Posted July 1, 2014
Both Assembly Bill 2142 and Assembly Bill 1867 passed the Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee this week, according to a Sierra Sun Times article available here.
The two bills strive to expand existing exemptions in law from the requirement of Timber Harvest Plans (THP) for fire prevention-type forestry projects, which would reduce barriers to increased fuels reduction activities.
The AB 2142 would expand last year’s AB 744, which was an expansion of the existing Forest Fire Prevention Act. The AB 744 provisions expanded the THP exemption under the Act to large diameter trees as well as broadening certain other limitations in the Act for a pilot program in a couple inland California counties.
The current bill, AB 2142, extends that pilot program into additional North Coast counties.
AB 1867 would expand the existing exemption on requiring a THP to forest landowners that want to do more than 100 feet of defensible space clearance around a habitable dwelling. The exemption would allow those landowners to sell the timber produced by the fire prevention activities to help offset the costs of vegetation management work.
In some counties, 300 feet of defensible space clearing could cost as much as $20,000, but getting a THP is normally more than $35,000. By eliminating the need for a THP and allowing the material to be sold, landowners are more likely to perform this critical fire prevention work.
The bill was also amended to be a 3-year pilot program.
For more information on timber law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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