§ 4584. — 4584. (Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 236, Sec. 17.)

California § 4584.

• Jurisdiction: California
• Code PRC: Public Resources Code - PRC
• Div. 4.: DIVISION 4. FORESTS, FORESTRY AND RANGE AND FORAGE LANDS
• Part 2.: PART 2. PROTECTION OF FOREST, RANGE AND FORAGE LANDS
• Ch. 8.: CHAPTER 8. Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973
• Art. 7.: ARTICLE 7. Timber Harvesting

Text

Upon determining that this exemption is consistent with the purposes of this chapter, the board may exempt from this chapter, or portions of this chapter, a person engaged in forest management whose activities are limited to any of the following:
(a)
The cutting or removal of trees for the purpose of constructing or maintaining a right-of-way for utility lines.
(b)
The planting, growing, nurturing, shaping, shearing, removal, or harvest of immature trees for Christmas trees or other ornamental purposes or minor forest products, including fuelwood.
(c)
The cutting or removal of dead, dying, or diseased trees of any size.
(d)
Site preparation.
(e)
Maintenance of drainage facilities and soil stabilization treatments.
(f)
Timber operations on land managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation.
(g)
(1)
The one-time conversion of less than three acres to a nontimber use. A person, whether acting as an individual, as a member of a partnership, or as an officer or employee of a corporation or other legal entity, shall not obtain more than one exemption pursuant to this subdivision in a five-year period. If a partnership has as a member, or if a corporation or other legal entity has as an officer or employee, a person who has received this exemption within the past five years, whether as an individual, as a member of a partnership, or as an officer or
employee of a corporation or other legal entity, then that partnership, corporation, or other legal entity is not eligible for this exemption. “Person,” for purposes of this subdivision, means an individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity.
(2)
(A)
Notwithstanding Section 4554.5, the board shall adopt regulations that do all of the following:
(i)
Identify the required documentation of a bona fide intent to complete the conversion that an applicant will need to submit in order to be eligible for the exemption in paragraph (1).
(ii)
Authorize the department to inspect the sites approved in conversion applications that have been approved on or after January 1, 2002, in order to determine that the conversion was completed within the two-year period described in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1104.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(iii)
Require the exemption pursuant to this subdivision to expire if there is a change in timberland ownership. The person who originally submitted an application for an exemption pursuant to this subdivision shall notify the department of a change in timberland ownership on or before five calendar days after a change in ownership.
(iv)
The board may adopt regulations allowing a waiver of the five-year limitation described in paragraph (1) upon finding that the imposition of the five-year limitation would impose an undue hardship on the applicant for the exemption. The board may adopt a process for an appeal of a denial of a waiver.
(v)
The board may adopt regulations allowing a waiver of the one-time limitation
described in paragraph (1) upon finding that the imposition of the one-time limitation would impose an undue hardship on the applicant. The board may adopt a process for an appeal of a denial of a waiver.
(B)
The application form for the exemption pursuant to paragraph (1) shall prominently advise the public that a violation of the conversion exemption, including a conversion applied for in the name of someone other than the person or entity implementing the conversion in bona fide good faith, is a violation of this chapter and penalties may accrue up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 4601).
(h)
An easement granted by a right-of-way construction agreement administered by the federal government if timber sales and operations within or affecting the area are reviewed and conducted pursuant to the federal National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.).
(i)
(1)
The cutting or removal of trees in compliance with Sections 4290 and 4291 that eliminates the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns for the purpose of reducing flammable materials and maintaining a fuel break for a distance of not more than 150 feet on each side from an approved and legally permitted structure that complies with the California Building Standards Code, when that cutting or removal is conducted in compliance with this subdivision. For purposes of this subdivision, an “approved and legally permitted structure” includes only structures that are designed for human occupancy, garages, barns, stables, and structures used to enclose fuel tanks.
(2)
(A)
The cutting or removal of trees pursuant to this subdivision
is limited to cutting or removal that will result in a reduction in the rate of fire spread, fire duration and intensity, fuel ignitability, or ignition of the tree crowns and shall be in accordance with any regulations adopted by the board pursuant to this section.
(B)
Trees shall not be cut or removed pursuant to this subdivision by the clearcutting regeneration method, by the seed tree removal step of the seed tree regeneration method, or by the shelterwood removal step of the shelterwood regeneration method.
(3)
(A)
All fuel treatments conducted pursuant to this subdivision that do not comply with board rules and regulations may be determined to be a nuisance and subject to abatement by the department or the city or county having jurisdiction.
