Governor signs bill to help keep working forests working, cut taxpayer costs
Measure encourages conservation, upholds environmental protections

Sacramento Calif., October 13, 2009 – Governor Schwarzenegger on Sunday signed AB 1066 (Mendoza) helping to protect family wage jobs in rural California and reduce taxpayers costs for regulatory-oversight. The new law extends the effective life of approved Timber Harvest Plans (THPs) while holding private forestland owners to all the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act.

“This is an important step toward protecting thousands of California jobs and conserving forest and financial resources,” says David Bischel, California Forestry Association (CFA) president. “This will help sawmills stay open and sustain the infrastructure critical to sustaining forests. The measure will help keep Californians working and save taxpayers millions of dollars.”

“This is a prime example of how industry, environmental stakeholders and the Legislature can work together to produce sound policy,” said Assembly member Mendoza. “This bill saves the state money, keeps people working and continues to uphold natural resource standards to ensure our forests are protected. The industry is in need of such legislation to remain competitive and create jobs, especially as the economy continues to rebound.”

AB 1066 effectively extends the life of THPs that have already been approved from five years to seven, and requires CEQA and other environmental regulations be applied over the life of the plan. THPs must be filed by a registered professional forester, demonstrate 100-year sustainability and be approved by the Calif. Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The extension provides forest owners some flexibility to respond to market conditions. Lumber markets have been in deep decline for more than a decade and stand at 30-year lows. More than 1,000 mill-related jobs have been lost in California to date in 2009.

“Forestry and sawmills have been cornerstones of resource conservation and rural economies in this state for decades,” say Scott Wetch, who represents forest industry labor in the Forest Products Industry National Labor Management Council Committee-California. “It’s a welcome development to give California’s privately held forestry companies the flexibility they need to survive and provide the jobs the communities are built on. These are high-tech, skilled labor positions that can keep our forests healthy, our rural communities alive and our cities build with green building products.”

The law is scheduled to sunset in 2011.
 

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The California Forestry Association represents professionals committed to sustainable forestry and the protection of the state’s natural resources.
CFA is committed to keeping the public informed on issues surrounding efforts to keep California forests healthy and well-managed for water, wildlife, wildfire protection and climate change benefit.

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