SECTIONS 4593-4594.7 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 4593-4594.7

4593. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that a substantial
acreage of timberlands of the state are held by private nonindustrial
owners and that it is the policy of the state to increase the
productivity of these timberlands under prudent management plans to
serve the public's need for timber and other forest products.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that minimal
environmental harm is caused by prudent management of nonindustrial
timberlands because low volume production and dispersion around the
state of these small tracts reduces damage to aesthetics, air
quality, watersheds, and wildlife.
(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that it is the
policy of the state to encourage prudent and responsible forest
resource management of nonindustrial timberlands by approving
nonindustrial timber management plans in advance and withdrawing
governmental discretion to disapprove nonindustrial timber harvest
notices submitted pursuant to the approved nonindustrial timber
management plans.
(d) It is not the intent of the Legislature by the enactment of
this article to limit the penalties and enforcement provisions of
this chapter.

4593.2. Notwithstanding Section 4521, unless the context otherwise
requires, the following definitions govern construction of this
article:
(a) "Nonindustrial timberlands" means timberland owned by a
nonindustrial tree farmer.
(b) "Nonindustrial tree farmer" means an owner of timberland with
less than 2,500 acres who has an approved nonindustrial management
plan and is not primarily engaged in the manufacture of forest
products.
(c) "Uneven aged management" means the management of a specific
forest, with the goal of establishing a well stocked stand of various
age classes and which permits the periodic harvest of individual or
small groups of trees to realize the yield and continually establish
a new crop.
(d) "Sustained yield" means the yield of commercial wood that an
area of commercial timberland can produce continuously at a given
intensity of management consistent with required environmental
protection and which is professionally planned to achieve over time a
balance between growth and removal.
(e) "Nonindustrial timber management plan" means a management plan
for nonindustrial timberlands with an objective of an uneven aged
managed timber stand and sustained yield for each parcel or group of
contiguous parcels meeting the requirements of Section 4593.3.
(f) "Nonindustrial timber harvest notice" means notice of timber
harvest operations pursuant to an approved nonindustrial timber
management plan and meeting the requirements of Section 4594.

4593.3. A nonindustrial timber management plan may be filed with
the department in writing by a person who intends to become a
nonindustrial tree farmer with the long-term objective of an uneven
aged timber stand and sustained yield through the implementation of a
nonindustrial timber management plan. The management plan shall be
prepared by a registered professional forester. It shall be a public
record and shall include all of the following information:
(a) The name and address of the timberland owner.
(b) A description of the land on which the plan is proposed to be
implemented, including a United States Geological Survey quadrangle
map or equivalent indicating the location of all streams, the
location of all proposed and existing logging truck roads, and
indicating boundaries of all site I classification timberlands to be
stocked in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 4561 and any
other site classifications if the board establishes specific minimum
stocking standards for other site classifications.
(c) A description of the silviculture methods to be applied and
the type of yarding equipment to be used.
(d) An outline of the methods to be used to avoid excessive
accelerated erosion from timber operations to be conducted within the
proximity of a stream.
(e) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area within
the boundaries of the proposed nonindustrial timber management plan.
(f) A description of the existing stand, its current projected
growth, alterations required to achieve the management objectives,
the projected timber volumes and tree sizes to be available for
harvest, and projected frequencies of harvest.
(g) A certification by the registered professional forester
preparing the plan that he or she or a designee has personally
inspected the plan area.
(h) Any other information the board provides by regulation to meet
its rules and the standards of this chapter.
(i) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1996.

4593.4. The board shall adopt regulations regarding the notice of
receipt of the proposed nonindustrial timber management plan. The
notice shall be given within two working days following submission of
the proposed management plan and shall be consistent with Horn v.
County of Ventura, 24 Cal. 3d 605, and all applicable laws. In
adopting the regulations, the board shall take account of the extent
of the administrative burden involved in giving the notice. The
method of notice shall include, but not be limited to, mailed notice.
The regulations may require the person submitting the nonindustrial
timber management plan to provide to the department a list of the
names and addresses of persons to whom the notice is to be mailed.

4593.5. The department shall provide notice of the filing of
nonindustrial timber management plans to any person who requests, in
writing, that notification.

4593.6. Upon receipt of the nonindustrial timber management plan,
the department shall place it, or a true copy thereof, in a file
available for public inspection in the county in which timber
operations are proposed under the plan, and, for the purpose of
interdisciplinary review, shall transmit a copy to the Department of
Fish and Game, the appropriate California regional water quality
control board, the county planning agency, and all other agencies
having jurisdiction by law over natural resources affected by the
plan. The department shall invite, consider, and respond in writing
to comments received from public agencies to which the plan has been
transmitted and shall consult with those agencies at their request.