(B)
The costs incurred by the department, city,
or county, as the case may be, to abate the nuisance upon a parcel of land subject to the timber operations, including, but not limited to, investigation, boundary determination, measurement, and other related costs, may be recovered by special assessment and lien against the parcel of land by the department, city, or county. The assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary ad valorem taxes, and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as is provided for ad valorem taxes.
(4)
All timber operations conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall conform to applicable city or county general plans, city or county implementing ordinances, and city or county zoning ordinances. This paragraph does not authorize the cutting, removal, or sale of timber or other solid wood forest products within an area where timber harvesting is prohibited or otherwise restricted
pursuant to the rules or regulations adopted by the board.
(5)
(A)
The board shall adopt regulations, initially as emergency regulations in accordance with subparagraph (B), that the board considers necessary to implement and to obtain compliance with this subdivision.
(B)
The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, or general welfare.
(j)
(1)
(A)
The harvesting of trees, limited to those trees that
eliminate the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns, for the purpose of reducing the rate of fire spread, duration and intensity, fuel ignitability, or ignition of tree crowns. An exemption pursuant to this paragraph shall be known as the Forest Resilience Exemption.
(B)
The board may authorize an exemption pursuant to subparagraph (A) only if the tree harvesting will decrease fuel continuity and increase the quadratic mean diameter of the stand, and the tree harvesting area will not exceed 500 acres. Increases in quadratic mean diameter shall only consider trees greater than eight inches in diameter at breast height. The notice of exemption may be authorized only if all of the conditions specified in subparagraphs (C) to (I), inclusive, are met.
(C)
A registered professional forester shall prepare the notice of exemption and submit
it to the director.
(D)
(i)
The submitted notice of exemption shall include a description of the preharvest stand structure and a statement of the postharvest stand stocking levels and the expected postharvest increase in quadratic mean diameter.
(ii)
The level of residual stocking shall be consistent with maximum sustained production of high-quality timber products. The residual stand shall consist primarily of healthy and vigorous dominant and codominant trees from the preharvest stand. Stocking shall not be reduced below the standards required by the following provisions that apply to the exemption at issue:
(I)
Clauses 1 to 4, inclusive, of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Sections 913.3, 933.3, and 953.3 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, or clauses 1
to 4, inclusive, of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Sections 913.2, 933.2, and 953.2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(II)
The registered professional forester responsible for preparing the notice of exemption shall identify the designated postharvest stocking within the notice of exemption. The selected stocking shall be applicable to, and consistent with, silviculture that would apply to the preharvest stand condition provided pursuant to clause (i).
(III)
Additional information on preharvest stand conditions, including, but not limited to, stand ages, stand structure, past management activities, and landowner goals and objectives shall also be provided by the registered professional forester preparing and submitting the exemption that substantiates the selection of postharvest stocking.
(iii)
Within the coast district, if the preharvest dominant and codominant crown canopy is occupied by trees less than 14 inches in diameter at breast height, a minimum of 100 trees over 4 inches in diameter at breast height shall be retained per acre for Site I, II, and III lands, and a minimum of 75 trees over 4 inches in diameter at breast height shall be retained per acre for Site IV and V lands.
(iv)
Within the northern district and southern district, if the preharvest dominant and codominant crown canopy is occupied by trees less than 14 inches in diameter at breast height, a minimum of 65 trees per acre over 4 inches in diameter at breast height shall be retained.
(v)
All trees that are harvested or all trees that are retained shall be marked or sample marked by, or under the supervision of, a registered
professional forester before felling operations begin. The board shall adopt regulations for sample marking for this section in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. Sample marking shall be limited to homogenous forest stand conditions typical of plantations.
(vi)
The board may adopt specific regulations for the removal of dead and dying trees in amounts less than 10 percent of the average volume per acre for trees up to 36 inches in diameter at breast height. Regulations adopted by the board shall consider safety, fuel hazard abatement, mortality capture, the adequacy and retention of wildlife trees, especially those trees over 30 inches in diameter at breast height, and standards of enforceability for the department. All trees over 30 inches in diameter at breast height that are harvested pursuant to this paragraph shall be marked by, or under the supervision of, a registered professional forester before felling. The registered
professional forester shall consult with the director before felling any dead or dying trees in excess of 30 inches in diameter at breast height.
(vii)
All trees harvested pursuant to this paragraph shall be marked by, or under the supervision of, a registered professional forester before felling operations begin.
(viii)
The six largest trees per acre within the boundaries of a notice of exemption submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall not be harvested.
(ix)
No trees of the genus Quercus that are greater than 22 inches in diameter at breast height shall be harvested under a notice of exemption submitted pursuant to this subdivision, except for those trees that need to be removed to mitigate safety.
