Forestry: timber operations: maintenance of timberlands for fuels reduction.

Assembly Member Patterson's forestry legislation creates an alternative compliance pathway for publicly funded wildfire fuel reduction projects in California timberlands. The measure allows these noncommercial projects to submit timber harvesting plans instead of completing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reviews.

Under the proposed framework, projects focused exclusively on reducing wildfire fuel loads may bypass standard CEQA requirements by preparing timber harvesting plans for approval by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. While these activities would not be classified as commercial timber operations, they would remain subject to the regulatory oversight that governs standard logging practices.

The legislation maintains existing environmental protections by requiring professional foresters to prepare harvesting plans while potentially expediting the approval process for fuel reduction work. Local agencies implementing these projects would not receive state reimbursement for any new regulatory responsibilities, as the changes fall under constitutional exemptions for modifications to crime definitions and enforcement.