Bills

AB 425: Timber harvesting plans: exemptions: temporary roads.

  • Session Year: 2017-2018
  • House: Assembly
Version:

The Zberg-Nejedly Forest Practices Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations, as defined, unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The act authorizes the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to exempt from some or all of those provisions of the act a person engaging in specified forest management activities, including the cutting or removal of trees in compliance with existing law relating to defensible space. In this regard, the act authorizes, until January 1, 2021, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption if specified conditions are met, including that only trees less than 26 inches in stump diameter, measured at 8 inches above ground level, shall be removed, no new road construction or reconstruction shall occur, and the activities shall be conducted in specified counties.

This bill would expand the exemption to allow the construction or reconstruction of temporary roads on slopes of 40% or less if certain conditions are met, including that a registered professional forester designates temporary road locations, landing locations, associated class III watercourse crossings, unstable areas, and connected headwall swales, including convergent slopes, on specified maps. The bill would require, on or before December 31, 2020, the department and the board to review and submit a report to the Legislature on the trends in the use of, compliance with, and effectiveness of, the exemption, including an assessment of the construction or reconstruction of temporary roads.

The Zberg-Nejedly Forest Practices Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations, as defined, unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The act authorizes the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to exempt from some or all of those provisions of the act a person engaging in specified forest management activities, including the cutting or removal of trees in compliance with existing law relating to defensible space. Existing law requires surface fuels that promote the spread of wildfire to be removed from all areas of the timber operations within 45 days from the start of timber operations and provides that any not so removed after that time may be determined to be a nuisance, as provided. This bill would instead provide that all fuel treatments related to the cutting or removal of trees in compliance with existing law relating to defensible space that do not comply with board rules and regulations may be determined to be a nuisance, as provided.The bill would establish, until a specified date, the Small Timberland Owner Exemption, which would exempt from the act the cutting or removal of trees on property of no more than 100 acres within a single planning watershed, depending on location of the property, that eliminates the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns for the purpose of reducing flammable materials and maintaining a fuel break, subject to specified conditions.The bill would require the board to comply with specified standards when adopting those regulations related to the Small Timberland Owner Exemptions and other exemptions, as provided, as determined appropriate and necessary by the board.The act authorizes, until January 1, 2021, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption if specified conditions are met, including that only trees less than 26 inches in stump diameter, measured at 8 inches above ground level, be removed, no new road construction or reconstruction occur, and the activities be conducted in specified counties.This bill would revise and recast the exemption to, until a specified date, allow the construction or reconstruction of temporary roads on slopes of 30% or less, if certain conditions are met, including that temporary roads or landings are not located on unstable areas, are single-lane in width, and are not located across a connected headwall swale, among other things. The bill would require the board to comply with specified standards when adopting those regulations.The bill would make other related changes to the exemptions.Existing law requires the department and the board, until January 1, 2019, to review and submit a report to the Legislature on the trends in the use of, compliance with, and effectiveness of, timber harvest exemptions and emergency notice provisions, as provided. Existing law requires the report to include an analysis of any barriers for small forest owners presented by the exemptions.This bill would delete the requirement that the report include the above analysis. The bill would require the department and the board, until a specified date, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the State Water Resources Control Board, to annually submit a report to the Legislature that also includes information on the number and type of violations and enforcement actions taken on each notice of exemption and emergency notice, among other things.This bill would authorize the board to adopt emergency regulations for these purposes, as specified.

Discussed in Hearing

Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations1H
Sep 1, 2017

Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations

Senate Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Water15MIN
Jun 27, 2017

Senate Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Water

Assembly Floor1MIN
May 30, 2017

Assembly Floor

Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations1H
May 26, 2017

Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations

Assembly Standing Committee on Natural Resources12MIN
Apr 17, 2017

Assembly Standing Committee on Natural Resources

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