Forestland recovery act gains momentum
A.B. 2575 would usher in new forestry era

The California Assembly is poised to take a momentous leap forward on the long, obstacle-strewn path toward greener forest practices.

Forests cannot be protected on a project-by-project basis as the Board of Forestry has vainly attempted for so long. For the well-being of wildlife, watersheds, communities and forest-dependent industries, the state must evaluate logging projects cumulatively– which is just what one new piece of legislation would mandate.

The effort will get a running start when the California Assembly’s Committee on Appropriations holds its hearing on A.B. 2575, the “Comprehensive Forest Land Recovery and Restoration Act,” introduced in February by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast).

The bill focuses on two proposed pilot projects to be conducted by the California Dept. of Forestry (CDF) to demonstrate sound techniques for quantitatively assessing the effects of logging operations on soil, air, water, wildlife and climate, and to protect and repair salmon and steelhead habitat.

Forests Forever is the organizational sponsor of the bill which passed out of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on a vote of 6-0, with all six Democrats on the committee voting in favor, and the three Republicans withholding their votes.

TAKE ACTION:

Contact Speaker of the Assembly John A. Pérez (www.asmdc.org/speaker) as well as members of the Appropriations Committee. Urge them to support this important piece of forestry reform legislation.

Let them know you agree that evaluating and addressing the cumulative impacts of multiple timber harvests in a watershed over time is crucial to protecting watershed health, endangered species, public safety, and the long-term economic value of timberlands.

Also contact your Assemblymember and urge him or her to back A.B. 2575. It is especially important to reach conservation-minded Assemblymembers serving on the Appropriations Committee. These include:

To find your Assemblymember and contact information, visit the California State Assembly Internet portal at http://www.assembly.ca.gov/

BACKGROUND:

Chesbro formulated A.B. 2575 in large part to dovetail with final regulations adopted last September by the Board of Forestry (BOF).

The BOF regulations govern commercial timber harvests on watersheds where anadromous fish species have been designated as threatened or endangered. The rules require the BOF and CDF to work with other agencies, stakeholders, and appropriate scientific participants in a “transparent process to describe and implement two pilot projects to address cumulative watershed impacts.”

The strong emphasis in A.B. 2575 on assessing the cumulative impacts of multiple logging projects in a watershed over time is a key forestry reform long sought by Forests Forever.

“This bill would require the CDF to start really making use of cumulative impact data,” said Forests Forever Legislative Advocate Luke Breit. “And, as pilot projects often become the law of the land, this could have a huge impact on how logging is carried out throughout the state.”

As the Chesbro bill puts it, “A good cumulative effects process can provide the information necessary to restore and recover fish and wildlife populations, to improve the quality and quantity of timber, to take actions to reduce fire hazards, to sequester carbon, to produce energy, and to create jobs in taking on these vitally important tasks.”

In addition, A.B. 2575 would compel the CDF to ensure that its pilot projects balance public, industry and agency involvement. In the past, the public has been effectively shut out.

Toward that end, the act would require the CDF to post all electronically available timber harvest plans online for easy access to the public as well as agencies and timber operators.

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