SECTIONS 4631-4631.5 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 4631-4631.5

4631. It is hereby declared to be in the interest of the welfare of
the people of this state and their industries and other activities
involving the use of wood, lumber, poles, piling, and other forest
products, that desirable cutover forest lands, including those having
young and old timber growth, be made fully productive and that the
holding and reforestation of such lands is a necessary measure
predicated on waning supplies of original old growth timber. It is
further declared to be the policy of the state to acquire by
purchase, exchange, lease, or grant all of the following:
(a) Such cutover lands, the reforestation of which is not assured
under private ownership, to reforest such lands during periods of
unemployment and at other times.
(b) Liquidating forest lands primarily suitable for timber
production which may be acquired under precutting agreements.
(c) Demonstration forests of 2,000 acres or less adapted to
furnish local needs of investigation, demonstration, and education in
those timber counties where the ownership pattern is such that
management of small areas is an important problem.
(d) One area, not to exceed approximately 40,000 acres, in each of
the following forest districts, Coast Range Pine and Fir District,
North Sierra Pine District and the South Sierra Pine District, for
the purpose of demonstration of economical forest management. These
areas shall not include virgin timber except that which is incidental
to areas previously harvested.

4631.5. It is further declared to be in the interest of the welfare
of the people of this state that the state do all of the following:
(a) Retain the existing land base of state forests in timber
production for research and demonstration purposes.
(b) Cooperate with local governments in mitigating the impacts on
school enrollment of geothermal development which occurs in proximity
to state-owned forest lands.