By Brian White, KP Public Affairs, FLC Legislative Advocate and Larry Camp, FLC Legislative Committee
There has been lots of activity in the capitol since early January on legislation and other matters. Brian White has arranged meetings with legislators or senior staff members in late January and early April to discuss bills related to forest management and the fire issue. The Board has written letters of support for several letters of support and worked with staff to identify changes that will make the proposed legislation more effective. We will continue to work with Brian and other coalition groups to support or oppose legislation. Hearings are just now beginning to occur. A list of the bills that we are following is shown in the table below. A more detailed discussion of each bill is available on our website in the members section.
Board members continue to participate in the tree mortality task force. The Governor proposed a new effort to deal with Forest Health in his State of the State message. Larry Camp has been requested to serve as small landowner representative within that group of 10-12 advisors from scientists and practitioners. The group has met twice to date including a two-hour meeting with the Governor and senior members of his staff. The goal is to have the program ready to start within the next few weeks. Its organizational structure and tasks are still being developed.
NMTPs and the Notice of Timber Operations (NTO) issue. The Board has clearly hear the memberships’ concern with the recent Cal Fire changes in policy regarding the use of Exemptions and/Emergency Notices for incidental or salvage operations on NTMPs. FLC submitted a letter to the Board of Forestry and testified before the Forest Practice Committee on April 10. The Board intends to find a solution to the problem but it may take some time. In the meantime, landowners who do not have a provision in their plan for operating under an exemption or emergency notice may consider amending their plan to include such a provision as a minor deviation, or waiting to see the outcome. Please feel free to contact the FLC office if you have questions or comments.
Track Bills by visiting http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov and use the Quick Bill Search function.
Legislative Archives
Appellate Decision on WFMP Case
Good News -- Exemptions and NTMPs
CAL FIRE has reversed its policy change regarding the acceptance of exemptions for NTMPs. Please refer to the link below to view the letter from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Ken Pimlott) to the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Keith Gilless).
Should you have any questions, please send an email to the FLC Legislative Committee at legchair@forestlandowners.org.
Letter and Supporting Content from CAL FIRE to Board of Forestry
Legislative Committee Assignments
Public Policy Institute of California
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) issued a report in mid-September on the status of forest health in the Headwaters Forests. On September 20, there was a panel debriefing on the report. Click on the links below to download the documents.
If you are interested in wathcing the panel debrief, the video is posted on the PPIC's website: