Bill > AB2494

This bill updates California’s laws regarding state forests by redefining how the demonstration state forest system is managed to focus broadly on public benefits—such as biodiversity, carbon storage, watershed health, and wildfire resilience—rather than strictly maximizing timber production. It authorizes the Natural Resources Agency to collaboratively develop comanagement agreements with California Native American tribes to incorporate traditional ecological and indigenous knowledge into forest management, and it permits timber harvesting and research specifically to support these resilient ecosystem goals and science-based decision-making. Additionally, the legislation updates financial and operational rules for these lands, including requiring all funds generated by demonstration state forests—such as recreational user fees and timber sales—to be deposited into the Forest Resources Improvement Fund (a state account used to support forest improvement and management), and it requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to update regulations on activities like surface mining for restoration work, recreation concessions, and prescribed herbivory (using livestock to manage vegetation).