How a Timber Harvest Plan Works

Positive changes to state and federal laws are often spawned by active participation from individual citizens and public interest groups. This fact is readily apparent with forestry practices. The following information is a brief overview of the process by which logging plans are approved. We encourage interested individuals to learn more about this process and to become involved in creating changes in our current laws that will protect our forests, water quality and other public trust resources.

Logging on Private and Corporate Lands

In California, logging on private and corporate land is regulated by the 1973 Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act. This Act established the Forest Practice Rules (FPRs) and a politically-appointed California Board of Forestry to oversee rule implementation. The California Department of Forestry (CDF) works under the direction of the Board of Forestry and is the lead government agency responsible for approving logging plans and enforcing FPRs.

To log on private or corporate land, a Registered Professional Forester must submit to the state a document which outlines the proposed logging operations, known as a Timber Harvest Plan (THP). The FPRs describe THPs as having two functions: to provide information for the CDF director to determine if the proposed logging conforms to the rules; and to provide direction to logging operators who carry out the THP. These documents were certified as the “functional equivalent” of an Environmental Impact Report and are intended to evaluate all of the potential direct and cumulative impacts that might occur as a result of the logging plan and to implement any feasible measures which would reduce impacts to a level of insignificance.

Approving the THP

The FPRs state that CDF “shall disapprove a plan as not conforming to the rules” if the plan does not contain enough information to evaluate potential environmental effects, if it would cause “significant, long-term damage,” cause a “taking” of a threatened or endangered species, or if it would cause irreparable harm to rare or endangered plant species (see 898.2 of the FPRs). Over 99 percent of the THPs that are submitted, however, receive CDF’s rubber stamp approval. At most, CDF will encourage submitters to withdraw a THP if the plan has trouble gaining approval. In such cases, a new THP is often submitted and approved, covering the exact same area and only differing cosmetically from the original plan.

When a THP is prepared, the submitter is required to notify landowners within 1,000 feet downstream of its boundary and request information on domestic water sources that could be affected by the proposed logging operations. At least 10 days after providing this notice, the THP may be submitted, and CDF then has 10 days to accept or return the plan to the submitter. THPs are available for people to obtain, via payment, through their local or regional CDF office of CDF. THPs in Humboldt County, for example, are available for purchase at the Fortuna and Santa Rosa CDF offices.

First Review and Pre-Harvest Inspection

Before being accepted for filing or within five days after filing, the plan undergoes “first review” in Santa Rosa to decide if an on-the-ground inspection, known as a “pre-harvest inspection” (PHI), is necessary and to help identify potential problems which should be considered during the review of the THP. The first review team includes a representative from CDF and may include a representative from other agencies (i.e. the Department of Fish and Game, Water Quality), although their participation in THP review occurs only on a very small fraction of those plans submitted. These other agencies are able to make recommendations on THPs, but CDF is the lead agency in THP approval and is not obligated to follow recommendations made by other agencies.

If a PHI is deemed necessary, which in most cases it is, a CDF Forester and other agency officials who choose to participate, conduct an on-site inspection of the area to be logged. The CDF Forester and other agency officials who attended the PHI then prepare and submit a report on the inspection. These PHI reports, as well as any other reports and documents that are submitted in relation to the THP, are included in the official file for the THP and can be obtained at the local or regional office of CDF. Often, PHI reports reveal a little more of the details about the on-site conditions and the logging operations that are proposed than the THPs themselves. The RPF who prepared and submitted the THP must respond to any recommendations that are made by CDF and other agencies, and this response is also included in the file and available for citizens to review and purchase.

Second Review of the THP

After the PHI, the THP goes through its “second review” in Fortuna, and a recommendation for denial or approval is made. This meeting is again comprised of a CDF representative, who acts as the Chair, and other agency officials who elect to participate. If agencies outside of CDF do not agree with the Chair’s recommendation, they may file a “non-concurrence.” These meetings, although not considered a formal public hearing, are open for interested members of the public to attend and make comments. Comments, however, are not recorded in any way and do not become a part of the official administrative record of the THP.

Public comment time periods vary from county to county; call your local CDF office for detailed information. The closing date for public comments is often extended. For THPs in Humboldt County, for example, public comments are most often accepted until one week after second review. CDF is required to consider and respond to these comments, and an “official response” is prepared and sent out upon the plan’s approval.

THP Notification

CDF is required to give notification on THPs that are filed to any interested party. These lists give very basic information about the THP, such as who the submitter is, the acreage and location of the proposed logging operation, and the silvicultural method that is proposed (i.e. clearcut, commercial thin).  To receive these notifications, call your regional CDF office and request to be added to the mailing list. For THPs in Northern California, call the Santa Rosa office of CDF at 707-576-2275 to be added to the list.