(x)
The postharvest composition of tree species
shall be representative of the preharvest stand condition and demonstrate progression towards climax forest conditions, unless the registered professional forester provides information explaining how modification of species diversity will benefit forest health and resiliency.
(E)
(i)
The board shall adopt regulations for the treatment of understory vegetation and standing dead fuels, canopy closure, clearance to base of live crown, or ladder fuels, that could promote the spread of wildfire.
(ii)
Slash and woody debris within 50 feet of a public road or critical infrastructure, as defined by the board, shall be chipped, burned, or removed.
(iii)
The standards required by clauses (i) and (ii) shall be achieved on approximately 80 percent of the treated area.
(F)
Before the submission of a notice of exemption to the department, the registered professional forester responsible for submitting the notice shall designate temporary road locations, landing locations, tractor road crossings of Class III watercourses, unstable areas, or connected headwall swales on the ground and map their locations.
(G)
The construction or reconstruction of temporary roads on slopes of 30 percent or less shall be allowed if all of the following conditions are met:
(i)
Temporary roads or landings shall not be located on unstable areas, as defined in Section 895.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(ii)
Temporary roads shall be single-lane in width.
(iii)
Temporary roads shall not be located across a connected headwall swale, as defined in Section 895.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(iv)
Construction or reconstruction of temporary roads, landings, or watercourse crossings shall not occur during the winter operating period. Pursuant to subdivision (g) of Sections 923.6, 943.6, and 963.6, as applicable, of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, roads and landings used for log hauling or other heavy equipment uses during the winter period shall occur on a stable operating surface and, where necessary, be surfaced with rock to a depth and quantity sufficient to maintain the stable operating surface. Use shall be prohibited on roads that are not hydrologically disconnected and exhibit saturated soil conditions. Timber operations during the winter period shall comply with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (c) of Sections 914.7, 934.7, and 954.7, as
applicable, of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(v)
Use of temporary roads shall comply with the operational provisions of Article 12 (commencing with Section 923) of Subchapter 4 of Chapter 4 of Division 1.5 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, and recognize guidance on hydrologic disconnection in Technical Rule Addendum Number 5.
(vi)
No logging road or landings construction or reconstruction activities of any kind shall occur within 200 feet of Class I and Class II watercourses or within 50 feet of a Class III watercourse.
(vii)
The landowner shall retain a registered professional forester who is available to provide professional advice to the licensed timber operator and timberland owner throughout the active timber operations. The name, address, telephone number, and registration
number of the retained registered professional forester shall be provided on the submitted notice of exemption. This professional advice shall include overseeing the construction or reconstruction of any temporary roads or landings and advising on necessary mitigation to avoid potential impacts to associated watershed and forest resources. The registered professional forester shall also comply with Section 1035.2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, relating to interaction between the licensed timber operator and the registered professional forester.
(viii)
The registered professional forester responsible for submitting the notice of exemption shall affirm that the construction or reconstruction of each temporary road is necessary to provide access to harvest areas where no feasible alternative exists. The submitted notice of exemption shall include the number and cumulative length of temporary roads that will be constructed or
reconstructed.
(ix)
(I)
Temporary road construction or reconstruction shall be limited to no more than two miles of road per ownership in a planning watershed per any five-year period.
(II)
For each exemption affecting less than 40 acres, all temporary roads constructed or reconstructed under this exemption shall not exceed a cumulative length of 300 feet.
(III)
For each exemption affecting between 40 and 80 acres, all temporary roads constructed or reconstructed under this exemption shall not exceed a cumulative length of between 300 and 600 feet, as determined on a pro rata basis by the total acreage affected by the exemption.
(IV)
For each exemption affecting over 80 acres, all temporary roads constructed or reconstructed under
the exemption shall not exceed a cumulative length of 600 feet. The submitted notice of exemption shall list the number of acres affected and the cumulative length of the road in feet.
(V)
Temporary roads constructed or reconstructed under this exemption shall not be connected to other temporary roads constructed under previous or subsequent exemptions filed under this paragraph.
(VI)
All temporary roads shall be abandoned using proactive measures that have been applied to effectively remove them from the permanent road network, in accordance with the definition of abandoned road as defined in Section 895.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(VII)
This paragraph shall not be interpreted to permit road construction or reconstruction except as authorized under the Forest Resilience Exemption, pursuant
to this subparagraph.
(VIII)
No trees larger than 30 inches in diameter at breast height shall be removed for the purposes of road construction or reconstruction under a notice of exemption submitted pursuant to this subdivision.
(H)
Only trees less than 30 inches in diameter at breast height may be removed. The board, in consultation with the department, shall develop clearly written guidance documents on inspection and enforceability standards relating to standards set forth in this paragraph.
