Forest practices: resource conservation standards: stocking standards.

The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations on timberland unless a timber harvesting plan has been prepared by a registered professional forester and has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and approved by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection or the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Existing law establishes minimum acceptable stocking standards and provides that an area covered by a timber harvesting plan is considered acceptably stocked if certain conditions are met within 5 years after completion of timber operations, including that the area contains an average point count of 300 per acre, as provided. Existing law requires the board to adopt stocking standards for each district, after a public hearing, that are equal to or stricter than the minimum standards. This bill would authorize the board to adopt alternative stocking standards if those alternative standards reasonably address variables in forest characteristics and achieve suitable resource conservation, as provided.