BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1958|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 1958
          Author:   Wood (D) 
          Amended:  8/19/16 in Senate
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE:  6-2, 6/28/16
           AYES:  Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning
           NOES:  Stone, Vidak
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wolk

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  7-0, 8/11/16
           AYES:  Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  80-0, 5/31/16 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Forestry:  timberlands:  restoration and  
                     conservation forest management activities


          SOURCE:    Author


          DIGEST:  This bill creates an exemption for the restoration of  
          oak woodlands that would allow landowners to remove conifer  
          trees that are crowding out oaks provided various restrictions  
          are met and have the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection  
          (CAL FIRE) report on the effectiveness of the many exemptions in  
          the Forest Practices Act and its implementing regulations.  


          Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/16 are chaptering out amendments  
          to avoid a conflict with other pending legislation, AB 2029  
          (Dahle), which also deals with an exemption under the Forest  








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          Practices Act. 


          ANALYSIS:  


          Existing law: 


          1)Prohibits timber operations unless a timber harvest plan (THP)  
            has been prepared by a registered professional forester and  
            approved by the California Department of Forestry (CDF).  


          2)Considers a THP the functional equivalent of an environmental  
            impact report under the California Environmental Quality Act. 


          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  
            information required by forest practice rules adopted by the  
            Board of Forestry (Board). 


          4)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. 


          5)Exempts many timber removal activities from the regulatory  
            requirements of THPs, 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. Exemptions are often ministerial,  
            requiring no multi-agency review, but are subject to  
            inspection by CDF. 

          This bill: 

          1)Proposes to exempt the removal of trees from the normal  
            requirements of a THP in order to restore and conserve  







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            California's black or Oregon white oak woodlands and  
            associated grasslands under certain conditions. 


          2)Adds additional provisions that the notice of exemption be  
            prepared by a registered professional forester and that it  
            contain specified mapping and information about the site. No  
            trees larger than 26 inches in diameter at stump height may be  
            removed, and only conifers within 300 feet of a California  
            black or Oregon white oak that are a minimum four inches in  
            diameter at breast height may be removed. There are other  
            conditions that the registered professional must comply with  
            as well. 


          3)Requires a report from CAL FIRE on the trends in the use of,  
            compliance with, and effectiveness of all the exemptions and  
            emergency notice provisions and any recommendations to improve  
            the use of those exemptions.


          4)Contains chaptering out amendments to avoid a conflict with AB  
            2029 (Dahle). 




          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, one-time costs  
          of $132,000 (Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund) to  
          CAL FIRE for equipment purchases and ongoing costs of $433,000  
          annually (Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund) to CAL  
          FIRE for staffing necessary to implement the exemption. Minor  
          costs to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the  
          regional water quality control boards to review required report  
          and provide comments.  


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/20/16)









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          Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture
          Pacific Forest Trust
          Rural County Representatives of California
          The Nature Conservancy
          Trust for Public Land 


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/20/16)


          None received


          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:   According to the author, oak woodlands  
          are the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems in California and  
          are disappearing at a rapid rate. In some parts of the state, a  
          significant issue is the encroachment of conifers in oak  
          woodlands. Conifers grow rapidly and quickly provide excessive  
          shade that kills oaks, some of which have survived for hundreds  
          of years. Historically, low intensity, but frequent fires  
          prevented this phenomenon, but under our current fire regime the  
          firs are successfully choking out the oaks. 

          AB 1958, the author states, clarifies that restoring oak  
          woodlands through the removal of conifers does not require a THP  
          from landowners who want to restore their oak woodlands.

          The author also is relying on information from the University of  
          California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Cooperative  
          Extension office in Eureka, that shows there are clear patterns  
          of conifer encroachment in white oak and black oak systems  
          across the North Coast region. Even young conifers are larger  
          than many older oak trees, and the dominance of trees like  
          Douglas firs can occur in as little as 50 years. Oaks woodlands  
          have conservation values that are worthy of preservation as  
          biological hotspots, and as fire- and drought-resistant  
          woodlands. 

          Pacific Birds, a habitat joint venture of public agencies and  
          nonprofits, points out that habitat losses in oak woodlands  
          exceed 90 percent in some areas and several oak-dependent bird  
          species have been extirpated from significant portions of the  
          region because of conifers becoming increasingly dominant in  
          many oak woodlands. This group states that this bill enables  







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          private landowners who are interested in oak woodland  
          restoration to face fewer hurdles in accomplishing that goal.   
          This view is shared by the Rural County Representatives of  
          California. 




          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  80-0, 5/31/16
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,  
            Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,  
            Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,  
            Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth  
            Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,  
            Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,  
            Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,  
            Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,  
            Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,  
            O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,  
            Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,  
            Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon

          Prepared by:William Craven / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
          8/22/16 22:40:40


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