4593.7. (a) The director has 45 days from the date the initial
inspection is completed as provided in Section 4604, or a longer
period mutually agreed upon by the director and the person submitting
the nonindustrial timber management plan, to review the plan to
determine if the plan is in conformance with the rules and
regulations of the board and this chapter. If the director determines
that the plan is not in conformance with the rules and regulations
of the board or this chapter, the director shall return the plan,
stating his or her reasons and advising the person submitting the
plan of the person's right to a hearing before the board.
(b) If the director does not act within the time periods provided
in subdivision (a), a longer period shall be negotiated and mutually
agreed upon by the director and the person submitting the
nonindustrial timber management plan. If a longer period cannot be
mutually agreed upon, the nonindustrial timber management plan shall
be deemed denied and returned to the person submitting the plan.
(c) A person to whom a plan is returned may, within 10 days from
the receipt of the plan, request the board for a public hearing
before the board. The board shall schedule a public hearing to review
the plan to determine if the plan is in conformance with the rules
and regulations of the board and this chapter. Board action shall
take place within 30 days from the filing of the appeal, or a longer
period mutually agreed upon by the board and the person filing the
appeal. If the plan is not approved on appeal to the board, the
director, within 10 days of board action, may determine that the plan
is in conformance if the plan is revised to bring it into full
conformance with the rules and regulations of the board and this
chapter.

4593.8. The nonindustrial tree farmer may submit a proposed
amendment to the approved plan and may not take any action which
substantially deviates, as defined by the board, from the approved
plan until the amendment has been filed with the director and the
director has determined that the amendment is in compliance with the
rules and regulations of the board and the provisions of this chapter
which were in effect at the time the nonindustrial timber management
plan was approved, in accordance with the same procedures specified
in Section 4593.7.

4593.9. The nonindustrial tree farmer may take actions which do not
substantially deviate from the approved plan without the submittal
of an amendment, but those actions shall be subsequently reported to
the department. The board shall specify, by regulation, those
nonsubstantial deviations which may be taken. The board shall specify
the requirements for reporting those deviations.

4593.10. In the event of a change of ownership of the land
described in the nonindustrial timber management plan, the plan shall
expire 180 days from the date of change of ownership unless the new
timberland owner notifies the department in writing of the change of
ownership and his or her assumption of the plan.

4593.11. The nonindustrial tree farmer may cancel the nonindustrial
timber management plan by submitting a written notice to the
department. Once timber operations have commenced pursuant to a
nonindustrial timber harvest notice, cancellation is not effective on
land covered by the notice until a report of satisfactory completion
has been issued pursuant to Sections 4585, 4586, and 4587.

4594. The nonindustrial tree farmer who owns, leases, or otherwise
controls or operates on all or any portion of any timberland within
the boundaries of an approved nonindustrial timber management plan,
and who plans to harvest any of the timber thereon during a given
year, shall file a nonindustrial timber harvest notice with the
department in writing. A notice shall be filed prior to the
harvesting of any timber and shall be effective for a maximum of one
year from the date of filing. If the person who files the notice is
not the owner of the timberland, the person filing the notice shall
notify the timberland owner by certified mail that the notice has
been submitted, and shall certify that mailing to the department. The
notice shall be a public record and shall include all of the
following information:
(a) The name and address of the timber owner.
(b) The name and address of the timber operator.
(c) The name and address of the registered professional forester
preparing the nonindustrial timber harvest notice.
(d) A description of the land on which the work is proposed to be
done.
(e) A statement that no archeological sites have been discovered
in the harvest area since the approval of the nonindustrial timber
management plan.
(f) A statement that no rare, threatened, or endangered plant or
animal species has been discovered in the harvest area since the
approval of the nonindustrial timber management plan.
(g) A statement that there have been no physical environmental
changes in the harvest area that are so significant as to require any
amendment of the nonindustrial timber management plan.
(h) A certification by the registered professional forester that
the notice as carried out will implement best management practices
for protection of the beneficial uses of water, soil stability,
forest productivity, and wildlife as required by the current rules of
the board, or a certification that practices consistent with the
original plan will not result in any significant degradation to the
beneficial uses of water, soil stability, forest productivity, or
wildlife.
(i) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area within
the area of timber operations.
(j) The expected dates of commencement and completion of timber
operations during the year.
(k) A statement that the harvesting notice conforms to the
provisions of the approved management plan.
(l) Any other information the board provides by regulation to meet
its rules and the standards of this chapter.
(m) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1996.

4594.2. The registered professional forester who prepares the
nonindustrial timber management plan or prepares the notice, or any
other registered professional forester who is employed by the owner
or operator, shall report to the owner or operator if there are
deviations from the plan which, in his or her judgment, threaten the
attainment of the resource conservation standards of the plan.

4594.4. If the board finds that a registered professional forester
has made any material misstatement in any nonindustrial timber
harvesting notice, nonindustrial timber management plan, or report
under this chapter, the board shall take disciplinary action against
him or her as provided under Section 775.

4594.6. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, if a
registered professional forester certifies by written declaration, on
behalf of the timber owner or operator, that the nonindustrial
timber harvesting notice conforms to, and meets the requirements of,
the approved nonindustrial timber management plan under which it is
filed, timber operations may commence immediately unless the notice
has been filed by mailing, in which case operations may commence
three days after the notice has been mailed.

4594.7. If it is determined that the objectives of uneven aged
management and sustained yield are not being met by a nonindustrial
tree farmer, or there are other persistent violations detected that
are not being corrected, a previously approved nonindustrial timber
management plan shall be canceled by the department and any further
timber operations under the plan shall be terminated.