road construction are
restricted;
i) Requirements that rare, threatened, or endangered plants
and animals are not disturbed or damaged; and,
j) Requirement that no harvesting shall occur near
watercourses, lake protection zones, or significant
archaeological or historical sites.
3)Clarifies that restoration and conservation forest management
activities do not require a timber conversion permit by
including these activities in the definition of growing of
timber.
4)Requires any restoration and conservation forest management
activities conducted in conjunction with conversion of
timberland to residential, commercial, agricultural,
recreational, or transportation project purposes to obtain a
timber conversion permit.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Background. California has regulated forest practices on
private lands since at least 1945. The Legislature assessed
the effectiveness of this approach and concluded that the
industry could not be relied on to ensure proper water
quality, forest health, and adequate timber supply. In 1957,
the state Senate Interim Committee on Soil and Beach Erosion
found that timber harvesting and logging road construction
contributed to stream erosion and resultant impacts to fish
populations. In 1962, the Assembly Interim Committee on
Natural Resources, Planning, and Public Works concluded that
timber regulations were inadequately enforced, leading to
deleterious effects on water quality, fishing, and recreation.
In 1967, after three years of study, the Assembly
Subcommittee on Forest Practices and Watershed Management
recommended that the basic state policy governing forest
practices should be broadened and strengthened. These
collective findings, coupled with a 1971 report that
identified logging as a primary factor in an 80% decline of
salmon and steelhead populations, motivated the Legislature to
pass the FPA in 1973. The FPA requires THPs, which are a
complex discretionary permit that acts as an EIR under CEQA.
AB 1492 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 289, Statutes of 2012,
extended the life of THPs from three years to five years with
an option for a two-year extension. AB 1492 also shifted
state fees for a THP to an assessment on all lumber products.
However, a THP can still cost tens of thousands of dollars to
complete.
2)Oak woodland restoration. According to a presentation from
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various academics at the University of California and Humboldt
State University, California black or Oregon white oak
woodlands and associated grasslands are being lost because of
conifer encroachment. These oak woodlands support very high
levels of biodiversity and provide valuable food sources and
habitat for wildlife. Oak woodlands are also deeply connected
to Native American tradition and culture. Most of these oak
woodlands contain oaks over a 100 years old, with some oak
trees over 300 years old. As a result of fire suppression,
douglas-fir will often spread into an oak woodland and will
overtop oak trees and rob the oak trees of sunlight and other
resources that oak trees need. Restoration of this important
habitat requires removal of the encroachment, restocking of
the area with oaks, and protection of oak seedlings. The
Board has developed an Oak Woodland Management Alternative
Prescription, which is pending approval at the Board. This
alternative prescription will allow THP's to incorporate oak
woodland restoration. However, this would require anyone
wishing to do oak woodland restoration to obtain a THP.
This bill creates another option for oak woodland restoration.
A ministerial NOE for oak woodland restoration would reduce
the costs and time to do this restoration work. This would
allow smaller landowners to restore oak woodlands without
spending tens of thousands of dollars completing a THP.
However, a NOE is a ministerial permit that leaves agencies
without the discretion to modify proposed projects. There has
been a proliferation of these exemptions over the years. This
raises questions about whether there is an alternative to
exemptions from THPs that will allow agencies to work with
applicants to improve their projects. Until alternatives are
examined, it would be premature to create a permanent
statewide exemption. The author and committee may wish to
consider amending the bill to create a pilot exemption for
five years and that excludes areas without significant oak
woodlands, such as the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast
Forest District and the Southern Forest District. As the bill
moves forward, the author may wish to consider including a
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reporting requirement that provides information on how
effective the exemption has been at restoring oak woodland and
suggestions of alternatives to the use of an NOE.
3)Prior/Related Legislation.
AB 417 (Dahle), Chapter 182, Statutes of 2015, expands Board
authority to develop alternative stocking standards, when
necessary, to include the average residual basal area approach
of stocking.
AB 2029 (Dahle, 2016) extends the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot
Exemption by six years. This bill increases the size of trees
that are allowed to be removed to less than 28 inches in stump
diameter and allows for the construction of roads. This bill is
awaiting hearing in Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
Institute for Sustainable Forestry
Mendocino County Resource Conservation District
Pacific Forest Trust
Sanctuary Forest
Trust for Public Land
6 Individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
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