Forest practices: working forest management plans.

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. A violation of the act is a crime. The bill would authorize a person who intends to become a working forest landowner, as defined, to file a working forest management plan with the department, with the long-term objective of an uneven aged timber stand and sustained yield through the implementation of the plan. The bill would require the plan to be prepared by a registered professional forester, be public record, and contain certain information, including the name and address of the timberland owner. The bill would require the department to provide a public comment period of at least 90 days from the date of the receipt of the plan, as specified. The bill would require the department to determine if the plan is accurate, complete, and in proper order. The bill would require the director to return the plan if the director determines that the plan is not in conformance, as provided. The bill would require the working forest landowner who owns, leases, or otherwise controls or operates on all or any portion of any timberland within the boundaries of an approved plan and who harvests any of the timber during a given year to file a working forest harvest notice, as defined, with the department in writing. The bill would require the notice to be public record and to include certain information, including a statement that state or federally listed rare, threatened, candidate, or endangered plant or animal species have not been discovered in the harvest area since the approval of the plan. The bill would require the director to convene an interdisciplinary review team, as described, every 5 years to review an approved plan's administrative record, plan summary information, as specified, and any other information relevant to verify that operations have been conducted in accordance with the plan and applicable laws. The bill would require the department to cancel a previously approved plan if the department determines that the objectives of uneven aged management and sustained yield are not being met or if there are other persistent violations, as provided. The bill would require the board to adopt regulations needed to implement the above provisions by January 1, 2016. The bill would provide that its provisions shall not apply to the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast Forest District, as defined. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations regarding the need for special legislation. Because a violation of these provisions is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.