(I)
All timber operations conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall only occur within the most recent version of the department’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map in the moderate, high, and very high fire threat zones.
(J)
If pesticides or herbicides will be
used within the boundaries of an area covered by a notice of exemption pursuant to this subparagraph within one year of director acceptance, the timberland owner shall notify the appropriate regional water quality control board 10 days before application of any pesticides or herbicides.
(K)
After the timber operations are complete, the department shall conduct an onsite inspection to determine compliance with this subdivision and whether appropriate enforcement action should be initiated. The department shall notify the appropriate regional water quality control board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the California Geological Survey seven days prior to conducting the onsite inspection. The regional water quality control board, the
Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the California Geological Survey may conduct an inspection with the department.
(2)
(A)
The board shall adopt regulations, initially as emergency regulations in accordance with subparagraph (B), that the board considers necessary to implement and to obtain compliance with this subdivision.
(B)
The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, or general welfare.
(3)
This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.
(k)
(1)
The cutting or removal of trees to restore and conserve California black or Oregon white oak woodlands and associated grasslands, if all of the following requirements are met:
(A)
A registered professional forester shall prepare the notice of exemption and submit it to the director. The notice shall include both of the following:
(i)
A certification signed by the registered professional forester that the timber operation is designed to restore and conserve California black and Oregon white oak woodlands and associated grasslands encroached upon by conifers and that a minimum
of 35 square feet of basal area per acre, or as determined by the board, of California black or Oregon white oak, or both, occupy the proposed treatment area at the time the notice is prepared.
(ii)
A description of the preharvest stand structure and a statement of the postharvest stand stocking levels.
(B)
No tree larger than 30 inches in diameter at breast height shall be harvested for commercial purposes. If necessary to achieve the oak woodland restoration goal of the exemption, trees larger than 30 inches in diameter at breast height may be harvested. The registered professional forester shall provide information on the need to remove these trees, and consult with the director before felling any tree in excess of 30 inches in diameter at breast height.
(C)
Only conifers within 300 feet of a California black or
Oregon white oak may be harvested.
(D)
The total area exempted pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed 300 acres per ownership in a planning watershed per five-year period.
(E)
Conifer shall be reduced to less than 25 percent of the combined hardwood and conifer postharvest stand stocking levels. Decadent and deformed trees of wildlife value that are retained shall not count toward basal area requirements.
(F)
No more than 20 percent of the total basal area of preexisting oak stock shall be cut or removed during harvest. The board may establish minimum postharvest basal area requirements for California black or Oregon white oak.
(G)
Slash shall be configured to minimize the risk of fire mortality to the remaining oak trees.
(2)
(A)
The board shall adopt regulations, initially as emergency regulations in accordance with subparagraph (B), that the board considers necessary to implement and to obtain compliance with this subdivision.
(B)
The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, or general welfare.
(l)
(1)
The board may exempt from this chapter, or portions of this chapter, a person engaged in forest management whose activities are limited to the
cutting or removal of trees on the person’s property in compliance with Sections 4290 and 4291 that eliminates the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns for the purpose of reducing flammable materials and maintaining a fuel break for a distance of not more than 300 feet on each side from an approved and legally permitted habitable structure, when that cutting or removal is conducted in compliance with this subdivision and all of the following conditions are met:
(A)
The notice of exemption is prepared, signed, and submitted by a registered professional forester to the department.
(B)
For the areas between 150 and 300 feet from the habitable structure, the operations meet all of the following provisions:
(i)
The residual stocking standards are consistent with Sections
913.2, 933.2, and 953.2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, as appropriate.
(ii)
Activities within this area will increase the quadratic mean diameter of the stand.
(iii)
The residual stand consists primarily of healthy and vigorous dominant and codominant trees from the preharvest stand, well distributed throughout the harvested area.
(iv)
Postharvest slash treatment and stand conditions will lead to more moderate fire behavior in the professional judgment of the registered professional forester who submits the notice of exemption.
(v)
Any additional guidance for slash treatment and postharvest stand conditions and any other issues deemed necessary that are consistent with this section, as established by the board.
(2)
For purposes of this subdivision, “habitable structure” means a building that contains one or more dwelling units or that can be occupied for residential use. Buildings occupied for residential use include single-family homes, multidwelling structures, mobile and manufactured homes, and condominiums. For purposes of this subdivision, “habitable structure” does not include commercial, industrial, or incidental buildings such as detached garages, barns, outdoor sanitation facilities, and sheds.
(3)
This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.

Legislative History

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 236, Sec. 17. (SB 831) Effective January 1, 2026.