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.
