The death and devastation wrought by the Camp Fire seems to have brought a shift in the universal thought surrounding forest management. No longer is it just a matter of discussion—it’s critical to the survival of communities in timber country.
Judging by actions taken over the past year by the state legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown, the Golden State may finally be ready to turn the ship. In May of this year, Brown signed an executive order to “combat dangerous tree mortality, increase the ability of our forests to capture carbon and systematically improve forest management.”
That order aimed to double, within five years, the statewide rate of forest treatments to 500,000 acres per year; streamline permitting for forest health projects on private land; increase prescribed burns training and certification; and more.
The executive order was a precursor to a slew of bills that would later be put on the governor’s desk by the state legislature. On Sept. 21, Brown signed nearly 30 forestry bills “to strengthen California’s ability to prevent and recover from catastrophic wildfires,” according to a press release from the governor’s office.
It was as if Brown and the legislature sensed something terrible was going to happen.
Of course, the policy changes proved to be too little, too late for the town of Paradise—not to mention the numerous other lives and properties destroyed by fires in recent years. But perhaps the freshly-minted policies will do just enough, just in time to prevent another Camp Fire.
New exemptions
The most impactful—and the most controversial—among the bills signed on Sept. 21 was SB 901. It’s long and deep in the weeds. In fact, a close study of SB 901 reveals just what a tangled web of regulations timberland owners and loggers are faced with in California.
But supporters of the new law say it eliminates some of those obstacles.
Before delving into California’s newly amended forestry law, it should be noted that these changes do not exempt landowners from local ordinances preventing tree and vegetation management. For example, both the city and county of Sacramento protect “Landmark Trees” and “Heritage Trees” such as large trees, certain native oaks, sycamores, and buckeyes. Pruning and removal of such trees require a permit, and violations can result in heavy fines and jail time.
Turning back to California law, SB 901 provided several new exemptions from the onerous “timber harvest plans” (THP) required—even on private property—by existing California law. A THP is conducted by a professional forester and analyzes the expected impacts a logging job will have on the environment, such as impacts on sensitive species or sediment discharge into watercourses. The THP must also include plans to minimize those impacts to “insignificant” levels.
Then the THP must be put in the hopper, aired with the public, and finally approved by CAL FIRE. One Northern California logger told WLJ that the average timber harvest plan in Oregon takes about 15 days to get approved. By comparison, getting one approved in California can take a year.
Small Timberland Owner exemption
One provision of SB 901, known as the “Small Timberland Owner exemption,” allows timberland owners with 100 acres or less (or 60 acres or less on the coast) to do a harvest without a THP. Among other specifications, conifers with a 32-inch stump diameter can now be removed (previously, the limit was 26-inch stump diameter). A professional forester must still be hired to prepare, sign, and submit the necessary exemption paperwork.
According to the bill text, non-corporate forest landowners control about 3.2 million acres of the state’s nearly 8 million acres of private timberlands. Approximately 87,000 parcels of timberland in California are 100 acres or less. Thus, small timberland owners are a big piece of the puzzle.
It’s important to remember, however, that most of the forest treatment needed in California is on the roughly 19 million acres of federal land.
Forest Fire Prevention exemption
Also included in the new law is the Forest Fire Prevention exemption. A THP is not required for private landowners with up to 300 acres, as long as they are doing fuel-reduction thinning within moderate, high, or very high severity fire zones. There are, of course, extensive specifications. A forester must determine the plan will “decrease fuel continuity” and increase the average tree trunk diameter on the harvest area. Only trees with less than 30-inch diameters at their base can be removed under this exemption. Temporary roads are also allowed—but with strict limitations.
WLJ spoke about the new exemptions with Cheri West, legislative director for Assemblyman Brian Dahle (R-Bieber). Dahle’s district in far-Northern California has seen multiple major fires this year. He and his staff have pushed for better forest management laws for all six years he’s been in office, West said. Dahle backed SB 901, which was sponsored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa).
“Is it perfect? No,” West said in a phone interview with WLJ. “Is it better? Yes.”
She said although Dahle had pushed for more regulatory rollbacks, the bill did cut some red tape—mostly for the “small guys.”
But she took issue with the five-year sunset clauses put on the exemptions.
“Our argument is, if these catastrophic fires are the ‘new normal,’ why does [the bill] have a five-year sunset on it?”
Other provisions
SB 901 did much more, including authorizing $1 billion in funding for vegetation management over five years. It also required public utilities to meet new infrastructure standards and develop wildfire prevention and response plans. If utilities don’t comply, they face doubled fines. Also, SB 901 addressed liabilities facing Pacific Gas and Electric, which was blamed for the Napa fires last year.
Other bills signed along with SB 901 will allow landowners to partner with CAL FIRE to do prescribed burns; provide assistance for landowners in navigating the permitting system; provide grants for local fire prevention projects; and much more.
Look for more on California’s logging regulations in upcoming issues. — Theodora Johnson, WLJ correspondent
